Think Different

Earlier this week Apple launched the iPad, and Steve Jobs was on the cover of Time magazine. Some of my favorite marketing minds Seth Godin and Mary Adams (also my former client!) wrote about the wonder, and marketing magic, of Apple, as well as countless, countless others. My friend Andy wrote from his seat at Fortune about Apple being possibly being the most valuable - in addition to admired - company out there.

I went into the Apple Store in the meatpacking district a couple days ago, and witnessed for myself what the buzz was all about: real life 'consumer demand' playing...and purchasing! My mission was simply to get a new cable for my external drive but felt like I was in the center of the action this week, and talked to the guy at the checkout counter who seemed a little crowd weary. "It's been stacked with people for the last three days," he said.

The Apple Store in the Meatpacking district, on 14th Street and 9th Avenue, is a really great space -- a three floor building that seems to radiate energy and light and a feeling of expansiveness from the inside out. Then again, I used to find myself getting excited when I'd go into the Apple Store in the Mission Viejo Mall in the OC, which could have been storefront for the Limited, if they weren't selling Apple products. It didn't matter, I'd walk in, and feel myself sighing, and thinking, "I am among my people."

Of course I grew up with Macs, having worked at a groovy Soho ad agency when I first lived in New York, where the IT department was quite hard core about it. They were annual Macworld attendees, rallied hard to make sure we had the latest and best Macs, and kept the bar very high for me after I left. (They also used to name the printers after Simpsons characters - Crusty, Smithers etc - so they were a big part of the creative culture there!). And I have been not so patiently waiting for AT&T to finally lose its grip on the iPhone exclusivity.

I had taken the picture above a couple months ago, specifically for two friends, Jen and Nikki, who have been contemplating the switch from PC to Mac. Jen had talked to myself and our friend CJ about this. CJ, is quite brilliant, and his company has been a leader in Search Engine Optimization for 10 years (before it was trendy!) so in other words, he knows what he is talking about. I, on the other hand, don't other than the intangible feeling I get, and what marketers define as the holy grail -more than brand loyalty - brand love.

Jen thought both our perspectives were interesting and a little amusing -- logic (CJ) and passion and enthusiasm (LL). Finally I asked CJ to find the classic TV spot that Apple aired only once, during the Superbowl in 1984, to launch the company, and has been one of the benchmarks for 'great creative' through the years. In addition to standing the test of time, it helps to visually show what this intangible feeling is all about.

After we watched it I said, "Okay Jen, it's up to you, do you want to be those blank faced guys or that girl in the red shorts? You chose."