Home > Of things Mac > Apple goes after Dell's style of advertising... sign of a more aggressive Apple on the rise?

Apple goes after Dell's style of advertising... sign of a more aggressive Apple on the rise?
Date Created: 21 Apr, 2006, 03:02 PM

So I was in the middle of doing some reports and other Friday afternoon stuff (like watching Steve Jobs present to the City of Cupertino (left) about plans for the new Apple campus he wants to build - I half expected him to burst into a song like this) when my Mail interrupted my workflow.

Every so often, Mail seems to choke the Powerbook and all work comes to a halt until the email is downloaded and filtered.

So I brought Mail to the front, and noted an email from Apple. I get several emails from Apple as part of my dotMac accounts (of which I have three), as well as being on a number of mailing lists Apple maintains for those who opt in.

This one was from Apple Australia, recognisable from the 133622 telephone number, although the email address it used as Sender was News@InsideApple.Apple.com

The email's subject line was the first thing I saw when I brought Mail frontmost: "Custom-build your perfect Mac."


Sounded awfully like Dell to me, so I peered inside. Have a look at the first panel I noticed.


At least they made appropriate and correct use of the apostrophe. Interesting cross-section of potential mac users too.

Now when you scroll down a little further is when you start to get the Dell doppelgänger effect.

Take a look...


Now perhaps I'm mistaken, but first we have Bootcamp to attract the Windows users to at least consider the Mac.

Now we have the sales pitch that looks awfully like the Dell way of doing business, which is to bespoke build you a PC (except we're gonna give you the choice of quality components no matter what, and the best OS out there, and offer you minimal choices so you don't get paralysed by too many decision steps).

What does a Dell on line ad. look like? Try this - click here.

I really dislike the way Dell always adds AUD99 for delivery on top of the advertised price (as if you had a choice) and occasionally does you a big toiveh by announcing free delivery if you buy a certain date - usually a few days away, as if these metsiehs won't ever happen again.

Yeah, right!

It's all so... crass.

Which is why the Apple ad. stood out for me and triggered this blog entry. It looks to me like more evidence Apple is going after the great Windows unwashed masses, if you'll pardon the awful pun.

It's not so much "me too" as it is an effort to dispel the myth that all you get is what Apple wants you to have (the negative side of Apple controlling the whole widget). So there is some choice you can have (there always was even within Apple's limited feature range) but the point is the Apple's hardware products come so well specced to begin with that there are, by definition, limited choices. The Apple Less is More credo at work.

And of course by the time you add in the cost of iLife (nil) and subtract the cost of malware/antivirus software you'd be up for over on Windows (plus the time spent each week performing security operations plus the hit on your broadband monthly allowance for all those updates), the numbers start to add up.

So I see these ads. more as a hand holding exercise to ease newcomers and fence sitters into the Apple way of doing business.

It's why Apple reminds me of my German Shepherd Dog, Shrek - once you've been the master of one, it's hard to own another breed.







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