What’s going on Apple?

I am definitely not the first to complain about the ads but wow, they don’t capture the essence of what made them enjoyable.  When I watch the ads now, I feel like I am watching mid-90’s Apple commercials when Apple was in real trouble - they felt too corporate and just didn’t seem to relate. Sure, Apple devotees were in full support but even I, an Apple USER since 1978, could not stomach some of them.

Which of these do you like?  Be honest.  

I don’t know about you but the new ones aren’t registering with me and I’m an Apple user (Blackberry too :-))

DOOR #1

Me: {Meh} I don’t think we need celebrities in commercials Apple.  Scorcese should stick to directing.

DOOR #2:

Me: Geezus Murphy!  No…No….No!

DOOR #3:

Me: LOL.  About 60+ commercials made with these guys.  All hilarious and effective. 

DOOR #4:

Me:  BRILLIANT.  A personal favourite.

DOOR #5:

Me:  Available on Apple’s website at launch, this is the kind of stuff that IS “Apple”.  I don’t think variations of this appeared as actual TV commercials.  But solid explanations, emotional, with some good use-cases.  These product intros are one of the best packaged pieces of video content marketing I’ve seen online.

DOOR #6:

Me: Speechless.  Personal favourite.

Let’s be honest.  Apple has always acted as the underdog — IBM first. Windows next.  Apple is now a top dog and while they’ve delivered with insanely perfect execution from 1997-2011 (minus a few bad products like Cube, iMac Flower, iPod Shuffle tampon etc),  it hasn’t been a common place for them.  Jobs (and team) got there on a second reboot but the real test remains.  Is Apple able to operate in the same manner without Jobs with their “university” program.  Only time will tell us.

Ken Segall, Apple and NeXT ad man, has his own views about the commercials on his blog.  (Click for article)

“You don’t think these ads are a hoot? Some of the gags hit my funny bone.”

You’re scaring me. Stop talking like that. The point is that Apple has always had an intelligent wit. This campaign, not so much.

Related articles

• Apple Taps Martin Scorsese And His Eyebrows For The Latest Siri Commercial (techcrunch.com)
• The Guy Who Put The ‘i’ In ‘iMac’ Slams Apple’s New Mac Ads (AAPL) (businessinsider.com)
• The Top 10 Worst Apple Ads Of All Time [Feature] (cultofmac.com)
• The Brilliance of Apple’s New Commercials and How The User Base Just Doesn’t Get It (currenteditorials.com)
• Ad exec who named the iMac says Apple’s new Mac ads deserve ‘gagging response’ (bgr.com)