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Brace for the Blitz (8/10/98)
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So, uh, where are all the iMac ads? We've all heard that Apple is spending a whopping $100 million on promotions pushing the little blue guy onto the consumer market, but so far, all we've seen are little brochures, some banners, and empty boxes on display at the local Microcenter. (We're not counting the iMac posters spotted in Manhattan around the Javits Center during MacWorld Expo for obvious reasons.) Where are the newspaper and magazine ads? And most importantly, where are the television commercials?
According to Reality, the answer to the above questions is, "coming soon." Borrowing its understated style from the "Think Different" ad campaign, Apple's iMac billboards will reportedly consist of photos of the system displayed next to quick little catch phrases. To those of you who attended the Expo, the "Sleek Preview" and "Sorry, No Beige" posters there were only the beginning. Similarly-styled print ads will focus on the iMac's simplicity by playing up its role as an appliance, rather than a computer; just plug it in, and it's ready to rock. Perhaps the best news of all, though, is that Apple apparently plans to have several iMac television commercials touting the system's low cost, extreme power, and miraculous ease of use. The first of these spots will air this Saturday, and eventually we should see a minute-long condensed version of the 3 1/2-minute "Simplicity Shootout" video shown during the Expo keynote.
So why no teaser ads from Apple before the iMac's actual release? AtAT continues to guess that Apple had not only temporarily shelved most of its own $100 million iMac promotional campaign, but that resellers had been advised to do the same-- until Apple can produce enough iMacs to fill at least most of the backorders, and excited customers who see the ads touting the cool blue iMac could actually go out and buy one. But that's just us. Regardless, we're looking forward to seeing real advertising for a system that, so far, has been selling itself-- and doing a wonderful job, we might add.
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SceneLink (926)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 8/10/98 episode: August 10, 1998: Who's that waiting in the wings, ready to burst upon the scene next year? Not to worry; it's just Mr. Lombard. Meanwhile, Apple pushes its manufacturing plants to the brink of oblivion in order to create as many iMacs as possible before the launch date, so that they can actually use some of the nifty ads they've concocted, and Microsoft makes a legal move that could be seen either as desperate or foolhardy or both...
Other scenes from that episode: 925: Pressing Ever Forward (8/10/98) So the Power Mac G3 continues to do well, and we're all hearing about the next generation using the "Yosemite" motherboard and the "El Capitan" translucent case. And the iMac is selling like gangbusters (even though it's not actually out yet), and we're all looking forward to next year's "eBook" consumer portable... 927: It's Worth a Shot (8/10/98) As they threatened to do last week, Microsoft has gone ahead and filed a summary judgement requesting Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit we've all grown to know and love as "Redmond Justice."...
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