Ken Segall, who worked alongside Steve Jobs’ creative team for more than a decade, took some time on his blog to share his thoughts on the current state of Apple’s marketing efforts. Segall, who was behind the iconic “Think Different” campaign, thinks Apple has lost momentum to fierce rival Samsung in the advertising battle for the hearts and minds of the consumer.
Segall’s Blog, via 9to5Mac:
While you can still argue that Macs and i-devices have a ton of appeal, you can’t argue that Apple is still untouchable when it comes to advertising…The fact is, it is being touched — often and effectively — by none other than Samsung…Samsung has made remarkable inroads in a very short time, for two big reasons.
Sagall says Samsung’s massive advertising budget, and their willingness to “bash away at Apple, delivering ads that are well produced, well written and seem to be striking a nerve.” Segall pointed in the direction of Samsung’s running of new ads during the Super Bowl and Oscars this year:
In contrast to Apple, which has been sticking to its product-based ads, Samsung has been scoring points with its people-based ads — most of which play off some growing negative perceptions about Apple… Samsung invested in a two-minute Super Bowl ad; Apple chose to remain silent. Samsung created a new story for the Oscars, tapping the eccentric Tim Burton; Apple ran only a variation of its more traditional product-centric campaign.
Segall points out that the last time Apple tried something creative was with their “Genius” ads they ran during the Olympics, “And you know how that turned out.”
Below are the latest ads from the two companies. The first is from Samsung, the second from Apple. Let’s leave it up to our readers. What do you think of both companies recent ad campaigns? Is Samsung eating Apple’s lunch? Is Apple right to stick with what’s worked for them in the past? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
