Apple NewsFlow 2.0

Apple: Time to Drop Anti-PC Sarcasm from TV Ads

This article first appeared October 27, 2009 in ReadWriteWeb.

I always looked forward to seeing new "I'm a Mac - I'm a PC" ads on television. As a long-time Mac fan and as a marketing pro, I really admired these spots. They were smart and edgy, yet friendly. They were fun. They differentiated Macs from PCs. From a marketing perspective, they were appropriate to Apple's David fighting Microsoft's Goliath. And they worked really well, perhaps better than any mass-market technology product ads.

Now I wince every time I see a new one, hoping its smug attitude and condescending tone doesn't go too far.

I also relished how Apple's spots unhinged Microsoft, prompting the Goliath to produce its own, usually inept, TV ads that broke a major rule of marketing: never appear reactive to a smaller competitor. Microsoft's PC ads and the flurry of Ballmer-isms that accompanied them, all on the heels of the Windows Vista catastrophe, actually seemed to reinforce Apple's point.

But what has worked for Apple over the last three years doesn't seem to work as well now. Call it a psychographic observation, but the theme is getting tired, and the emotional impact of the ads has shifted. The superior, mocking tone of the ads sometimes goes too far, especially now as the new Windows 7 is being well received. Don't get me wrong. I'm a born-and-raised New Yorker. I like sarcasm. But for me, edgy has gone over the edge in some of these ads.

Do we Mac users tend to feel superior? Of course. We know we enjoy the world's most elegant operating system. But when a Mac evangelist like me starts feeling mildly apologetic about these spots and empathizing with the PC guy, something is amiss.

Does Apple's research show that prospective Mac customers, the intended audience, still like these ads? I assume so. But perhaps Microsoft's jab at Apple in its TV ads earlier this year (the one in which PC buyer Lauren says, "Maybe I'm not cool enough" to be a Mac person) was accurate, signaling that Apple's approach borders on arrogance, especially as it gains ever greater market share.

While Mac's market share still pales in comparison to Windows, Apple is no longer a David. With its omnipresent retail stores, the iconic iPod and the runaway popularity of the iPhone, Apple is a real and perceived leader. It has a market cap of over $170 billion and more cash than Cisco or Microsoft. Its TV ads, its recent mishandling of App Store developer issues and criticism from prominent tech journalists show that the Apple perception machine is showing cracks. The company is starting to appear arrogant.

To its credit, Apple's iPhone television ads are clean and crisp, relaying useful features and the latest apps. And not all of the Mac-PC ads are disdainful. The recent one with actor Robert Loggia as PC's trainer is fun. But the spot portraying a top-of-the-line PC model as a semi-sleazy sales guy? That's when I cringe. The new spots reacting to Windows 7? Not so bad, but they still rely too much on criticizing Microsoft. There's a difference between conveying product superiority and having a superior attitude.

For this Mac fan, these ads are past their peak. They were great fun for a while. But it's time to shift the tone or move on. Certainly Apple's creative teams can come up with a follow-up act that is informative, entertaining and edgy, without sounding smug. Otherwise, Apple runs the risk of (gasp!) emulating Microsoft.

Opinion: Apple Tablet Expectations Too High

This article originally appeared on TheStreet.com.

 

At Apple Investor News we track all the Apple newsflow, and it’s clear the media hype, fanboy blog rumors and analyst chatter about an impending Apple tablet is fast approaching the anticipation that preceded the iPhone. Once it is officially announced (early 2010?), the hype will then kick into the stratosphere.

 

I think the expectations for the iTablet are running too high, especially with investors who seem to be inferring a potential iPhone-like sales hit. Here’s why that will not happen.

 

Tablet PCs have been around for a decade and have never been more than a small niche seller for users with specialized needs. For that targeted audience, tablets are a laptop alternative, not a separate product category.

 

Herein lies the key question that will determine the potential success of this product: Will the iTablet be a product that a user would buy in addition to a laptop?

 

Like most users, I need a laptop either as my sole computer or as a second computer to do real work (writing, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.) on the road. I also need a smartphone for voice and email checks. For me, both products happen to be from Apple.

 

So if Apple produces a tablet product that turns out to be a winner, I would certainly buy it -- but only as a replacement for my laptop, not in addition to it.

 

This assumes it has full Mac OS functionality and at least a 10-inch screen. But if the tablet turns out to be just a larger iPod Touch or iPhone, it would not be a laptop alternative and therefore not a viable purchase for me and, I suspect, for many others.

 

So there’s Apple’s challenge: make a Tablet Mac and you risk cannabilizing existing Mac laptop sales; make a larger screen iPhone or Touch, and you’re asking people to buy a third device that would duplicate, albeit in grander fashion, the functionality they already have in their existing, but must-have, laptop and iPhone (or Touch).

 

Then there’s the potential that this product will have built-in 3G service, which creates another hurdle: asking people, who probably already own or will soon buy an iPhone, to pay additional wireless service fees. This is not something I want or need.

 

And what if, as the latest rumors indicate, the iTablet is designed as an e-book reader (an alternative to the Amazon Kindle and others), but with the added functions of web browsing, email and the array of apps available though the iTunes Store? Could Apple break open this exciting and growing market and do for books what iPod-iTunes did for music? If anyone can accomplish this, it’s Apple. But I don’t think lightning will strike twice. Once again, this could be a great product, but not a must-have product.

 

(FYI: Electronics analyst firm iSuppli estimates 3.5 million e-readers will be sold worldwide in 2009.)

 

Apple enjoys an enormous amount of press, blog and analyst coverage. This is a blessing any company would envy. But sometimes it can be a curse, when expectations run too high, and each product announcement is expected to include an iPod- or iPhone-like hit. Such could be the case with the Apple Tablet.

 

So my prediction: Apple will indeed create a fabulous tablet device that will sell quite well. It will provide a strong incremental boost to Apple’s existing portable line, not so shabby when you consider the Mac’s growing market share and popularity of the MacBook and MacBook Pro line. But it will not be a mega-seller like the iPhone or iPod.

 

Whenever this “disappointing” news becomes apparent to the market, use it as a buying opportunity for a stock that, regardless of its tablet sales, is firing on all cylinders for its core product categories.

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Full disclosure: Frank Cioffi is long on AAPL.