User 324271

Recession Presents Challenge to Apple's Mac That Competes on Features, Not Price

How the hell is this at all related to this article?


On Dec 22 11:42 AM Roger Knights wrote:

> Here are a few ad-ideas I've had that would remind consumers of the
> Mac's benefits in a memorable, entertaining way. (Apple's print ads
> have been fairly unremarkable and ineffective):
>
> 1. A big picture of an apple with a bite out of it and a smile on
> its “face.”
>
> 2. A caption beneath it: "Keep the Doctor Away"
>
> 3. A small picture, off to the lower right, in black and white of
> a PC monitor with a non-smiley face and X's for eyes. A puzzled,
> goofy-looking doctor in a white coat stands alongside applying a
> stethoscope to its side.
>
> ================
>
> 1. A drawing of a balance scale. On the right-hand pan is a smiling,
> stylized (bitten) apple. On the left-hand pan, decisively outweighed,
> is a small “hill of beans.” (I.e., the thing that matters to bean-counters.)
>
>
> 2. The caption: "Weighed and Found Worthy." This implies that persons
> who count only beans (price) are overlooking the bottom line (which
> pan has the most weight).
>
> 3. (Optional): Testimonials from large businesses that have switched
> to the Mac (like Der Spiegel) on the basis of benefits to their bottom
> line, when all things are accounted for.
>
> I think these ads are as good as the classic minimalistic Volkswagen
> ads from the 1960s. (E.g., “Think Small” and “Lemon.”)
> ================
>
> Here's an idea for an animated cartoon that could be 30-second TV
> spot for the next Superbowl. The artwork would be Simpson’s-like,
> especially the first view from above, which would resemble, in style,
> aerial views of “Springfield.”
>
> 1. An isolated medieval-style circular tower, surrounded by a small,
> shallow moat. A small white pennant with four color-quadrants (i.e.,
> the Windows icon-flag) flutters from its top. It has a window about
> a dozen feet high, with a 2-by-4-type crossbar holding it shut from
> the outside.
>
> 2. A medieval-style princess (in a pointed hat with a gauzy trailer)
> sits in her room, which is dark and gloomy, with cobwebs and roaches
> (bugs) on the floor. She is squinting at the window, which is heavily
> coated with grime, and trying to paint the trees outside.
>
> 3. She spies a mammoth approaching the moat, lowering his trunk into
> it, and drinking. She quickly paints “Wash Me” on the back of her
> canvas and places it in the window.
>
> 4. The elephant notices the sign and gives the window a mighty squirt,
> cleaning it. The princess removes the sign and gives him a smile
> and/or a wave and points to the crossbar. The elephant, with the
> “fingertips” of his trunk, then lifts out the crossbar and drops
> it. The princess swings open the window and stretches out her arms.
> The elephant wraps his trunk around her waist and lifts her out through
> the window and onto the back of his neck. He then returns to drinking
> from the moat.
>
> 5. A fire-breathing dragon hops up, making ducking and lunging motions
> and grinning wolfishly. A squirt from the elephant and the dragon’s
> flames are extinguished; he stands back, thoroughly drenched. (A
> hissing sound is heard as his flames go out.) The elephant trumpets
> in triumph and walks off.
>
> 6. A series of snippets show the elephant crossing the moat, covering
> lots of landscape (putting the tower miles in the distance), stepping
> over a fence, and stopping in an idyllic orchard.
>
> 7. The princess grabs a rope ladder and lifts herself onto the porch
> of a charming, hobbit-style tree-house in one of the trees. Through
> a picture window, its inside can be seen to be attractive. She looks
> around the charming landscape while the camera’s eye tracks what
> she sees.
>
> 8. The princess reaches out to an apple hanging from the tree, takes
> a bite, removes it from her mouth, and smiles.
>
> 9. The camera zooms in on the bitten-out apple, which morphs into
> the striped Apple logo.
>
> 10. The words “The Grass IS Greener” (in Apple-stripes) fade in,
> accompanied by the sounds of an elephant squirting, an angry hiss,
> and an elephant trumpeting.
>
> 11. The apple morphs into a smiley face fades in and winks, then
> looks up and off to the side while whistling with an “innocent” look
> that says, “Mind you, I’ve said nothing.” (There’s a standard emoticon
> (on some sites) that captures this look beautifully.)