Relient J
04-27-2005, 05:47 AM
Should Apple Offensively Advertise Against Microsoft?
Let the advertising wars begin, please?
Microsoft decided they wanted to move to PowerPC with their Xbox 2 and decided to send out modified Apple Power Mac G5s to game developers to develop games for the new Xbox 2. Getting a little nervous about Apple's latest OS, Microsoft then decides they want to advertise about how "creative" the Windows OS can let you be, yet word has it they used Macs to create the ads. The slogan for Microsoft's 15-month Mac made ad campaign is "Start Something," and one can only assume it won't be long before Mac/Linux fans start defacing Microsoft ads to read "Start Something, Buy A Mac," or, "Start Something, Use Linux." Might Microsoft's new advertising campaign back fire like "Where do you want to go today?"
So what is Apple doing to point out all these ironies? What is Apple doing to thwart off Microsoft? Why won't Apple advertise Mac OS X? Why doesn't Apple advertise iLife? Why isn't Apple advertising the Mac?
At a recent annual shareholders meeting, Apple CEO Steve Jobs proved the fire is still in him when it comes to Microsoft. “They are shamelessly trying to copy us. I think the most telling thing is that Tiger will ship at the end of the month and Longhorn is still two years out. They can’t even copy fast,” Jobs said to the cheering crowd (MacCentral). Jobs continues to fuel the fire against Microsoft time and time again, but that fire no longer makes it into Apple's advertising.
We saw similar stabs atLonghorn and Microsoft at last year's WWDC, but biting comments are not enough. While the tech world may finally be paying attention to Apple, and sites such as this one promoting Apple at every twist, not to mention the direct promotion of Apple products through Apple retail stores, Apple has created the opportunity to launch an advertising campaign fiercer than anything we've ever seen. Imagine Apple taking a stance in television commercials and billboards like they did at WWDC last year. Imagine Apple getting more aggressive and advertising that Microsoft's latest Xbox 2 games are being developed on Apple hardware, that Microsoft's latest commercials were made using Mac OS X and not Windows. Show the world how Microsoft is copying Apple to this day. Tell the world about how secure the Mac is. Bring back the sass of the Think Different campaign, creatively show people why Mac OS X is great, why Mac hardware is better, and how inexpensive it has become. As the computer company for everybody, they seem to be forgetting to let the world know about what they are up to. Apple has taken an unprecedented leap with the introduction of products like the Mac mini and the iPod shuffle, opening the door for all consumers; now its time to seal the deal.
At first, Apple's lack of advertising seemed somewhat routine as they've commonly had times of silence between campaigns, but this latest gap is nearly measurable in years. With Microsoft continually shooting themselves in the foot, its time for someone (Apple) to point it out and stand up against the giant.
--Trent Lapinski
Source: http://www.apple-x.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1419&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
Let the advertising wars begin, please?
Microsoft decided they wanted to move to PowerPC with their Xbox 2 and decided to send out modified Apple Power Mac G5s to game developers to develop games for the new Xbox 2. Getting a little nervous about Apple's latest OS, Microsoft then decides they want to advertise about how "creative" the Windows OS can let you be, yet word has it they used Macs to create the ads. The slogan for Microsoft's 15-month Mac made ad campaign is "Start Something," and one can only assume it won't be long before Mac/Linux fans start defacing Microsoft ads to read "Start Something, Buy A Mac," or, "Start Something, Use Linux." Might Microsoft's new advertising campaign back fire like "Where do you want to go today?"
So what is Apple doing to point out all these ironies? What is Apple doing to thwart off Microsoft? Why won't Apple advertise Mac OS X? Why doesn't Apple advertise iLife? Why isn't Apple advertising the Mac?
At a recent annual shareholders meeting, Apple CEO Steve Jobs proved the fire is still in him when it comes to Microsoft. “They are shamelessly trying to copy us. I think the most telling thing is that Tiger will ship at the end of the month and Longhorn is still two years out. They can’t even copy fast,” Jobs said to the cheering crowd (MacCentral). Jobs continues to fuel the fire against Microsoft time and time again, but that fire no longer makes it into Apple's advertising.
We saw similar stabs atLonghorn and Microsoft at last year's WWDC, but biting comments are not enough. While the tech world may finally be paying attention to Apple, and sites such as this one promoting Apple at every twist, not to mention the direct promotion of Apple products through Apple retail stores, Apple has created the opportunity to launch an advertising campaign fiercer than anything we've ever seen. Imagine Apple taking a stance in television commercials and billboards like they did at WWDC last year. Imagine Apple getting more aggressive and advertising that Microsoft's latest Xbox 2 games are being developed on Apple hardware, that Microsoft's latest commercials were made using Mac OS X and not Windows. Show the world how Microsoft is copying Apple to this day. Tell the world about how secure the Mac is. Bring back the sass of the Think Different campaign, creatively show people why Mac OS X is great, why Mac hardware is better, and how inexpensive it has become. As the computer company for everybody, they seem to be forgetting to let the world know about what they are up to. Apple has taken an unprecedented leap with the introduction of products like the Mac mini and the iPod shuffle, opening the door for all consumers; now its time to seal the deal.
At first, Apple's lack of advertising seemed somewhat routine as they've commonly had times of silence between campaigns, but this latest gap is nearly measurable in years. With Microsoft continually shooting themselves in the foot, its time for someone (Apple) to point it out and stand up against the giant.
--Trent Lapinski
Source: http://www.apple-x.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1419&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0