Apple’s wonderful series of ads

Buying a computer falls under the major sale category, which means:

• There is more than one decision maker
• There is significant financial/emotional investment on the part of the buyer
• The purchase warrants significant time and research into alternatives
• There is the potential of a long-term relationship between you and your customer
• The consequences of making a purchasing mistake are high.

By running a series of clever ads, Apple is showcasing their “solution” to computer users “problems”.

Each television ad features two male actors. (Click on the image below to go to the web page for the campaign.) The actor on the left represents PCs while the actor on the right represents Mac computers. While I’ve been amused by the campaign for quite some time, the ad jumped because my daughter, who just graduated from high school and is 8 weeks away from starting college, saw one of the ad as she was watching television this morning. Upon seeing the ad, called “Out of the box”, my daughter announced that she wanted a Mac.

I could be hurt. After all, we’ve had at least one PC in the house since she was 7. Right now we have four pcs, three of which are laptops. I’ll admit, I had visions of her taking one of the laptops with her to college instead of adding yet another item to the ever growing list of “college necessities”.

But once I pushed my feelings aside, I realized how pursuasive those darned Mac ads are and how well they address the “problems” of the average computer buyer and how effectively they planted those seeds… one ad at a time.

• “Out of the box” tackles the “problem” of setting up your new computer after purchase. “

• “Touche” tackles the “problem” of purchasing all new software because everything you have runs on PCs not Macs.

• “Work vs Home” tackles the “issue” of why most people actually buy a computer. Most people buy a computer to play music, work with pictures and edit home movies, etc.

Lessons to learn from the Apple Campaign:

1. Identify the problems:
   Apple not only identified the “problem” their potential customers had in purchasing a Mac over a PC, but they also identified the “problems” their potential customer is now having since they purchased a PC.  Oh, and they over came a HUGE one which was allowing Macs to run MS Office applications.
2. Illustrate the solutions :
   Apple illustrates their solutions through the catchy television spot.
3. Recognize that this is a major sale:
   Apple doesn’t try to overwhelm you with the catchy television spots.  They don’t barrage you with information.  Each spot as a “focus”.  Want to learn more?  Type Apple Advertising into Google and there’s the web page with ALL the information you might need to make the leap in a nice, easy to access form.
4. Recognize the best use of each media:
   Television is a good “introduction” medium, but Apple uses the website for those who want more information.    Instead of trying to use one 30 second spot to illustrate ALL the advantages of purchasing a Mac, they focus on just one per ad.  If you want to know more, visit the website.  The old “one-two punch”.

The thing is, Apple really has done a GREAT job of identifying the “downs” of PC ownership in those ads.  Gee… after watching the ads and reading the web site copy, maybe my daughter’s computer for college will be a Mac.