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Hello Dalai (3/29/98)
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Since the media ruckus surrounding Apple advertising had mostly shifted away from their controversial use of famous historical figures and towards their controversial public toasting of the Intel Pentium II processor, evidently Apple decided it was time to divert attention towards the famous figures again. Apple's managed to get the Dalai Lama to agree to let his image be used in Apple "Think Different" ads by the skillful application of a "charitable donation." The details appear in a Nando.net article.
As to whether that "charitable donation" was simply cash, or primo computer equipment destined for the Tibetan refugees currently in India, Apple would not say. Sure, it's easy to reduce the whole transaction to the capitalist bribing of a spiritual leader, and heck, it's even fun to do so, but we dig the Dalai and we trust his judgment. We're a little bummed to see that he's "no computer whiz himself," though, and we think it'd be cool if Apple sent him a Powerbook just for kicks. That's the thing about Macs-- you never know who's going to get hooked.
Is the use of the Dalai Lama's image in an ad for computers a tasteless move? Perhaps-- it depends on your perspective. But Apple's rediscovered the importance of controversy, that's for sure. By running ad campaigns that kick up a little dust, they're getting more for their advertising buck: the ad itself, and the news coverage of that ad, which increases public awareness and makes the ad even more effective in the long run. There's no such thing as bad publicity, right? Er, unless you happen to be the president of the U.S.A., we suppose...
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 3/29/98 episode: March 29, 1998: In its continuing quest to capture just the right mixture of whimsy and controversy in its ads, Apple signs up the Dalai Lama. Meanwhile, Microsoft engineers fix the ugly bug in the "Remove Office 98" application, as the higher-ups consider just when would be the best time to split into separate unstoppable amoeboid entities...
Other scenes from that episode: 579: Tech Support Nightmare (3/29/98) A few days ago we mentioned the nasty bug that had cropped up in one of the applications shipping with Microsoft Office 98, which would actually delete your whole System Folder in certain situations. Well, not long afterwards, Microsoft posted a update for that particular "Remove Office 98" problem, which you've no doubt heard about from several sources by now if you're an Office user who needed the fix. The thing that struck a chord with us, though, was reading in a Computer Reseller News article that Microsoft discovered the bug by instructing customers to run the utility in order to remove Office 98 to remedy other, considerably less serious, bugs with the software... 580: The Big Split (3/29/98) Psssst, hey buddy, c'mere. Wanna know why Microsoft is unstoppable, and the feds have no chance to stop the juggernaut? Then check out this ABCNEWS article and witness the future. The author makes some good points about how Microsoft stands to gain a bundle by subdividing itself into several business units that each have their own room to grow. While few concepts scare us quite as much as the continued spread of Microsoft into every nook and cranny of everyday life, that fact looks to be inevitable, as Microsoft could stop the government's current proceedings in a heartbeat by splitting into Microsoft Operating Systems, Microsoft Applications, Microsoft Media, and who knows what else...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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