Apple Ad Makes Big Impression
by Brian Giesen
Category: Best Practices, Digital Influence, Research & Insights
It’s been awhile since a Web banner made this kind of an impression.
If you visited either NYTimes.com or WSJ.com on Thursday, you probably saw Apple’s ad promoting the Mac OS X Leopard.
The Apple “banner” is actually a combination of two synched ad units that combine to tell a clever, funny story about Apple’s Leopard operating system.
In the ad, “PC man” John Hodgman from Apple’s “Get a Mac” spots climbs a ladder into the second ad unit to staple a “NOT” sign to the end of a Wall Street Journal quote claiming that “Leopard is better and faster than Vista.”
What makes the ad stand out?
1. Humor. The ad shows that YouTube does not have exclusive rights to “funny” and “clever”. The “man they do NOT proofread these things” and “we’ve got the whole Internet to correct” comments are particularly cute. And when’s the last time we’ve seen a WSJ quote in 40-point type font on the homepage of NYTimes?
2. Context. The ad was created to fit perfectly within WSJ and NYTimes environments. The top leaderboard banner features a WSJ quote in large, headline-like font, making it appear to be part of the page’s editorial content.
3. Execution. Apple’s ad is more than just two streaming ad units linked together. They work together, playing off each other in a way we’re truly not used to seeing. And they’re timed and executed perfectly.
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January 18th, 2008 at 1:28 am
This ad campaign is always clever. The layout is especially cool as you say — it really does look like he’s correcting a headline, which is a nice touch.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:07 am
The ad was perfectly placed, extremely well executed and very timely as it launched the day after MacWorld.
It is always great when advertising can be entertaining and non-imposing on the web experience (and still convey a persuasive message). I think you are right on, it is the humor, context and execution that truly makes this ad stand out.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Thanks for your comments. I checked both sites and it looks like the ads are no longer running today. I wonder if Apple is fulfilling on the “we have the whole Internet to correct” line at the end of the video, and perhaps running the ads on a different site each day for a certain period? THAT would have been clever (and expensive).
January 18th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
I saw this ad last night on a feed and then went and checked it out - it really does play well. Even to a more “trained” eye, it’s pretty unexpected when his head pops up into the upper portion.
January 21st, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Agreed. When I first saw this ad series, it was wrapped around the Vista guide in CNet. The placement was perfect.
January 21st, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I saw this ad and it was very distracting, made it seem that the content was only there for a reason to show the ad. Even while some of us believe this is true, it shouldn’t be so obvious.
August 11th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
I love all apple products, especially the macbook. They are coming out with the best products.