Apple Launches "Real People" Ad Campaign
PC to Mac "Switchers" Tell Their Story
CUPERTINO, California-June 10, 2002-Apple=AE today launched a new advertisin=
g
campaign featuring real people who have switched from PCs to the
Macintosh=AE. The campaign will debut today on television with eight
different ads, each highlighting a different "switcher" telling their
story. The "switchers" featured in the Real People campaign come from
diverse backgrounds, including a Windows network administrator, a writer,
an illustrator, a small business owner, a programmer, an interactive
producer and a DJ. This will be Apple's largest ad campaign since "Think
Different" was launched in 1998.
"These are not actors-they're real people who have switched from PCs to
Macs, telling their story in their own words," said Steve Jobs, Apple's
CEO. "More people are interested in switching from PCs to Macs than ever
before, and we hope that hearing these successful switchers tell their
story will help others make the jump."
The TV ads can be seen today on major cable networks like ESPN, CNBC,
Comedy Central and Fox News and will appear this week on ABC's Boston 24/7
and The Drew Carey Show, as well as NBC's ER and NBA Finals broadcasts.
Print ads are in this week's issues of Time and Newsweek, and will appear
this month in a number of other major magazines. As part of the campaign,
Apple has also set up a special web site for users interested in learning
more about switching at www.apple.com/switch.
The ads were directed by Errol Morris, a widely admired director and
producer of documentary films. Morris infused the ads with the same
straightforward, compelling style found in his critically acclaimed opening
segment for this year's Academy Awards, which featured celebrities and
movie goers sharing their favorite films.
Apple is gaining momentum in its quest to attract the "other 95 percent"
since announcing its pioneering Digital Hub strategy in January 2001. Since
then, Apple has delivered:
* the world's best computers, including the all new flat-panel iMac=AE, the
iBook=AE, the Titanium PowerBook=AE G4, the Power Mac=AE G4, the new eMac=81=
and a
line of stunning Cinema Displays;
* Mac=AE OS X, the world's most advanced operating system, offering power,
stability and elegance. Mac OS X has now "arrived" with better than ever
usability and amazing third-party software products like Microsoft Office
v.X for Mac and PhotoShop 7;
* the breakthrough iPod=81 digital music player, which has set the standard
by which all other portable MP3 players are judged;
* award-winning Digital Lifestyle applications like iPhoto=81, iTunes=81,
iMovie=81 and iDVD, which enable "mere mortals" to make movies, create and
share digital photo albums, manage large music libraries and create and
burn their own DVDs, all with the Mac's legendary ease of use;
* Xserve=81, Apple's powerful 1U rack-mount server that is ideal for busines=
s
and education customers and a perfect complement to Apple's UNIX-based Mac
OS X Server software; and
* thirty (and growing) Apple Retail Stores throughout the U.S. that offer
the best computer buying experience on the planet.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple
II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh.
Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to
students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world
through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.