Honestly, I never thought I’d hear today’s version of Apple say such a thing: “We missed the mark with this video and we’re sorry.”
Then again, the natives don’t usually show up at Apple’s door, pitchforks in hand. However forced the apology might have been, kudos to Apple for respecting customers enough to admit its error.
That said, given that Apple “missed the mark” by a few light years, it’s fair to ask: How the hell could this even happen in the first place?
Continue reading…
Two days before Super Bowl LVIII, The New York Times reminded us that it‘s been forty years since Apple made advertising history with the 1984 Super Bowl ad introducing Macintosh.
This year also marks a related milestone—it is the twenty-fifth anniversary of Apple’s last Super Bowl appearance, built around the menacing computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey. By no means was Apple’s HAL a 1984-sized triumph, but neither was it a Lemmings-sized disaster. It was a spot that Steve Jobs was very much proud of, and had no regrets spending millions to run on the Super Bowl.
With the Big Game’s thrills still hanging in the air, I thought this was a good time to re-publish the story I wrote seven years ago. It’s the story of Apple’s HAL, from start to finish, and a bit beyond. If you have the time—and trust me, you’ll need it—it’s a fun bit of Apple history. Enjoy!
Continue reading…
Welcome to the first book review I’ve ever written. Likely, it will also be my last. Not my thing, really.
Today I am moved to masquerade as a critic only because I finished my final reading of Drawn, by illustrator Craig Frazier, and I’m in awe. I say “final reading” because I probably have at least twenty readings under my belt by now. I was the editor.
I assure you, this does not make me a biased reviewer. I’m a believer in truth (see my tagline above), and I’d be very bad at faking enthusiasm.
I first met Craig when I approached him about creating the cover design for my book, Think Simple. I had already been smitten by his “visual wit” and delightfully odd way of looking at the world. There was always something “off” in his illustrations that demanded further inspection.
Continue reading…
You never knew exactly how Steve Jobs would react when you presented a new idea. The only thing you could count on was his brutal honesty.
But, even if he rejected the work, all was not lost. It was simply part of the process. Steve knew that creative work is often iterative, so we’d keep at it until we arrived at a place we all loved. It was a process that actually deepened our relationship over time.
That said, one meeting is seared into my brain because Steve made a particularly biting comment. Not seeing anything he liked in a range of work, he said, “Oh, so you put the B-team on this one.”
Ouch.
In those few words, he questioned how seriously we took the assignment, not to mention our ability to see the difference between “great” and “good enough.” Message received loud and clear. An error in judgment never repeated.
This memory came to the fore because that’s exactly how Apple’s Halloween Eve event made me feel—like the assignment had been relegated to the B-team.
Continue reading…
Okay, it took me forever, but I finally got around to watching the 2023 iPhone event.
Why so long? It’s all Apple’s fault. The more they announce new products in these prepackaged events, the less I feel like watching.
My viewing did not change my opinion of virtual presentations. Instead, in an odd way, it got me thinking about the power of AI. Not that Apple used AI. to generate the script—rather that AI could have written the script, and few would have noticed.
That’s because what Apple is doing is exactly what AI is so good at. They’re writing a script based on the show before. And the one before that. And the one before that. They’re stuck in a loop where a parade of presenters describe new products, minus any emotional connection.
ChatGBT wouldn’t break a sweat pulling that together.
Continue reading…
Blue robotic eye, vertical, isolated