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See also my comment about the fear of microsoft article a few days ago.

That is what I have ALWAYS wanted to know. And when they do advertise something usually people have no idea who made it, or anything about the product they are advertising.

They've never advertised the G5 iMac on TV. Or the Mac mini for that matter. I don't get it.

Actually though, I think they should stay away from focusing on the hardware and advertise OS X. Microsoft has a TV campaign going on now for XP that's awful, but at least they've got the right idea.

I've got a Mac, most people who visit this site do also. I don't need anyone to advertise to me.

I agree they need more advertising, but I think they should wait until the Intel switch is in full swing and they have a viable alternative (including integrated spreadsheet) waiting in the wings to replace Office when MS pulls the plug.

I really agree with those who've said the Apple might have a clever strategy to move to Intel to get users to buy a box that can be dual booted to Win or OS X. Once they have that option, they can market that too and when people compare OS X with the piece of junk that Vista will turn out to be they tide will start to swing more rapidly.

I love the gratuitous crack about "insipid" Word documents.

i dont, im a poor high school senior who cant afford a mac yet, anyone wanna donate to the buy stephen an iMac fund?

apple needs to reach out to people. that is part of the reason they opened the retail stores...people go in to pick up an ipod, and see an iMac!

MDN magic word: began, as in "Apple began to advertise, and finally took over the electronics world"

I think they should pick a region of the US and advertise OS X there. Make sure the stores there have plenty of stock and advertise - get a whole bunch of people to start looking. Because it will be a small enough area, people will start to look into it together. People would say: "Hey, I saw that ad for the Mac, what is that about." Then, they might start talking about computers and in a group, that would be more tempting to walk into the Apple store and try it out. It's always easier in a group. Then, as more people get them, it will grow. I'm not saying that they should market everywhere at once, too much growth can be a bad thing, but just start pockets of it and manage the growth that way.

It was one year ago today that I made the "switch," and bought a G5 iMac. So that's been 365 days without spyware, adware, viruses, or the blue screen of death.

And I am NEVER going back!

Why Apple doesn't advertise the iMac or the Mini is beyond me. Of course if they did could they keep up with demand?

Once the Intel switch starts then you will see a lot of OS X and Mac advertising. Apple will start really stepping up mass-marketing of those products as they have with the iPod.

One of the problems Apple has had is getting enough supply of chips from IBM and Moto. Even if 5 times the amount of people wanted an iMac they probably could get one. At this point, advertizing won't help. Apple are probably selling all the Macs they can make without advertizing.

If they are assured of a plentiful supply of chips from Intel, then they can ramp up production in advance of increased demand as a result of new product and an advertizing blitz.

The ads will probably be quite simple. Something along the lines of:

Fast, cheap, safe (no viruses), stable (no crashes), cool (OS X and design), software (iLife etc). And did I mention COOL.

With the hype that iPod has generated, all Apple will need is a stylish case (which they already have done) and loads of screenshots.

But, and the big but is - will Intel come up with the goods on time and in volume. I still have my doubts.

I don't expect to see the big advertising campaign until the first intel iMac and iBook. I can only imagine how Apple will push that single change. Current Mac users may not like the intel switch. I don't mind at all.

Point is, you don't need to advertise a Mac to a Mac user - they are going to go to Apple.com anyway. However, when you can give a windows user that familiar “intel inside” feeling – the switch won’t feel like such a risk. It’s not.

Reading tea leaves: we might see an Apple office product to ease the switch as well?

Wait until the new intel line-up for an aggressive ad campaign.

Palmer

Refreshing as I usally do right before I post - looks like The Puppet Master beat me to "my" take.

Actually, Apple does have many print advertisements for Macs and OS X, but not television ads. In fact, the last TV ad for a Mac that I remember was the "there is no third step" ads for the original iMacs.

FINALLY, SOMEONE SAID IT!!!!!!!!

STEVE, FOR GOD'S SAKE WOULD YOU ADVERTISE THE MAC????

ESPECIALLY AT THIS RIGHT TIME OF APPLE POPULARITY AND THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW IMAC!!!!!

Anyone know Tauk tours? For many years they made it big as a word of mouth travel company-- catering to high-end (usually older) people who wanted to have a travel experience, but not the hassle. They have grown very, very large. many companies do this, but most of us lead lives that never cross their paths.

Apple is either a large comapny failing to make it bigger (from lack of advertising), or a small comapny making it huge (because people DO pass the message on).

For me, the interesting thing is whether word of mouth can take over an industry...?

You guys don't get it. These days advertising has nothing or little to do with actual products. Large publicity firms such as he one Apple has had for years (TBWA/Chiat/Day) don't sell products, they sell "experience" or some other crap like this. Just look at car ads, they show you what a great feeling it is to drive this car rather than the car specs. It's the same with soap, shampoo ot any other products. Under Steve jobs, Apple has a long history of ad campaing having nothing to do with hardware (remember the Think Different ad : Here's for the cazy one, the misfits...). These ads are cool, aren't they Steve ?

That's too bad because people who don't use Macs still believe all the myths about Macs not being compatible with Windows, costing more, having no software, etc. Apple's ads may be cool but I don't think that a lot of people desperately in need for a good compting experience are willing to throw everything they know (i.e. Wintel) and try something new just because "these ads are so freaking cool !"

We Macs users take a lot of things for granted while 95% of computer users still believe that owning a Mac is being isolated from the world. Unless Apple starts telling potential buyers the truth cool ads will just be that: cool ads.

Hopefully some people going in Apple Stores to buy an iPod will take a look at the iMac G5 or the Mac mini and see that they are not just hype products and, yes, you can send an email to a Windows user with a Macintosh.

Apple doesnt need to advertise. They need to manufacture more hardware to keep up with current demand.

Indeed, why?

when SJ first took the CEO position at apple in 97 he said something along the lines of: 'We've been spending 100 million a year on advertising and not getting results. We're going to keep spending 100 mill a year and do it right' who knew he meant not at all=right?

MW table. As in Apple please put some mac advertising on the table

"Once the Intel switch starts then you will see a lot of OS X and Mac advertising. Apple will start really stepping up mass-marketing of those products as they have with the iPod."

It's about time somebody said it!

Apple is just entering the Intel-switch curve. Now is NOT the time to make a major pitch to the other side. Want to turn off PC users? Make them give up their current software investment, only to come back in a year or two & say they could've kept their old apps anyway. The last thing Apple needs is new switchers thinking they got screwed.

Current Mac users & the Halo Effect will carry things well enough until the Intel transition has stabilized a little. Then Apple can open the flood gates.

I don't think Apple has the infrastructure to meet demand. It has nothing to do with fearing MS or anything similar. I believe they're waiting to make the transition to Intel to begin the marketing campaign. Why market a product that's only going to be phased out in a couple of years. The Pro market is another thing and I think Apple will continue to provided support and maybe a few new products. But for the most part PPC is dead to Apple. I think the coming year will prove to be a very successful and reveling year.

Give me 24 hours as CEO. That all I need.

Q; Why in Jobs' name doesn't Apple advertise the Macintosh?

A: Stealth.

Apple is making really good money while perfecting an operating system that has a stable history and no blatantly inherent design deficiencies. Purchasing NeXT was a long-term investment for Apple.*

OS X was first adopted by the alpha geeks. Then teens and tweens. college kids and creative pros. Now it's sneaking into server rooms. Next will be living rooms.

Apple will continue widening the functionality, security and reliability gaps between OS X and Windows. But Apple will let mediocre thought continue with ideas like "Apple has great marketing, but Macs are not real computers" and much of the other FUD aimed at those that do not think for themselves. Although mediocre thought is slow, it is dangerous when threatened. Apple is wise to shrink it to it's core before waking it up.

And by the time mediocre thought and MS's major stake-holders notice what's going on, it will be too late. The gap will be too wide. Then you can show the fools what they've been missing.

*It may be more accurate to say "getting Apple to purchase NeXT was a long-term strategic move for Steve."

It must be awful to be an Apple marketing exec. Best product in the world, but every time you sneak out a new product (how cheap is a Jobs RDF stage show in PR terms), you have huge difficulty in meeting demand. Stock control is pretty impeccable: the best evidence of a coming hardware upgrade is a drying up of the channel.

I suspect that the real worst fear in Infinite Loop is of effectively tapping that latent demand which all we Mac fans (and they as well) believe to be there. They don't advertise because they know couldn't meet demand if it were to double or triple, rather merely go up by about 50% as it did last year.

TomCS

"That's too bad because people who don't use Macs still believe all the myths about Macs not being compatible with Windows"

Thats what the Switch ads were for, and despite all the endless drivel about them not being successful, they really were. I know, trust me.
Just because they didn't double marketshare overnight doesn't mean that they were ineffective. Slowly, people are starting to see through the myths. The ones who can't shouldn't be using a Mac anyway.

Apple is the iPod company. Computers are a legacy product.

Apple has one of the strongest marketing dept. of any company out there. And if they choose not to advertise the Mac, then there must be a reason. Although I do see OS X ads in magazines. Perhaps they reason why they don't have tv ads for Mac is because they're ineffective. Getting a PC user to switch is no 30 sec feat. The best way to get them to switch is by educating them. So would all my fellow mac user STOP COMPLAINING AND START PREACHING!!!

Apple sells, what, about 4-5 million computers a year. Its US market share is growing, but still less than 5%. In the rest of the world, it's lower.

The bulk of those sales are to current Apple users. No bang for your advertising buck there. The purpose of an ad campaign should be to attact new users. Everyone no doubt agrees on that one.

Any advertising campaign would be specific to a particular market or culture. In other words, US ads won't play well in Asia.

Suppose 100 million bucks in TV ads in the US brings in another half-million new (i.e. current Windows-users) customers. $200 for each new customer is pretty steep.

Meanwhile, the iPod is getting the Apple brand into the hands of millions of Windows users, and this happens profitably. It's better than free marketing--its marketing that the customers actually pay Apple for.

If just 5% of Windows iPod users buy an Apple computer, market share steadily increases, as is happening now. 5% intending to purchase is hands down better than any results a TV campaign could bring.

Add to that the way which Apple is creating buzz--in Time magazine cover stories, with stage-managed announcements, with media and computer-industry buzz (even PC World is endorsing its products now--whoda thunkit?) and you can see that Apple has carefully, relentlessly, played its marketing cards, they've just used innovative new methods of doing it.

Innovative...of course, how did we miss it? Paying big bucks for traditional TV spots seems so...yesterday. And it has such poor ROI. Don't we all think traditional TV is dying anyway?

Someday, I want to own a company so clever it gets its huge marketing for free. But I'll have to wait until the stock price dips a bit, $55 is too high for me right now.

MW = results, as in, duh!

When vista comes out the gap will be much smaller between mac os and windows (still huge though ) but people will probably be happy with windows for another 5-10 years. Apple blew it by not advertising mac os x when the gap was at its largest, really stupid!

What really confuses me is that Apple even went so far as to MAKE ads advertising OS X... and then never ran them!

http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/movies.html

That site has some limited bandwidth issues, but the videos are titled:
"Touching", "Junk Mail", "Find yourself", and "Xpress yourself". They are for Jaguar, and half decent, but apparently never released.

Perhaps they were found to be not good enough quality? Or someone pulled the plug at the last minute?

Regardless, it would be nice to see some new Apple ads of the quality of the older ones. Whatever happened to ads like the "Think Different" ad?

MDN MW: "Group", as in Apple has a chance to bring in a whole new group of people!

Advertising takes many forms beyond straight TV ads (such as the iPod ads). Public TV viewers must have certainly noticed that Apple was the corporate underwriter for the Bob Dylan two-part Martin Scorsese film, "No Way Home."

Ever notice how often Powerbooks appear onscreen in the hippest TV shows? Maybe Larry David's TV wife in "Curb Your Enthusiasm" uses a Powerbook because it's in the script -- or it could be a strategic "product placement." Same for the uber-trendy HBO series "Entourage." You can tell which agency employee has the most juice by the type of Mac on their desk.

While not purely advertising, the Apple Stores in malls and campus bookstores across America are giving millions of folks a good dose of the brand image along with some up-close & personal interaction with the people and products of Apple. And the website, with all the special areas for Pro, education, etc. is excellent.

I don't think the Prius has ever been advertised on TV -- Toyota ran print ads in Wired for years -- yet the car has generated tremendous media buzz and consumer demand. I have a hunch that Apple also has a savvy marketing plan in place for G5s that includes "earned media," product placement, catalog co-op advertising and the like.

I thought the only reason that the Macs aren't selling like Microsoft does is because Microsoft sells a low system that students can buy just for word proccessing and going online. The eMac would be a great student computer, but it doesn't have the impressively awful flat screen that comes with a Microsoft computer.

If Mac wanted all the normal house computer people to use their system they need to change the eMac and make it more appealing.

~Caleb strikes again!

I think the ipod is the best advertising for the mac possible, but advertising is very tricky business and I won't even try to second guess or offer advice to Steve Jobs. I suggest you relax and do the same.

they get free advertising like this every day. Even Fox news wrote a recent article about the video iPod...

I see Apple on TV all the time:

* as the corporate underwriter of Martin Scorcese's Public TV film about Bob Dylan, "No Direction Home."

* in the homes and office of characters in HBO's top series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Entourage."

* on the news whenever Steve Jobs appears

Product placement, earned media, name ID association with excellence in music -- combined with the high tech/high touch Apple Stores and catalog co-op ads. Sounds like a marketing plan to me....

Remember, the Prius isn't advertised on TV either, yet the media buzz, popularity and consumer demand is intense. For some products, it takes a softer touch.

From Apple's own website on their .Mac page...

"How revolutionary is an idea if you don't tell others?"

They don't advertise any computers,(last one I saw was the iMac FP) only iPods. Then when they do they ONLY and I mean ONLY sell to the "liberal loft crowd" and "gang banger city kids" Never to John midwest. "F" the cool kiddy gang crap and do a 30 - 60 sec high class showpiece showing quick close-ups of program workings to entice EVERYONE. The liberal loft crowd ads insults my intelligence and I am a dumb ass. So there. That's how bad I think their marketing is.

We really shouldn't question Apple's advertising methods. Any company that can lose 90% of its market share, since it was neck and neck with the ibm pc platform in the late 80's, while producing superior products, doesn't need anyone's help.

Apple doesn't advertise on TV because you can't sell a Mac to the TV crowd. They see a $250 Dell with higher clockspeed, and they're going to become experts in computers and tell their friends that Macs suck.


Once the Mac mini hits 2.0+ GHz, get ready for the media deluge.

Er, by "imminently" did he mean "eminently"?

there are three elements of advertising: find your target market, aim, fire. if most of the lack of advertising angst comes from the lack of tv advertising, then the people who are complaining are watching the wrong programs. you say you have a mac and want to see more mac advertising on what you are watching? if the chiat folks are doing there job, you mac owners shouldn't see mac ads. it must be working.

agree totally that advertising is about building brand. apple has enhanced and broadened its brand with ipod advertising in print, espn and mtv. advertising is supposed to be hypnotic. youwillbuyamacyouwillbuyamac. not the over the top crap you usually see. get the nonmac folks getting the brand message with the ipod then lead them by the nose from there.

i see apple's advertising as more on than off target. this approach is the only way since they lost the battle for the desktop. the strategy is to put the desktop in your rear view mirror and win the war. building brand with macs at this time is folly. i'm guessing they are trying to define the mac as something other than a desktop device or will be renaming it the johnpaulgeorgeringo media appliance (with a click wheel remote of course).

MW: Problem. if Apple advertised the Mac, people might buy more Macs and MDN might have to reinvent itself.

I think we'll see ads later in 2006, when Jobs is ready. He'll get more bang for the bucks then. Stay the course, Stevie.

Microsoft quarterly profit rises 24% to US$3.14 Billion!!! And that's just software!!!

Tra-la-la, La-la, La-la...

Mac fanboys, keep the flame... as you slowly drift off to irrelevance...

(33% of sales due to iPods - definitely an iPod manufacturer that happens to sell expensive computers)

Evinrude outboard motors made an infomercial about 1-2 years ago that made me want to go out and buy one. Granted it was 15+ mins long. The ad agency that did that hit it out of the park.( I even e-mail some Apple executives that I found their e-mail. I really needed Steve's email address) I can bet you no NY liberal loft crowd agency worked on that one. I still want to buy a $12,000 outboard today because of that commercial and I don't even own a boat. Demonstrations on how their product worked , tested it against a Yamaha outboard right beside it on a twin motored hull. Close ups, high quality camera work and clean and clear information on why they think they have the best motor. Good writing, lighting and camera work and most of all, YOU SAW IT RUNNING AND PERFORMING!!! The loft crowd and city kid gang bangers already know how cool and good iPods are. Show Joe Average the other 75 % of the market that thinks an Apple is a fruit or is just a glorified Apple II

Mac Jack
Why yes, I did mean eminently. Thanks for the catch.

1) Historically, Apple has had a difficult time with having adequate inventory. Even now plenty of Macs are being sold. If suddenly and additional 3% of the market demanded Macs, I'm not sure Apple could supply them.

2) They don't need to. The computers are selling.

3) Why? This is not some competition between Apple and Microsoft. The battle over OSs was fought years ago and Apple lost. However, Apple is still making money and is still around to inovate and create cool computers. We don't need to have 50% of the sales.

Yep, you are right Mark. The China computer maker who makes Apple's computer would have to build a couple new factories to keep up to the demand if Apple would start to sell 3-4 % more computers

Dude... We the zealots are the advertising... everytime we tell someone about how Macs are better, it's like we're selling Quarter cutting knives or space station tupperware...

Oh yeah... we're free also...

Mac marketshare compared to PC's was never greater than 20%, if that. When sjobs came back from NeXT, wasn't it 7%?

Hey Evil...

Shouldn't you go and use an iRiver?