Filip Brož Probably no ad caused as much of a stir not only in the marketing field as the spot presenting the advent of the Macintosh computer in 1984. The Orwellian film was shot by the famous director Riddley Scott, and the iconic ad needed only one broadcast during the Super Bowl game to become famous.
It's clear that Apple ads have evolved a lot since then, but it's worth mentioning that even before this famous spot, Apple wasn't doing badly at all in the advertising field. Apple's marketing history is more than rich and nowadays very inspiring.
However, the famous Macintosh ad, featuring a big brother who speaks to docile people in the spot, similar to Orwell's book during two minutes of hate, almost did not air. The director of Apple at the time, John Sculley, did not like the story, he thought it was too radical and far-fetched. However, Steve Jobs finally pushed through the ad when he convinced the entire board of directors that the company desperately needed a similar ad.
During the Jobs era at Apple, the best and most successful campaigns were created, although the co-founder of the company was definitely not the only person behind them. The advertising agency Chiat/Day (later TBWAChiatDay), which has worked with Apple for more than thirty years, also has a significant share in the largest projects.
Apple's advertising history can be divided into four periods: during the Steve Jobs era, during his absence, after his return, and today. Just such a division demonstrates the influence Jobs had on the management of the entire company, including marketing. When John Sculley or Gil Amelio took the helm after his forced departure, they didn't come up with any publicity stunts, but rather rode on previous successes.
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The beginnings of Apple
The California company was established on April 1, 1976 and first ad on Apple saw the light of day a year later. She presented the possibilities and uses of the Apple II computer. In the very first commercial, several elements appeared that form the core of advertising spots even today - specific people, practical uses and slogans containing a clear message why every person needs a computer from Apple.
This ad was followed in 1981 by an entire campaign for the Apple II starring a TV personality Dick Cavett. In individual spots, he showed what can be done with the Apple II, what it can be good for, i.e. how to write and edit texts, how to use the keyboard and the like. Even this big campaign does not lack an element that Apple still uses a lot today - the use of well-known personalities. The highlight was the 1983 Apple Lisa commercial, where she had a minor role also edited by a young Kevin Costner.
However, Apple also worked on thematic spots, where it connected its products not only with famous personalities, but also with sports and other areas of interest, for example. Ads were created with basketball or clarinet.
In 1984 came the already mentioned advertising revolution introduced by Riddley Scott. The large-budget advertisement, costing around a million dollars, which depicts the revolt against the totalitarianism of the Orwellian world from the novel 1984, was interpreted by people as a metaphor for the revolt against the then computer giant IBM, among other things. Steve Jobs compared advertising to fighting Big Brother. The ad was a huge success and won more than forty prestigious awards, including the Cannes Grand Prix.
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This commercial was followed by another series of commercials on Macintosh, where people destroy in a fit of anger and aggression shotgun whether chainsaw broken and unresponsive classic computers. Apple targeted users' general frustration with computers that didn't work or respond as they should. During the eighties, emotional expressions and specific stories also appeared more and more in apple advertisements.
Ads without Jobs
In 1985, Jobs leaves Apple and former Pepsi president John Sculley takes over. Advertisements created during the eighties and early nineties are generally very similar and rely on the concepts described above.
The commercial with the young actress is worth mentioning Andrea Barberova on Apple II. After the departure of Jobs, the Californian company continued to bet on the older Apple II in addition to the newer Lisa and Macintosh computers. The number of advertisements created thus plays precisely in favor of the successful computer, created in particular by Steve Wozniak. And it's no wonder, since the Apple II generated the company's biggest profits for many years. In total, more than a hundred spots were created in the eighties.
At the beginning of the nineties, advertisements were created mainly for the former PowerBooks, computers Performa or series of advertisements on Apple newton. Jobs returns to Apple in 1996 and immediately establishes a strict regime. Among other things, the unsuccessful Newton and many other products such as Cyberdog or OpenDoc are ending.
Think differently
In 1997, another important advertising campaign was created, which was indelibly written in the company's history. with the slogan "Think Different". Apple, once again led by Steve Jobs, showed how you can build a very effective advertisement on important personalities without the main thing, the company itself, falling into them. In addition, the slogan "Think Different" appeared not only on screens, but also on large billboards and other places outside of television.
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The impact of the campaign was huge, and it was another slight dig from Apple at the giant IBM, which came out with its own "THINK" campaign.
At the end of the 1990s, another new campaign was launched, led by the colorful iMac and iBook computers. Above all, it is necessary to mention advertising on colorful iMacs, which launched on January 7, 1999 at the traditional Macworld in San Francisco. Here, Apple showed another effective concept of its ads – connecting products with a catchy song or an existing hit.
For the first time, there were also advertisements for Apple applications, for example on iMovie. In total, Apple produced exactly 149 commercials in the XNUMXs.
The reign of the iPod
In 2001, Apple introduces the legendary iPod, and that's how it was born first ad for this player. Note that the main character, after putting on the headphones, begins to dance, performing the moves that became the basis for the successful silhouette iPod campaign.
However, she appeared before that a series of Switch spots, where different people and personalities explain why they decided to change the ecosystem. It also follows very great advertisement for the iMac with a lamp, which is filmed behind a person like a sunflower behind the sun's rays.
In 2003, the already mentioned iPod and iTunes campaign arrives, in which people in the form of silhouettes dance to the accompaniment of some hit song. At first glance, the audience is attracted by the white headphones, which will later become a symbol on the street as well. Because the equation worked: whoever wears white headphones has an iPod with thousands of songs in his pocket. Among the most popular ads in this campaign is certainly a hit from the group Daft Punk "Technological".
Get a mac
The rivalry between Apple and the PC has always been there and probably always will be. Apple aptly portrayed these petty disputes and frog wars in a marketing campaign aptly named "Get a Mac" (Get a Mac). It was created by the TBWAMedia Arts Lab agency and won several prestigious awards for it in 2007.
"Get a Mac" eventually spawned several dozen clips that always followed the same pattern. On a white background, two men stood facing each other, one young in casual clothes and the other older in a suit. Justin Long in the role of the former always introduced himself as Mac ("Hello, I am a Mac") and John Hodgman in the role of rainbow as PC ("And I'm a PC"). A short skit followed, where the PC presented how it was having trouble with certain tasks, and the Mac showed how easy it was for him.
The humorous skits, usually dealing with banal computer problems, were well received and contributed to the increased interest in Macs as such.
The iPhone comes on the scene
In 2007, Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone, and thus a whole new wave of advertising spots is launched. Brown first ad she is more than happy when the filmmakers cut famous films into half a minute, in which the actors pick up the receiver and say "Hello". The ad premiered during the 2007 Academy Awards.
More and more iPhone, MacBook and iMac ads follow. In 2009, for example, an imaginative spot on iPhone 3GS, where a thief was checking out a heavily guarded new model and an Apple employee almost catches him in the act.
Apple's commercials often feature motifs of mini-stories as well as emotion and humor. Your own campaign the Beatles, for example, earned the moment it hit iTunes in 2010. In the same year, Apple introduced the iPhone 4 and the first generation iPad.
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One of the more successful was the Christmas ad for the iPhone 4 and the FaceTime feature, when you father played Santa Claus and communicated with his son via video. She succeeded too the first iPad ad, which shows what can be done with it and how it can be used.
A year later, the iPhone 4S arrives and with it the voice assistant Siri, which Apple has been promoting continuously since then. He often uses well-known personalities for this, whether they are acting stars or athletes. In one you in 2012 played, for example, by the famous director Martin Scorsese.
In the same year, Apple in another spot showed, as he created new EarPods for iPhones that fit in each ear. However, he caught the criticism for a not-so-successful campaign with Geniuses, specialized technicians in Apple Stores, which the company terminated very soon.
At the end of 2013, however, Apple was able to create an advertisement again, which resonated significantly in the company. Christmas mini-story about a "misunderstood" boy who ends up surprising his whole family with a touching video, even won an Emmy Award in the "exceptional ads" category.
In general, in recent years there have been advertising campaigns for all kinds of Apple products, which always use some of the strategies mentioned above. Traditionally in Cupertino, they bet on very simple processing that highlights what is needed, and also on well-known personalities that will help spread enlightenment to all corners of society.
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But it's not all about celebrities and athletes. Often, Apple also borrows the stories of ordinary people, in which they demonstrate how apple products help them in their daily activities, or touch their feelings. At the same time, in recent years, he has drawn more and more attention to his efforts in the health sector, the environment, and has also shown several stories of disabled people.
We can expect just such a more humanitarian focus in the future, not only in advertisements, but in the overall activity of the Californian giant, which is constantly expanding its reach. We can only speculate whether he will be able to come up with a groundbreaking campaign like "Think Different" or the Orwellian "1984" again, but it is clear that Apple is already indelibly written in the marketing textbooks with several actions.
