Apple's Marketing Campaigns: From 'Get A Mac' to 'Why You'll Love a Mac'

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"The "Get a Mac" campaign was truly one of the great, consistent pieces of work of the modern era, one that showed you can denigrate with style and use deft humor to lower your opponent to within one inch of humiliation. At a time when Apple seems to have become a little more conservative with its TV advertising […], the sheer giggle-grizzled joy of "Get a Mac" will be missed." ¹

- Chris Matyszczyk²

"People who own iPhones and iPads may not be Mac users. For one reason or another, they're using PCs to get jobs done, and that may be all they've known. But as they see how easy the iPhone and iPad is to use, they start to wonder about using a Mac for their main device. Would it be better? Easier? Simpler? … Previous Apple campaigns have pushed this same concept. But now, with people in the store to look at the other goods, this might have a better chance at working."³

-Apple Gazette,⁴ commenting on the 'Why You'll Love a Mac' Campaign

In mid-2010, Apple Inc.5 (Apple) discontinued its 'Get a Mac' campaign and launched a new campaign on its website called 'Why you'll love a Mac' to promote its iMac brand of personal computers. The campaign made a pitch in favor of Macs through a series of straightforward, single-sentences. The main theme of the new campaign was to reason with potential customers by focusing on five key areas supporting the Mac. In what was seen as a dramatic shift in Apple's advertising policy, the new campaign unlike its earlier 'Get a Mac' and other campaigns, did not focus on comparing its products with that of its competitors. Apple had to its credit many innovations in the field of personal computing like the introduction of the Graphical User Interface (GUI). But it had always had a very low share in the personal computer market.

The company experienced some spectacular success when it launched its iPod brand of portable music players which were introduced in 2001. It also had plans to introduce a high-end mobile phone by 2007. Apple thought of expanding the sales of its personal computers riding on the increased awareness consumers had of the Apple brand. Right from 1984, Apple had been advertising the Mac by comparing it favorably with the bigger competitors. Its ads took a dig at rivals' products. The 'Get a Mac' campaign was launched on May 2, 2006, by Apple. The campaign sought to convert many of the users of other operating systems like Windows⁶ to Apple's Mac personal computers. According to Michael Gartenberg, Research Director, Jupiter Research,⁷ "The ads 'are little different in tone from what Apple has taken in the past. They're humorous but don't come across as particularly arrogant or elitist. They seem to be doing what they are supposed to: generate buzz about Macs."⁸

Introduction Contd... - Next Page>>

1] Chris Matyszczyk, "End of 'Get a Mac,' End of an Era," http://news.cnet.com, May 21, 2010.
2] Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing.
3] "Changing Tactics: Why You'll Love a Mac," www.applegazette.com, May 24, 2010.
4] Apple Gazette is an Apple, Mac OS X, iPhone and iPad news site with daily reviews and tutorials.
5] Apple Inc. is an American company that specializes in the design and manufacture of consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. It is headquartered in Cupertino, California, USA.
6] Windows was an operating systems designed for desktop computers. It was developed by Microsoft Corporation.
7] Jupiter Research was a technology research company. It was acquired by Forrester research, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, US based technology and market research company in 2008.
8] "Apple's 'Get a Mac' Campaign Seizes the Moment as Microsoft Suffers Windows Vista Setbacks," http://macdailynews.com/2006/05/04/apples_get_a_mac_campaign_seizes_the_moment_as_microsoft_suffers/, June 6, 2011.

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