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advertising / apple / apple news / creative / iPhone / observatory — 6 Comments
20
Apr 12

Some fresh air for Siri

Apple has always had a talent for creating great advertising. It’s one of the few companies on earth who can claim great ads as part of its heritage. In fact, it’s one of the few companies whose personality has largely been sculpted by its ads, going all the way back to the beginning.

That’s what happens when your CEO has a passion for marketing.

However, Apple is only human — which is a double-edged sword. Though Apple loves to keep surprising us with creativity, it is sometimes hesitant to rock the boat when things are going well. iPhone ads, for example, fell into a comfortable format for at least a couple of years. Mostly, we’d see a hand holding an iPhone taking us through a parade of apps. The ads were clear and effective — but they weren’t of the “wow, did you see that ad last night?” variety.

Thankfully, Siri helped juice up iPhone’s ad presence. With apps fading as a competitive advantage (Apple has more, but Android users don’t feel deprived), Apple suddenly had a game-changing new feature to show off. These ads have also been clear and effective — and wow-inducing at the same time.

Now it’s time for a new wave of iPhone ads. Siri is still the hot feature, so will Apple give us more of the same? Well, yes and no. We still see Siri in action, complete with screen shots, but this time Apple is doing something it hasn’t done for a while. It’s using celebrities. And it works really, really well.

Interestingly, these celebrities actually make the spots more human and relevant — which celebrities often don’t do. Whereas the previous Siri spots showed us a random collection of actors calling upon Siri in a variety of unrelated clips, the new ads focus on how one person might use Siri in his or her daily life.

Granted, we’re not looking at reality. Somehow I doubt that Samuel L. Jackson actually walks around his house conversing with Siri like this. If he does, I feel great sorrow for him. But hey, this is advertising. It’s supposed to make a point memorably, and these new spots do that — with great effectiveness. The second spot, featuring Zooey Deschanel, works in much the same way, summoning Zooey’s quirky adorableness. (See that here.)

Kudos to Apple for stepping up its iPhone game, and for not shunning celebrities just because they’re too expected or too easy. The celebrities Apple has chosen are actually quite unexpected, and tell a story remarkably well.

Note that Apple is not hiring a celebrity spokesperson to become the face of iPhone, appearing in ad after ad. It is using celebrities in a one-time fashion, with each one contributing to a larger idea. It’s a very “Apple” way to take advantage of celebrity stopping power as it tells its own unique story.

It remains to be seen whether this is the entirety of the new iPhone effort, or there will be more spots to come. It could very well be that the reaction to these spots will determine that.

For those so disposed, it creates a fun guessing game. What other celebrities out there would have the coolness or quirkiness to best deliver the iPhone message?

advertising / apple / creative / intel / iPad / mac / strategy / tablets / technology — 9 Comments
5
Apr 12

Intel’s “new era” echoes Apple’s old idea

Thanks to Intel, “a new era of computing” has arrived.

No more thick, heavy laptops. No more clunky design. This is the dawn of the “ultrabook”: super-thin, super-light and beautifully sculpted.

It’s a bold claim and a fantastic idea, except that it ignores one obvious fact:

The Intel era of ultrabooks looks exactly like the Apple era of MacBook Air, which began four years ago.

It’s particularly interesting because MacBook Air has actually been running on an Intel processor all this time. And PC companies have in fact dabbled in the super-thin space before, though they haven’t had much luck.

What’s really different this time is that Intel has packaged the technology, trademarked the word “ultrabook” and made it all available to their PC partners. No need for any of them to worry about all that messy “innovation” stuff. Now they can just start churning out MacBook Air lookalikes, with Intel supporting their efforts with a huge ad campaign.

Intel’s “new era” will be all around us. Not just on TV, but in print and on billboards, with such headlines as ”Mastadons. Dodos. Bulky laptops.” And “So futuristic, it will even seem futuristic in the future.” Clearly this new era in computing didn’t come with a new era in writing.

Intel’s press release makes a very big deal about the scope of this campaign. They’re spending “hundreds of millions,” making it Intel’s biggest advertising push since Centrino in 2003. The commercial above, called Desperado, is the first of three big productions that will be rolled out in the coming weeks. While they were shooting the commercials, they shot extra footage to be integrated into their web pages. Great idea. Obviously lots of thinking went into this.

Since I’m in the business, I try to be understanding about the challenges faced by the creative teams. Since I once worked with Intel’s agency, I’m sensitive to the fact that Intel is not an easy client. They have systems in place that influence the quality of their ads, and I don’t mean in a good way.

I’m also a bit tainted when it comes to Old West commercials, since I just finished working on one for JCPenney with Ellen DeGeneres. When you recreate another era like this, a hundred decisions contribute to the overall tone. JCPenney happily agreed with our dark and dirty vision. Intel’s world is sanitized. Their scary guys aren’t very scary, looking more like soap-opera actors picking up some cash on the side. Bottom line: it feels a lot like an ad. Or, more accurately, an ad with a gaggle of approvers worried about tainting Intel’s image.

It’s also interesting to note the irony of this commercial. Intel must show the monstrosities as a counterpoint to the gorgeous new ultrabooks — and in the real world, these blights on computing are all powered by Intel.

These observations, of course, come from the picky ad guy inside of me. I imagine that mainstream viewers will follow the story, have a chuckle or two, and get the whole “new era in computing” idea. That’s an extremely loose interpretation of  ”new,” but forgivable by most advertising standards.

More disturbing, if you believe in a little thing called truth in advertising, are the very last words in the commercial:

Ultrabook. Inspired by Intel.

Uh … inspired by who?

advertising / creative / observatory / steve jobs — 8 Comments
2
Apr 12

Steve Jobs’ crazy idea for “The Crazy Ones”

I had a lot of fun putting together my book, Insanely Simple (coming April 26th). In the course of writing, quite a few interesting memories came back — not all of which fit the theme of the book. So I’m sharing some of those here. (If you’d like to see them earlier, visit my Facebook page and click on “Insanely Secret.”)

Most of you are familiar with Apple’s The Crazy Ones commercial that launched the Think different campaign. And you’re probably aware that Richard Dreyfuss was chosen to read the script. But that decision wasn’t made until the last moment. A week or two earlier, during one of our regular agency meetings with Steve Jobs, the topic of choosing a voice came up.

After we tossed out some possibilities, Steve said, “I’ve got one for you, but it’s going to sound a little strange. Ready for this? It’s Phyllis Diller.”

No, I wasn’t ready for that. But there did turn out to be some logic to it. At that time, Pixar was developing its second movie, A Bug’s Life, and Phyllis Diller had been cast to play the role of the Queen Ant. Steve had heard some of her takes and thought she had a “unique” voice. He made it clear that he wasn’t pushing. He just thought the idea was odd enough that we might want to check it out.

So we added Phyllis to our list. Flash forward a few days to a recording studio in LA. We scheduled one full day to record all of our candidates, which included Richard Dreyfuss, Peter Gallagher, Sally Kellerman, Mark Fenske—and now, Phyllis Diller. (As you probably know, we also recorded a Steve Jobs version, but that was done on a different day, up in Cupertino.) In a weird way, I was looking forward to Phyllis, only because she and Apple would be such a strange matchup. I thought she was old about 20 years earlier, so I could only imagine what she’d be like now.

Right on time, Phyllis appeared at the door. She was old enough that she had an assistant to help keep her upright as she made it into the waiting room. Interestingly, the assistant didn’t seem any younger than the boss, so it took the duo some time to reach the couch.

My producer and I gave Phyllis a warm greeting, thanking her profusely for coming by. I told her that Steve Jobs himself had recommended her for the role, and that tickled her. I gave her a copy of the script and left her alone for a while. When I returned, she was gushing wildly over the words. “This is beautiful! This is poetry! I love this!” I couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic voiceover talent.

We invited her into the studio, where we shared the unfinished version of The Crazy Ones and let her hear the emotional soundtrack that had been written for it. Her reaction to the video and music was even more over-the-top than her reaction to the script. She thought it was inspiring and beautiful, and she was eager to get started.

Phyllis made her way into the sound booth to prepare for her first take. The opening strings of the soundtrack kicked in. She closed her eyes, absorbing it all as she prepared to speak. But she didn’t speak—she screeched. Loudly. In her zaniest voice she yelled: “HERE’S TO THE CRAZY ONES! THE MISFITS! THE REBELS!…” And so it went for the entirety of the script.

Those first syllables practically knocked us off our chairs. The volume was unexpected, as was the wildness of her read. What made it so shocking was that this outburst followed a moment when she was so appreciative of the “poetry” she would be reading. We politely let her finish, and then I went into the sound booth to offer a few suggestions.

I was respectful, as I would be with any voiceover talent. I honestly thought she might simply have misunderstood. I told her it was great, but “let’s try another one that’s a little quieter. Maybe just a little more from the heart.”

“Sure, I understand,” said Phyllis. “Let’s try it.”

I returned to my chair on the other side of the glass, where our producer and engineer were still recovering from Phyllis’s first take. “Take two,” said the engineer. The music swelled once again. We could see Phyllis concentrating as she inwardly rehearsed her new approach. And then the thunder was once again unleashed: “HERE’S TO THE CRAZY ONES! THE MISFITS! THE REBELS!…” It was a carbon-copy of the first take. It was as if she were trying to perform for a crowd at Dodger Stadium without a microphone.

So once again, I joined Phyllis in the sound booth, wondering how I might cajole her into a different read. “That was great, Phyllis,” I fibbed. “I think we have that angle covered. But we’re also thinking maybe we could try a quieter version, more like we’re talking now.” The flashbulb seemed to go off for her. “Ohhhh, I see,” she said. “Of course, just make it more conversational.”

“Exactly,” I said.

I returned to the control room, we all took our positions, and again the engineer cued the music. And once again the earth rocked: “HERE’S TO THE CRAZY ONES!…” Another identical performance. She must have thought she was being paid by the decibel.

Phyllis Diller did an amazing job in her Queen Ant role. She was unexpectedly perfect for it. But for our particular need — let’s just say she wasn’t exactly the poetic speaker we were hoping for. I did try one more time to get her to read more quietly. “Maybe we could try one that’s almost more of a whisper?” I suggested. But she had to draw a line somewhere. “That’s not what I do,” she said.

Phyllis was really sweet and funny, and super-friendly for the length of her visit, so we enthusiastically thanked her for coming in and promised to let her know when the decision was made. (Cool idea, Steve, but it didn’t quite pan out.)

One of the greatest regrets of my advertising life is that I never got a copy of Phyllis’s performance. Somewhere, in a nondescript storage box, on a dusty basement shelf, I’m sure it still exists. Since the version recorded with Steve Jobs was ultimately retrieved and made public, I’ll cross my fingers that one day the world gets to hear the Phyllis Diller version.

Just don’t expect it to have quite the same emotional effect.

advertising / apple / apple news / iPhone / observatory — 2 Comments
29
Mar 12

Apple’s Siri balancing act

A couple of weeks ago, some guy in Brooklyn started a class-action suit against Apple. Basically, the suit says that Siri doesn’t live up to the claims made in Apple’s ads.

Most of these cases are easy to dismiss. Suing Apple is great sport, and I imagine Apple has teams of lawyers whose full-time job is fending off nuisance lawsuits.

However, in this case, it’s hard not to wonder if some judge or jury might actually come down on the plaintiffs’ side.

Putting aside the fact that a number of people have been grumbling about Siri’s performance of late, Apple would seem to be walking a tightrope when they put together a legal argument.

On one hand, they can say “Hey, we said from the start that Siri is a beta product. Obviously it’s not perfect yet.” On the other hand, they launched iPhone 4S with a major national ad campaign featuring Siri, and have been running the ads ever since.

There’s no difference between the way Apple has presented the beta Siri to the public and the way it has introduced any new feature in previous products. Clearly it considers Siri to be the main feature of iPhone 4S. The ads show Siri in its best possible light and never mention that it’s a beta.

Those who follow Apple news are certainly aware of Siri’s beta status. The other 90% of the world isn’t. Honestly, if I were sitting on a jury, I’d have to do some serious thinking on that.

Forgetting the legal issues, it’s an interesting and unique case for Apple. Maybe I’m missing something obvious, but I don’t recall any product or feature in Apple’s history that was released as a beta, and was simultaneously advertised so heavily.

Can a company present a feature as a product’s main attraction, and then claim “it’s just a beta” when it gets sued?

Keep in mind that Apple hasn’t officially taken that position yet. Who knows what their defense will ultimately be. The case is young, and the lawyers may still be busy devising a legal strategy.

“Siri, find me a good argument.”

advertising / creative / iPad / observatory / technology — 11 Comments
26
Mar 12

Apple goes wordless once again

A few weeks ago, I put up an article about the lack of headlines in Apple’s most recent outdoor ads. There were some strong opinions on both sides, for and against headlines.

With its latest iCloud commercial (above), Apple has now expanded the wordless approach to TV. This ad gives us a series of shots in which an action taken on one Apple device is instantly reflected on another. (At least we think it’s instant — there is no real reference to the timeframe.)

Thank you, Apple, for giving us the perfect A/B test. The new iCloud ad actually tells the identical story we got in the previous iCloud ad. The only real difference is the absence of a voiceover to explain things. Here’s the previous ad:

So what works best? Words or no words?

In this case, I’m of the mind that words win. Handily. This previous iCloud ad is 100% crystal clear. There isn’t a viewer on earth who wouldn’t get it in a second.

The new iCloud ad starts out clear — a photo on the iPhone appears on other devices. But as the pace picks up, it turns into a lot of things on a lot of screens. Without the narration, there’s a lot of pressure on the final title screen to sum it all up: Automatic. Everywhere. iCloud. It’s debatable how well that line even works.

Even if you are personally of the mind that this isn’t brain surgery, and that anyone of reasonable intelligence would get the point — take a look at both in succession right now. It’s unimaginable that anyone could misunderstand the value of iCloud in the older ad. It’s easy to imagine people missing the message in the new one. If you look away for just a few seconds, the story is lost.

I totally get why Apple does things like this. It’s minimalism, it’s cutting the story down to its essence, it’s trying to make the message as simple as possible. It’s a noble effort.

A picture really is worth a thousand words — but sometimes it helps to hear just a few of them.

advertising / creative / dell / observatory — 8 Comments
19
Mar 12

Dell’s underpowered “power to do more”

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Guide provided a wealth of information about the cultures of countless planets. Yet Earth merited only a one-word entry: “Harmless.” (After further study, it was revised to be ”Mostly harmless.”)

I’ve often borrowed this description in discussions of corporate theme lines. I believe that there are two kinds of theme lines: inspired and harmless.

Inspired lines capture the spirit of a company. They strike a chord with customers, forming a solid foundation for every ad to come. Like Nike’s old Just do it, or BMW’s The ultimate driving machine.

Harmless lines just sort of sit there. They don’t necessarily offend, but they certainly don’t inspire. They feel like they’ve been homogenized by a dozen committees, or echo thoughts you’ve heard a thousand times before. Like Dell’s The power to do more.

I itemized the many crimes of this theme line in an article back in June 2011, so I won’t repeat myself here.

Today, I’d just like to point out the real danger of harmless theme lines: they have a nasty habit of leading to harmless ads. Exhibit A: the video above, which Dell apparently believes will inspire its customers.

It begins innocently enough: “At Dell, we believe the power of technology is the power to do more. And we wanted to find out exactly what people want to do more of.”

(Might have been a good idea to find out before they picked that line.)

Following a series of stock-quality clips, we get a series of people telling us what they would do if they had the power to do more. These people aim high, with ideas like ”make education available to everyone.” Some hold signs upon which they’ve scratched their ideas, like “save the pandas,” “feed the world” and “find an universal language.”

Say what? Find an universal language?

Hopefully her language will come with simpler rules

That’s right. Hoping to inspire us by capturing people’s dreams in two different cities, Dell ends up featuring someone who can’t even get the grammar right. Stunning.

Bad quality control aside, what does this video say about Dell? Absolutely nothing. It’s about as empty — and  as harmless — as the theme line it references.

If Dell is hoping to create a viral hit, it might start tempering expectations. This morning, 11 days after the video was uploaded, it’s now accumulated all of 369 views.

A video like this doesn’t enhance Dell’s image. However, it does an excellent job of reinforcing the image Dell already has: a company that could use a healthy shot of imagination.

Follow me on Twitter @ksegall. Visit my Facebook page for the latest on my book, Insanely Simple.

advertising / creative / observatory / steve jobs — 2 Comments
6
Mar 12

Putting the wrong spin on “1984”

When I saw the headline on the Ad Age article, I stopped in my tracks:

 Apple First Marketing Guru On Why ’1984′ Is Overrated

Yikes. Blasphemy!

Even worse, that “overrated” word is attributed to the great Regis McKenna, longtime friend/advisor to Steve Jobs and Apple’s original advertising/PR man.

What a story — except for the fact that it isn’t true.

The editor of this story either misses Regis’s point or is just out to snare some cheap clicks.

Regis never once says that 1984 is overrated. He says that the attention created by some ads can be a problem because it raises expectations. Apple went into decline in the years after 1984.

At that point, the interviewer tries to put the o-word in his mouth: ”Are you saying that the ad industry overrates the 1984 ad?”

But even then, Regis doesn’t take the bait. He says that the ad was more successful than the Mac itself. It “set an attitude of rebellion against the status quo.” “It probably continues to serve Apple today.”

That the original Macintosh wasn’t successful by business standards is well known. That the 1984 commercial had people standing in line the next day, defined the revolutionary spirit of Apple and transformed the Super Bowl into an advertising showcase is also well known.

It’s actually amazing that the 1984 commercial “continues to serve Apple today,” a full 28 years after it ran. Especially when you consider that most commercials are forgotten in a matter of months.

To me, an overrated ad is one that isn’t as creative, or doesn’t have as much impact, as is widely believed. 1984 was wildly creative. And its impact has been almost beyond description — not just to Apple, but to other advertisers as well.

Did it turn Macintosh into the world’s favorite computer? Nope. But that’s hardly the responsibility of a single ad. Every commercial has a mission by which it should be judged. 1984‘s mission was to generate interest for a whole new kind of computer. The fact that we’re still talking about it today says a little something about how well it succeeded.

If you look at 1984 on its own merits, and assess whether it did what it was supposed to do, it’s hard to call it overrated. It’s easy to call it one of the greatest commercials of all time.

I can guarantee you, most other companies would line up to pay millions of dollars to run an ad as “overrated” as this one.

(Thanks, CB, for the tip.)

Follow me on Twitter @ksegall.

advertising / apple / creative — 6 Comments
1
Mar 12

Santorum copies Apple’s ad success — and failure

Wow — an opportunity to bring politics into a technology-oriented blog. How does one resist?

Rick Santorum has released a new video that is an obvious homage to Apple’s 1984 commercial.

Problem #1: At this point in time, only a tiny percentage of the voters have any knowledge of 1984. So in effect, it’s less of an homage and more of a rip-off.

Problem #2: It’s actually a cross between Apple’s famous 1984 commercial and its infamous clunker, Lemmings.

As most know, Lemmings bombed because it insulted the very audience it was trying to win. It portrayed them as pitiful souls blindly following the crowd, walking off a cliff to their doom.

Santorum’s video portrays the voting public as bland automatons who follow Romney without questioning. Then, for good measure, it has them walking off a cliff to their doom.

The happy ending closely follows the 1984 script, with a brightly dressed woman running into the scene to save the day. No sledgehammer this time, just a “Santorum for president” poster. The crowd seems rather dumbstruck, not much livelier than the drones in 1984. Except for the one guy in front who is so moved, he actually takes off his sweater. (Uh … right. I didn’t get that either.)

Note to Rick: if you’re going to copy Apple’s marketing success, try not to copy its failure as well.

Follow me on Twitter @ksegall.

advertising / creative — 11 Comments
27
Feb 12

Ron Johnson’s night at the Oscars

Last night, jcpenney was hard to miss on the Oscars — with not one, but five commercials.

I swear I’m not turning this blog into a retail site.

But if you’re an Apple-watcher, it’s interesting to see how Ron Johnson is leveraging a core Apple value to power his vision at JCP.

It’s all about the customer experience.

The reason Ron has a good chance of succeeding is that he isn’t merely parroting Steve Jobs’s mantra. Steve brought Ron into Apple because the love of retailing was already in his blood.

Having reimagined Target, Ron was a key player in developing the Apple Store concept. He was personally responsible for dreaming up the Genius Bar, which has allowed Apple to build personal connections with its customers.

In explaining JCP’s plans, Ron often cites the Apple Store as an example. He points out that anyone can buy an Apple product online with minimal effort — yet they flock to the Apple Store in incredible numbers. That’s because they get something there that they can’t find anywhere else. It’s the Apple Store experience that draws customers in.

So yes, you can buy clothes and household goods online or in a hundred other stores. But if JCP can create a great shopping experience, it may well get those bodies in motion. Ron envisions a JCP where customers feel the love and attention, get a good deal and enjoy perks they can’t find elsewhere.

The naysayers might look at last night’s ads and say “is that it?” The changes JCP showcased were whole-number pricing, no-hassle returns, and a merciful end to coupons and super-sales. Just keep in mind that what you’re seeing is the tip of the iceberg. Ron and his new president Michael Francis (formerly of Target) have only been on board since November 1st, and the real innovations will appear over the next year or two.

I was super-happy that my involvement with JCP continued from the initial manifesto ad through the creation of these commercials.

Without question, this was the most ambitious (and fun) project I’ve ever been part of. We had a devoted team, a world-class director (Bryan Buckley), supportive clients and a cast of hundreds. And, of course, Ellen was as much fun to work with as she appears to be.

You can see all five spots here. And, to get a sense of the good time we had, take a look at the outtakes posted on Ellen’s site (more will be added after she unveils them on her show today).

Follow me on Twitter @ksegall.

advertising / apple news / creative / dell / insanely simple / intel / simplicity / steve jobs — 68 Comments
15
Feb 12

And now, a different kind of Apple book

True confession time:

I’ve written a book.

Something tells me you won’t be surprised when I tell you it’s about Steve Jobs and Apple. But this book is different. Really.

That’s because (a) I had a unique vantage point to some pivotal events in Apple history, and (b) this book focuses on one thing alone — the core value that has driven Apple since the beginning.

Insanely Simple is about Apple’s obsession with Simplicity.

You can see Simplicity in everything Apple does: the way it organizes, innovates and communicates. In fact, one could argue that it was Steve’s unrelenting passion for Simplicity that helped Apple rise from near-death in 1997 to become the most valuable company on Earth in 2011.

My observations come from over 12 years of experience as Steve’s agency creative director, from NeXT to Apple. Also relevant to my story are the years I spent on the agency team during John Sculley’s rule at Apple. And then I had some interesting (and often excruciating) experiences in the worlds of Dell, Intel and IBM — which made me even more conscious of what sets Apple apart.

To Steve Jobs, Simplicity was a religion. But it was also a weapon — one that he used to humble competitors once thought to be invincible.

Apple’s devotion to Simplicity is the one constant that can be traced from the first Apple II computer all the way to today’s iPad. Though the company’s success is built upon engineering and design skills, it’s the love of Simplicity that truly powers Apple, revolution after revolution.

Technically, this is a business book. The idea is that in a complicated world, nothing stands out like Simplicity. If you better understand how Apple’s obsession has driven its success, you can adopt the same principles to boost your own organization — or your own career.

That said, Insanely Simple is a general interest book too. It’s a fun read for anyone who’d like to know what it was like to work in Steve’s world during the rebirth of Apple. It will give you a better understanding of what makes Apple Apple.

Crass salesmanship alert: I think you’ll like it. In my book, as I do in my blog, I use my personal experiences with Apple, NeXT and other companies to illustrate the power of Simplicity — and to warn of the evils of Complexity. Many of my stories have never been told publicly, so you’ll find more than a few surprises.

There’s a bit more about the book here.

Insanely Simple is available April 26th, but you gain extra appreciation points if you pre-order — which you can do at iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound and 800-CEO-read.

Last, I invite you to join my new mail list over there in the sidebar. I promise not to abuse the privilege, and I’d love to make you part of my secret club.

Thanks all!

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