Posts Tagged: ken segall

observatory — 8 Comments
1
May 12

An insanely good week

In theory, I’ll stop blabbing about my book Insanely Simple sometime soon. But hey, I’m a first-time author. Let me have just a few days to be giddy. This thing has been so much fun, I thought I’d share the adventure.

As you are no doubt aware, the Apple crowd picks up on things quickly. The buzz was so good, my book hit #75 on Amazon on the first day. I’m truly thankful to all who were interested enough to actually hit the Buy button.

Launch day started with an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box. Only problem was that I had to be at the CNBC studios in NJ at 6:00 am — which meant being up at 4:00. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen that hour in 20 years. There’s no prep at all for these things. You show up, they plunk you down in a chair and start counting down from five. Suddenly you’re on live TV. But the way this show works — with three talkative hosts — I quickly felt at ease. It felt kind of like sitting in a living room talking with friends. See this segment here. (But to get the full effect, set your alarm for 6:00 am and then watch it.)

On the following day, I was on Bloomberg’s show In The Loop. (See that here.) It’s interesting the way they shuffle guests in and out without missing a beat. Live TV really is like walking a high wire, and these news shows have it down to a science. Second by second, things happen with incredible accuracy.

The reviews of Insanely Simple have almost all been very positive. My favorites so far have been The Boston Globe, MacStories and The Verge. That last one is quite thoughtful, containing both praise and criticism. Well written.

Just this morning a story went up on The Fiscal Times. This is more of an interview than a book review, and it’s one of my favorite articles so far. It perfectly captures the reasons I wrote the book and puts the concept of simplicity in its proper context.

I had a good time doing a couple of podcasts, which you can find on iTunes. Search for Cult of Mac’s CultCast #10 (12 Years With Steve); and Your Mac Life for its April 25th podcast.

I’ve been doing a lot of radio shows too. Just yesterday I was a guest on the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC.

This is all really just the tip of the iceberg. There’s been much more, and there’s more to come. Later this month, I’ll be heading out to Japan and the UK for a series of events in those countries.

Anything I wish I’d done differently? Absolutely. At times, part of me wishes I could have a complete do-over. Between the writing of the book itself and the explaining of the book afterward, there is much for a first-timer to learn. Although most have understood the point of my book, one has no control over what people write. One article headlined the fact that I thought Apple’s marketing will suffer without Steve Jobs (which I never said), and that the Jeff Goldblum campaign introducing iMac was a mistake (which I also never said). Those things can be frustrating.

If you’re interested in joining the discussion about the book, or keeping up with the articles, just hit the Like button over at my Facebook author page. That way, you’ll get updates in your newsfeed. You might also sign up for my newsletter over there in the sidebar.

Once again, a huge thanks to all of you for your interest and support.

apple / steve jobs — 8 Comments
17
Apr 12

Noah Wyle and Steve Jobs’ moment of truth

Writing my book Insanely Simple (coming April 26th) stirred up quite a few memories for me — not all of which fit the theme of the book. So I’m sharing some of those here. (They show up a little earlier over at my Facebook page — just click on “Insanely Secret.” In fact a new one is going up today…)

It’s getting to be ancient history now, but some of you may remember the 1999 TBS production called Pirates of Silicon Valley. The movie was about the early days of Apple and Microsoft, and the evolution of the relationship between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Excellent subject matter, but clearly “made for TV” quality.

When the project got the green light, Steve was clearly excited. He shared the news with us at one of our regular agency meetings. He was especially thrilled that the role of himself was going to be played by Noah Wyle. At the time, Noah was flying high as part of the cast of the hit show ER.

As one might expect, the movie didn’t make Steve out to be the world’s nicest guy. One particularly bad moment was based on a story that’s floated around for years. The scene took place one day when Steve walked into a room where a job candidate was being interviewed. Steve immediately pegged hinm as an IBM-type and then, for whatever reason, blindsided him with the question “Are you a virgin?” Even worse, he kept pounding away at it, making the candidate more and more uncomfortable. At least this was the way it played out in the movie.

Some months later, preparations were underway for the next Macworld show, which was to be held in the NY Javits Center. One night, Steve called and told me he had a great idea for a way to open the show. He was going to get Noah Wyle to walk on stage and pretend to be him.

Steve had the physical part all figured out — he’d give Noah the black turtleneck, gray New Balances, even duplicate glasses from his personal eyeglass-maker. What he wanted from me was a script. What exactly should Noah say when he walks onstage? How would Steve join in?

I sent a script to Steve the following day. He liked it all, but he was especially fond of the ending. In the script, Steve would thank Noah for coming to Macworld, Noah would walk off stage to applause, but then stop as if he were suddenly remembering something. He’d then turn back to Steve to ask one final question: “Oh, Steve. Are you still a virgin?”

Steve didn’t make a single change to the script, but he did have one question: should it be “Are you a virgin” or “Are you still a virgin”?

“Hey, I don’t know,” I replied. “You’re the one who said it! What exactly did you say?”

Steve’s response surprised me. “No, that’s just it. I never said anything. This never happened — it’s all made up.”

So there you have it. It was all a lie. Granted, Steve wasn’t exactly under oath when he offered this testimony, but he did deny it emphatically. Maybe one day we’ll get a rebuttal from an eyewitness to the event.

Epilogue: We ended up going with “Are you still a virgin,” even though it didn’t exactly match the movie version. And one thing we learned by watching Steve’s performance — although the man was a genuine visionary, his acting skills left a bit to be desired.

apple store / iPad / observatory — 5 Comments
16
Mar 12

Apple’s momentary lapse of reason

As we all know (and Wall Street knows), Apple is a well-oiled machine these days. Unfortunately, there seems to be a screw loose down in the shipping dept.

This is the story of my friend Sam in Tucson, who was anxiously awaiting the scheduled March 16th delivery of his gorgeous new personalized iPad.

On March 14th, just two days before his delivery date, Sam received the above email from Apple. Even after he read it a few times, he was scratching his head.

For starters, it was riddled with typos. Not one or two, but six. Given Apple’s perfectionist standards, surely someone’s head would roll as a result. (Just three hours later, Sam received another email owning up to the errors. See that one below.)

But the content of the message was equally surprising. Apple was informing him that his personalized iPad would arrive on March 20th instead of March 16th — a four-day delay. But to make sure he was happy, they were offering an alternate arrangement.

If he could respond to the email in four hours, they would send him a non-personalized iPad right on schedule. They would also send him a prepaid FedEx label so that when his personalized iPad arrived four days later, he could send it back to Apple.

Uh, what?

On the 20th, Sam would have two iPads in his possession: one personalized and one not. He would then have to send the personalized iPad — the one he really wanted —back to Apple.

Obviously, someone was trying to be nice. But it ceases to be nice when the offer (and the quality of the email containing the offer) makes you wonder if there was an adult in the room when this brilliant idea was hatched.

For a mere four-day delay, Sam would have been happy with a simple apology. If Apple insisted on a public display of affection, it would have been vastly better off saying “Sorry, your order is delayed for four days. As a thanks for your patience, please accept this $20 gift coupon for the Apple Store.”

Even if that cost Apple $10 in real money (which it probably wouldn’t), that’s still much cheaper than two FedEx charges, removing and replacing the engraved back and turning a new device into a refurbished device that would have to be sold at a discount. (The rules forbid Apple from selling any product as “new” once it has been returned for any reason.)

Sam decided not to take Apple up on their offer. He would wait the extra four days for the personalized iPad he ordered. And then yesterday his story became just a little more absurd. His UPS tracking info changed to indicate that the personalized iPad would actually arrive today, right on schedule. Then, early this morning, it changed again, indicating a stop in Alaska and delivery on Monday. (Just three days after his originally scheduled date.)

You know what this story means, right? Sell your stock! Apple is imploding!

Well, no. Remain calm. In the scope of things, this is but a tiny ripple in the pond.

I always advise people not to judge any company by one person’s tale of woe. Far more meaningful are the customer satisfaction surveys that poll tens of thousands of people, comparing all the technology companies. And in those measures, Apple is consistently #1. Remember, Apple is only human — which happens to be one of its best qualities.

If I were to put money on it, I’d bet that Apple has already made sure that this type of silliness never repeats. I’m also sure that the moment Sam receives his iPad (whenever!), he’ll forget this ever happened.

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!

advertising / creative / observatory — 9 Comments
6
Feb 12

2012 Ad Bowl: more of the same

Looks like Super Bowl advertising has officially settled into a pattern. Though we cling to this romantic notion that the night will be filled with amazing ads, the reality is that we usually get a couple of good ones and a bunch of forgettable ones.

But before I get into the ads themselves, I’d like to lodge a complaint. Part of the fun of watching the Super Bowl ads used to be that it was a night of surprises — on the field and in the ads. This year, a ton of the ads were released days earlier. I count 28 that I saw before the Super Bowl.

Message to whoever is responsible: cut it out. You’re seriously letting the air out of the balloon before the party starts. Thanks.

So on with the reviews. As I’ve done in the past, I’ll just call out the ads that struck me as comment-worthy. Don’t be offended if I didn’t choose the one that you loved most. I’m flawed that way.

Toyota Camry: It’s Reinvented. Had its moments, but felt like it was trying very hard to be funny. When a 60-second spot feels longer than 60 seconds, that’s not a good sign. (The 2001 soundtrack made it feel longer too.)

Pepsi: King’s Court. This one has everything you could ask for in a Super Bowl spot: major celebrity (Elton John), big production values and some neat effects. Kind of fun — but due to the formula, managed to feel a bit old-school.

Chevy Silverado Apocalypse. With its grand scale, well-done effects, dark humor and a message delivered with absolute clarity, this was my favorite spot of the night. Love the idea of having the Chevy truck survive a convergence of disasters (Mayan prediction, giant robot, flying saucer and meteor), and putting it all against the hopeful “looks like we made it” soundtrack. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard a competitive line delivered in quite the same spirit as “Dave drove a Ford.” The offer of a Twinkie immediately afterward beautifully minimizes the man’s demise.

Chrysler Halftime. Last year, Chrysler created a magnificent two-minute ode to Detroit featuring native son Eminem. It really moved me, and I thought it was best-in-show. This time, Chrysler talks about the whole country, using Detroit as an example, and Clint Eastwood tells the story. I have a feeling I’ll be in the minority on this one, but I didn’t love it. The spot starts like a political ad, painting our current state in a very negative light. “We’re all scared because this isn’t a game,” says Clint. (Actually, I’m concerned but not scared.) Somber organ music throughout adds another level of doom. Creatively, I was turned off by the shadowy narrator at the start. That only tells me there will be a surprising reveal at the end. It would have been more surprising — and less tricky — if we simply heard Clint’s voice throughout and then saw him at the end. Last year’s spot was a wonderful tribute to a city in dire need of a positive image. It was effective because it was so authentic. That authenticity isn’t there this time. Maybe it’s because Chrysler is borrowing Clint’s tough-guy image, maybe it’s because the spot is speaking for a whole country and not the city. All that said, I do appreciate Chrysler’s willingness to spend this kind of money to say something important while its competitors are running more conventional spots on the game.

Acura NSX with Seinfeld: It’s coming. Good to see Seinfeld on his game again. Ending the spot by bringing in Leno as his nemesis was a nice touch, but only if you’re aware that both men are avid car collectors — which I was not. I suspect this one will be rated highly by many.

GoDaddy Body Painting. Never failing to disappoint, GoDaddy goes as low-brow as you can get. Please don’t remind me how successful they’ve been with these ads over the years. It  makes me fear for the future of mankind.

Teleflora Adriana Lima. Like GoDaddy, Teleflora goes the sexual innuendo route. But at least they give it two things GoDaddy does not: a coy sense of humor and good production values.

Kia Dream Car. Good one. Lots of effects, but well done. Fresh creative idea in the notion that even the Sandman can screw up — he drops an overdose of sand on a sleeping man, which triggers a testosterone-laced dream sequence. Kia has done a good job of creating a personality, considering where they started not too many years ago.

Cadillac Green Hell. Boring. If their goal was to outdo the BMW 3-Series as they say, they probably shouldn’t have used a bunch of driving footage that looks like a tired BMW ad.

Hyundai Think Fast. Some ads start with a great concept. Others start with a funny punch line and work backward from there — like this one. The whole ad exists to pay off the last line: “It’ll get your pulse going.” Funny, but in a superficial kind of way.

Century 21. Smarter. Bolder. Faster. And stupider. I’m sorry, but it’s very hard for me to enjoy an ad that features Donald Trump — especially when his joke is so weak.

H&M: David Beckham Bodywear. Let’s put it this way: I’m not even remotely tempted to buy any new underwear today. Though I’m thinking seriously about the tattoos.

Bridgestone Performance. Give them credit for finding a way to make tire commercials not feel like typical tire commercials. They ended up with more of a “heh heh” than a “ha ha,” but I imagine they’re dancing in the aisles at Bridgestone today.

Honda CRV: Get Going. Another celebrity spot, this one featuring Matthew Broderick doing a takeoff on his classic Ferris Bueller. One problem with reprising a 25-year old role is that the star looks 25 years older. This ad probably felt much funnier back at the agency than it turned out on TV.

E-Trade Fatherhood. Am I a bad person if I’m sick to death of talking babies?

MetLife Everyone. Here’s an idea — bring together a whole bunch of cartoon characters that never appeared together before. Oh wait. Didn’t Roger Rabbit do that 24 years ago? That aside, this spot should have been far more charming than it was.

Audi Vampire Party. I liked this one a lot. Great solution from the creative team. The new LED headlights are as good as daylight, so how do they demonstrate that? Well, daylight kills vampires, right? And vampires are a pretty good trend to tap into. Favorite moment: the clueless vampire who tries to get in a “hello” wave before he’s turned to ash.

Coca-Cola Polar Bears. Now I’m just getting cranky. Please add Coke’s polar bear commercials to the list of things I’m sick of. They were terrifically charming when they started out many years ago, but these spots just weren’t very appealing. The Catch was the only one that seemed at all interesting. Time to freshen up your Super Bowl presence, Coke.

Hulu with Will Arnett. Hulu has a cool product, and they’ve been doing some smart and fun advertising. I like Will Arnett. Made me laugh.

Droid Razr. To be honest, this is a spot I would have left out of this article, but some are making a big deal of the product so I feel bad ignoring it. If the RAZR is really that cool, it deserved a more interesting ad. A robotic assembly line, spraying colors onto the RAZRs? Pretty lame.

Hyundai Rocky. When a frustrated Hyndai employee indicates he can’t solve a problem, the entire facility breaks out in an a cappella version of the Rocky theme. I thought it was one of the most awful and embarrassing spots of the night. I can only imagine how they felt when they were filming it.

Hyundai Cougar. Marginally better.

M&M Chocolate. M&M characters meet The Full Monty. Never imagined it would happen, but there it is. Got some laughs in my house.

Best Buy Innovators. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever liked a Best Buy ad before, but I do like this one. Offering a tribute to people who have changed the world is a nice way to put your own values on display (like Apple did with Think different).

Doritos. Doritos has established itself as a reliable laugh-getter, and did well with Sling Baby and Man’s Best Friend. Just keep in mind that squeezing comedy out of a tortilla chip is a bit easier than some of the other products on the game last night.

Camry 7 Million Stories. A few one liners from people talking about their Camry. Then “There are 7 million Camry stories out there. Tell us yours.” Another spot that feels about 20 years too late in idea and execution.

The Voice promo, featuring Betty White. I was wondering if we were going to get through the night without an ad that used Betty White. Nope.

Ford, with Derek Jeter. I’m a much bigger baseball fan than football fan. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like Jeter was crashing the party here. One of the spots featured a bunch of video clips of him playing baseball too. It’s like asking me to watch basketball clips during a baseball game.

Samsung: Galaxy Tablet. Apparently they made enough of a splash with their first Apple-mocking ad that they spent the big bucks to do it again here. Fine with me. Two things, however, made me gag. First is Samsung presenting a stylus as a “feature.” Second is the big concluding line: “The next big thing is already here. Again.” Huh? I guess I missed the last next big thing, because as far as I can tell, nobody has yet put a dent in iPad’s stranglehold on the category. We may have to wait for the next next big thing.

There’s another honorable mention here, but it’s an ad that apparently only ran in the Canadian broadcast. Take a look at Budweiser Canada Flash Fans when you can. It’s a fun, feel-good kind of spot — an interesting idea executed well.

Now, on to the Oscars…

advertising / apple / creative / iPad / iPhone / iPod / observatory / strategy — 22 Comments
1
Feb 12

Where have Apple’s headlines gone?

Driving around LA with colleagues recently, we were greeted by iPad billboards just about everywhere we went. All shared the same clever headline: “iPad 2.”

That got my merry band wondering: when was the last time an Apple billboard or poster actually had a headline. (At least a smart headline in the Apple tradition.)

Before the “iPad 2″ headline, the headline was “iPad.” The old iPod “silhouette” billboards had headlines that seemed like novels in comparison — they said “iPod + iTunes.”

I don’t mean this as an indictment. It’s simply an observation. In fact, if I were so disposed, I could rationalize both ways of thinking.

Say no to headlines!
Apple makes things simple. What could be simpler than a beautiful image and a product name? Brevity is its own form of cleverness, and a minimal number of words makes Apple stand out even more from its complicated competitors. Apple has transcended the need to explain things. If you really want more words, there are plenty of them at apple.com.

You’re blowing a major opportunity — repeatedly.
Steve Jobs himself once told me that every single ad is an opportunity to build the brand. Every time you fail to do that, it’s an opportunity lost. Now Apple is missing what its smart headlines used to add, and therefore not connecting at the same level. Those headlines are what originally gave Apple its public personality — they put Apple in a class by itself. Is it too much to ask for a few clever words?

So what gives? Has Apple lost the ability to craft a good headline? Or does it truly believe that an image and a product name is the ultimate act of advertising minimalism, and therefore a perfect representation of the Apple brand?

One argument against the latter is that the most recent images Apple has given us don’t exactly come from the adrenaline-pumping school of photography. The current iPad 2 billboard (above), in which we see a side view of Mr. Fingers picking up an iPad, is about as sleepy as it gets.

So what do you think?

Personally, I miss the little smile that used to come with seeing a great Apple ad. I get that the products are cool-looking, and the visual reminder is helpful. But those three or four words that made you think, “Damn, those guys are good” really did add another dimension to the ads.

Clearly Steve Jobs came to believe that the headlines were no longer necessary. It will be interesting to see how Apple’s creative work evolves now that others have full responsibility.

advertising / apple / apple store / creative / observatory — 70 Comments
25
Jan 12

Ron Johnson tries the Apple magic at JCP

When Ron Johnson left Apple several months ago, there was an audible gasp from the Apple community.

After all, Ron was one of Steve Jobs’s most important hires — the man who created the Apple Stores from scratch and led their amazing growth. It’s not like that was his first gig, either. Before that, Ron was the guy who gave Target its cool.

So it was a big blow to Apple when Ron left after 11 stellar years. And it was a big wow for JCPenney when Ron signed on as their new CEO.

For many, Ron’s move was a disconnect. Why would someone jump from the world’s coolest retail store to a stodgy department store chain?

Well, you’re about to find out. Today is the day that Ron, after less than three months on the job, unveils his plans to turn JCPenney into … well, I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.

Ron’s big day starts out with a two-page ad in major papers (above). This is his Think different moment, where he puts forth the philosophy that will guide JCPenney under his leadership.

The details will be revealed during a series of presentations today in New York. But from firsthand experience, I can testify that when Ron talks about what makes a great shopping experience, you start believing.

Either a bit of that old distortion field rubbed off on him, or he really is a retail genius. I’m thinking the latter.

If it sounds like I’m a Ron fan, you’re absolutely right. Ron is a genuinely good guy with serious smarts and a ton of energy. I didn’t want to taint this story up front, but I’ve been sneaking about in the background helping Ron’s team — starting with today’s “In praise of fresh air” ad. (Design credit goes to Michael Rylander, who, by the way, runs a really cool design-centric blog.)

So now, after I’ve critiqued many other people’s ads here, I am ready to be judged. Just try to keep it civil, okay?

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