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.