Apple is 40. Today.

Apple turns 40 today. Yep, it was April Fool's Day, I eh, kid you not.

Now employing nearly 150,000 people and with a value of 700 Billion usd, it's been a long road.

Steve Jobs and Woz met in 1971 but it was in 1976 that they launched Apple1, 50 of them, which 'they' built by hand. 

If you still have one, it's worth about 400k usd today. It was launched to their pals at The Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto. 

1977 they launched Apple2; 1978 the external floppy drive; 1980 The Apple3 and went public.

In 1981 Jobs became Chairman; 1983 was the launch of 'Lisa' and John Sculley joined.

1984 was the famous commercial which Jobs originally voiced and then replaced with Richard Dreyfuss; 1985 was when 'Lisa' was dropped and Jobs left.

1987 Woz left; 1989 was the first portable (Mac book); 1991 it launched Quicktime; 1997 Jobs returned and the famous partnership with Microsoft; 1998 was the Imac; 2001 Itunes and the Ipod; 2006 The MacBook Pro.

2007 The Iphone; 2008 The Macbook Air; 2010 The Ipad; 2011 Siri and ICloud.

In 2007 Jobs resigned and Tim Cook took over with Jobs dying that October at 56.

Since then, the Ipad mini in 2012, Beats in 2014 and the Apple Watch.

Long story, great company based entirely on one word.
Innovation.

Iphone sales are sliding so here's their answer - Apple Iphone 4S new campaign. John Malkovich, Martin Scorsese and Samuel Jackson just out. Big stars, Good Ads?

Apple Iphone sales are flagging. Having sold 26 million in the last quarter, it's down from 35 million in the previous one. Although compensated by growth in the Ipad (from 11m up to 17m - a killer growth) it's not good. How do you get it going again? Advertising.


Apple's new campaign for the Iphone 4S has roped in celebrities to bring them style and character. Focusing in on "Siri" which is the 'personal assistant' on the phone, the first in the series featured John Malkovich. It's their one 'point of difference' that gives iphone a competitive edge.


Using movie stars, gives the brand street cred. It ups the game but the celebs they've chosen helps to position Iphone away from low cost into quality coolness.


The newest, just released, features Martin Scorsese.

The angle of the commercials is that you can change a busy day on the fly but importantly, it's showing you an easy way to use different applications. 


Voice is the easiest way to input data and is the holy grail to replace keyboards. Typing in data, when you think of it, is the oldest way to do it and voice will soon replace typing. PC's will become voice-driven exactly as touchscreen has changed them. So you won't write your emails, you'll speak them in. 


Samuel Jackson gets in on the act too.

                                    


I don't know what the cost of these is, but it was a fortune. And I don't think they've made good use of these stars creatively - after all, think what you could do with Marty Scorsese. But in essence, having celebrities like these will do wonders for endorsing the brand when compared with Samsung the market leader. 


They are quintessentially American stars, but international too so the campaign can go global. Big names for a big brand. And already they've created parodies on youtube.


Still, an interesting approach.


Have to say the greatest commercial probably of all time was not as most would say, Apple '1984', but this one, "the crazy ones" from 1997, called "Think Different". Done by Chiat Day, it came out as Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy, but ultimately saved by a 150 million usd investment, by microsoft of all people. Jobs had just returned to the company.


The voice over eventually ended up as Richard Dreyfuss but on this original, which never aired because it was a "demo" and the end frame here has been edited as a tribute to Jobs. See do you recognise who the voice is?

Indeed. Steve Jobs himself.


Apple have been at the forefront of Advertising.
This campaign, well, just isn't that.