Appletell

Yesterday, a funny yet careless thing happened.  In both Circuit City’s and Radio Shack’s weekend newspaper circulars, in their iPod Touch Ads, the Touches shown were Jailbroken.  It is very surprising that this slip was able to get through the art department for both companies.  Maybe they should ban Google Images during their ad campaigns to prevent something like this from happening.  In the picture to the right, you can see MobileChat and Installer icons, both of which require the iPod to be JailBroken before they can be installed.  Apple has had a very hard time with losing the 3rd party app market, and Mr. Jobs won’t be too happy that this hacked product is not only easily done to an iPod touch, but that the fact is being broadcast in some of the most popular newspapers.  Customers of these two popular companies may also discover that they in fact do not get the extra features with their iPod, and to add them is to void your warranty.  The biggest lesson here: check the facts before going to the press.

Via [Engadget]

Wow, I didn’t expect to see this happening. It appears that Apple is removing their international “Get a Mac” ads. Both the UK and Japan versions of the USA-successful Get a Mac ads are no longer being aired on television, neither are they on Apple’s UK or Japan website anymore. The French ads have just been removed, too. It’s a shame to see John Hodgman and Justin Long’s international equivalents gone. I’m sure all Apple wanted to do is provide more targeted advertising for these countries. I have to say though, the UK ads were nothing special. People always ignored them. I much prefer the American ones. According to Macworld UK, the ads backfired by making the PC character more sympathetic than the “smug” Mac. I think it’s time Apple switched over to another advertising campaign. Get a Mac may have been successful with some people, but it’s too over-biased in my opinion. Although I’m a proud Mac user, I still respect Windows as a great platform for some things. Apple’s ads should be praising them; not putting down the competition.

Via [MacUser]

Apple’s Get a Mac ads are somewhat of a legend; even Parallels is copying the style for their own ads. This time, it’s no longer Mac vs. PC, or John Hodgman vs. Justin Long; the emphasis is on running Windows applications on a Mac. The ads are actually surprisingly well done, without making fun of anyone.

Parallels is one of the most efficient solutions of running Windows on a Macintosh; the program allows users to virtualize Windows while Mac OS X is running. One of the ads also highlights the Parallels Transporter, a great utility to migrate all the data on your existing PC onto your new Mac.

Via [CrunchGear]

You all remember the iPhone ad that played during the Academy Awards right? Well it has been confirmed, the iPhone will be released June 29th thanks to 3 new iPhone advertisements available on apple’s site. The 3 new ads named “Never Been an iPod,” “How To” and “Calamari” show off the iPhone’s features in Apple ad fashion that gives you the feeling you need to purchase the device. The first ad “Never Been an iPod” confirms that the iPhone itself is an iPod with phone capabilities. This was one of the biggest questions, if the device was a phone with iPod functionality or an iPod with phone functionality. The “How To” ad goes over each of the features giving a slight overview on how to use each. The last ad, “Calamari”, shows how Google Maps falls into the equation.

The iPhone is out on the 29th, so mark your calendars, and start rolling those pennies you’ve been saving since Macworld 2007. We also know for sure now that iPhone use will require a “minimum new 2 year activation plan.” For those of you who have gripes with Cingular (now the new AT&T), it looks like you will have to deal with them until 2009.

If you want to check all the ads out for yourself, head on over to Apple’s iPhone Ads page. For those of you with $500 to spend rejoice! And for those of you who (like me) don’t, it looks like we’ll have to wait longer than June 29th to get an iPhone.

Ads [Apple]

One of the great Apple ad campaigns, was the late 1990s campaign that encouraged others to “Think Different.” The posters and television ads that went along with this campaign really summed up the point that Apple was trying to convey. They weren’t just another computer company, they were out there to change the landscape of technology (and it seems like they are doing a pretty good job of it so far). One of the main “Think Different” television ads titled ”Crazy Ones,” featured people such as Albert Einstein and John Lennon.  Over the last few days, re-creation of this video has been floating around the internet. It is fan-made, and is text-based. The re-make is quite visually stunning, and almost looks like something Apple could have created.

When I first saw the new text ad, I wasn’t aware that the original narration was from an actual Apple advertisement. Though the whole time I was watching it, I kept thinking “Wow, this really does sort of describe Apple doesn’t it?” Just goes to show that even though the campaign ended 5 years ago, its theme still stands true.

via [UNEASYsilence]