Having a successful career in communications depends largely on the ability to communicate, successfully. It’s a simple idea that sounds obvious when put into words. But think about the last time you tried to explain something to someone who just couldn’t quite grasp the concept. Now consider the advertising industry. Imagine being tasked with convincing millions of people you know only through demographics research that your product is superior to a similar product already in use by more than 90% of the population who use such products. Finally, the target audience has to get the message in 30 seconds. Maybe it’s not movie of the week material, but that’s the dilemma faced by the creatives hired to promote Apple computers.
Rescuing Apple and the Macintosh operating system from obscurity wasn’t enough for Steve Jobs. Through quirky, creative ad campaigns targeted to new users, Jobs managed to place Apple at the center of your digital life. Arguably their most successful commercials ever, the “Get a Mac” (AKA Mac vs. PC) spots parodize the very audience Apple is trying to reach. The TV spots gently roast Windows users, portraying them as stuffy, buttoned-down worker bees in a world where Apple users just wanna have fun.
I’m constantly looking for inspiration and insight into what I do. Sparked by some recent compliments a producer made about the Get a Mac ads, I researched them. A little Googling netted the following links to some of the people behind these commercials. This page was particularly interesting as it delves into the ad agency’s thinking around the time the first spots were created.
Phil Morrison, Director (and NC Native :-> ):
- http://www.epochfilms.com/home.html, follow links under “directors”
- interview with Morrison
TBWA\Media Arts Lab, ad agency
Val Thrasher, editor
Company 3, post production