Commentary
iPad TV Ad Doesn't Inspire iFrenzy
- by Mark Walsh @markfwal, March 9, 2010
With Apple debuting its first TV commercial for the iPad during the Oscars telecast, has the fevered anticipation surrounding the device expanded beyond gadget geeks to the wider public?
The marketing technology firm Alterian yesterday put out findings showing Apple was among the awards show advertisers generating the most positive buzz online based on monitoring of social networking sites, blogs, video-sharing sites and the like. So maybe social media mavens are excited about the iPad, but they probably were already anyway.
And if the iPad is really getting a lift from the Oscars ad, why isn't it or Apple a trending topic on Twitter? And why isn't the iPad a top 10 or top 20 search term on Google? It seems like the iPad TV spot may have resonated with people already inclined to buy it but not sparked a broader wave of interest in the forthcoming tablet device.
It could be many viewers were already aware of the iPad from the extensive publicity around its January 27 unveiling, so the ad wasn't that much of a revelation. The ad creative of infectious pop tune played over everything-works-perfectly demo of the device is also familiar from prior iPhone and iPod spots.
Still, a recent survey by RBC Capital and ChangeWave Research showed 13% of the 3,200 people surveyed indicated they are likely to buy an iPad. That compares to only 9% who said they wanted an iPhone before it was released in 2007, suggesting the iPad could be even bigger than Apple's smartphone. To me, it means most people are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the iPad--they won't know they want one until they friends or other people glued to them. Or give it a hands-on demo of their own.
Mark Walsh can be reached at walsh@mediapost.com
It seems like there are a lot of doubters out there. All looking for reasons why the iPad will fail - or at least not be the next big thing. For example, even though a survey shows that Apple was among the advertisers on the Oscars getting most positive buzz, it's dismissed as th epeople who were probably already pre-disposed to it. Another survey that shows 13% of people surveyed indicated they are likely to buy an iPad compared to 9% before the iPhone launch is also dismissed. I don't get it. Is it because the "in" crowd wanted so much more from the iPad and just don't get that more is less in this case? Or maybe its because Apple has gone too mainstream for the "in" crowd? I don't know. Maybe I'm the one who is wrong, time will tell, but given the success and revolutionary impact that the iPod then the iPhone have had in redefining how and where we consume media, I'm ready to bet on the iPad to be the start of a new revolution that will change the way we consume published content.
Important thing to consider is that Apple is shooting for the mainstream - they're going after the moms, grandparents and other non-techies, for widespread adoption. It's a consumer device. The simplicity and ease-of-use of the device is what's important and is what's caused the lack of adoption of many other "tablet" type devices.
I'm a gadget head and admit the iPad lacks others' entries in terms of technical specs, openness, etc. But that's not what makes Apple appealing to me. It's the tight integration of apps and the accessibility it provides. Look at v1 of the iPhone vs where it is now, and that's the pattern I think you'll see the iPad take, IMO.
Doesn't inspire a frenzy?
That's because it wasn't really the "first" iPad advertisement.
Read the real story here:
http://admajoremblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/ipads-30-in-oscars-was-not-its-first-ad.html