Godin, Are You Serious?

Leander Kahney’s latest book Inside Steve’s Brain, a look at what makes Steve Jobs tick, made me stop, jump out of my seat, and shout, “Are you serious?” It wasn’t caused by a sudden revelation or a scandal; it came from a passage clipped from an interview with Seth Godin:

Not everyone loves Apple’s advertising. Seth Godin, author of several best-sellers about marketing, said Apple’s advertising has often been mediocre. “I’m underwhelmed by most of Apple’s advertising,” he told me by phone from his office in New York. “It’s not been effective. Apple’s advertising is more about pandering to the insiders than acquiring new users. If you have a Mac, you love Apple’s advertising because it says ‘I’m smarter than you.’ If you don’t have a Mac it says ‘you’re stupid.’”

Apple’s advertising is not effective. Really? Are you serious?

On an anecdotal level, I’m sure most of you know someone who has switched to an Apple computer in the past few years. But, how many of you know someone who has switched back? I don’t. Recently I watched a friend, who doesn’t own a cell phone, drop to floor in the middle of an iPhone commercial and start to proclaim how much he needs one.

Anecdotes are one thing and market numbers are another. But in this case, they both show the same thing. The first fiscal quarter of 2008 showed a 35% year-over-year growth in revenue, up $2.5 billion from the previous December, posting the most successful quarter in Apple’s history. The second fiscal quarter results surpassed Apple’s first quarter predictions with a 32.9% year-over-year growth, marking the strongest March quarter in Apple’s history. And, remember, this growth is occurring during an economic downturn.

Surely this growth isn’t coming at the hands of lifelong, hardcore Apple loyalists. Twenty-five percent of our office last year used Apple Computers; this year it’s 100%. We’re not the only ones: Investment bank Morgan Stanley reported that 40% of college students plan to make their next purchase an Apple computer, a full 25% increase in that market share over current statistics, which is likely to have an effect on the work force after these students graduate. And, even Godin has recognized how ubiquitous Apple computers have become.

If it’s not the advertising, then, surely it must be the technology. But, if the history of inventions is any indication, the best technology doesn’t always win. And, it seems Godin would agree. In a 2006 talk for Google, Godin told Google: “What I want to sell you really hard on is not that technology wins, ‘cause I don’t think it does, I think what technology does is that it gives you a shot at marketing. And, if you don’t buy into that then I believe that the company sooner rather than later is going to smash into a wall.”

So Godin’s essentially saying that Apple’s advertising isn’t effective, but technology only succeeds if the marketing works. And, Apple’s obviously succeeding. I’m not sure I follow the logic.

Rather than being ineffective, I’d consider Apple’s advertising brilliant. Most new converts got hooked into the Apple brand through the iPod and the silhouette-dancing ads. These ads are some of the most inviting ads in the last decade: anyone can picture themselves as the faceless figures rocking out to their own tunes. The message is obvious: if you love music, come in.

Once you’ve already bought into the brand, why wouldn’t you want to stand out as a person making the best choice? This is what the advertising for these computers reflects: Apple is the better choice. And, sooner or later, if you don’t already have an Apple computer and you’ve already bought into the Apple brand, you’re going to want one to go along with that iPod or iPhone. Apple stores are even set up with this in mind: try the iPod or iPhone and while you’re at it why don’t you play with that pretty computer sitting next to it.

Apple’s advertising, as I see it, is really a two-pronged approach: (1) invite you in with the iPod advertising and (2) keep you there with the computer advertising. One makes you want to come in, and the other makes you want to stay there, all while keeping true to the brand’s identity.

Ineffective? Anything but.