The Latest iPhone TV Ads Are Bad Enough, But the New Why iPhone Page Is Worse

I don’t know what’s going on with Apple’s marketing effort lately, except something has clearly changed. Most of the TV commercials are lackluster, like the new Discover and Brilliant ads. On the surface, they should be nifty and cool with a drum beat, shouts, and action, but they miss the mark. Why? The manicured hands of the dude holding the iPhones doesn’t speak to the human side of owning an iPhone. Apple seems to be trying too hard: Buy the iPhone because it’s a product that’s cool. Wrong message for Apple. You buy Apple more for what it lets you do, the promise of the coolness. What’s a good example? Remember the silhouette commercials and ad campaign of people dancing while listening to their iPods?

Catchy beats, sure, but they sold the iPod for what it does for humans, not for its specifications. The iPhone 5 ads are trying . . . but the message is oddly parallel, so “Discover” tries to mean “you can discover” cool stuff but message remains slightly disconnected. Definitely not inspirational, connective. Something is off.

Meanwhile, Apple’s new Why iPhone marketing page on the iPhone 5 area of its website is worse. Far worse. It’s vague, full of dumb statements, and starts pointing Apple toward a war where a spec list is why you pick a smartphone. That’s for old-school PC marketing, not Apple. And the closer I look at the Why iPhone page, the more head scratching it becomes. For other companies, this page wouldn’t be so bad. For Apple, it’s as if someone fell asleep at the wheel. More at MacNewsWorld.

About the author

Chris Maxcer

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I've been writing about the tech industry since the birth of the email newsletter, and I still remember the clacking Mac keyboards from high school -- Apple's seed-planting strategy at work. I'm a big fan of elegant gear and great tech, but there's something to be said for turning it all off -- or most of it -- to go outside. Online I like to call out cool stuff on Wicked Cool Bite and blog with my buddies at Man Makes Fire. To catch me, take a "firstnamelastname" guess at the url of this site.