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Steve Jobs’s marketing whiz on what makes Apple tick

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 8, 2012

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Ken Segall is the guy who dreamed up the iMac name and one of Steve Jobs's most-trusted ad men who advised Apple's late mercurial CEO on advertising concepts since the NeXT days, which includes work on the famous Think Different campaign. Segall is also the author of Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple’s Success, a book on Apple that focuses on the company's Simplicity mantra.

Segall sat with TIME’s Editor-at-large Harry McCracken to talk for more than an hour about the ingredients that made Apple such a success, the company's DNA, leadership tips, marketing, advertising and much more...

Apple’s attention to detail extends to ads

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 7, 2012

If you're subscribed to Apple's official YouTube channel and have email notifications for new uploads enabled, an alert may have hit your inbox today saying Apple just uploaded the Siri ad starring film director Martin Scorsese (go here for a parody treatment).

And just like that, because the video has replaced the original clip, a bunch of web pages that have the original embed code in place now show empty boxes (don't worry, I already updated our article with a new code).

At first glance, the commercial is exactly the same as the original ad from two weeks ago. At closer inspection, the new version removes the AT&T branding and fixes a minuscule editing error that only the pickiest of eyes would catch. That's attention to detail for you...

Apple posts new iAd promo video flaunting Land Rover’s success

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Apple's iAd platform got off to a rocky start back in 2010, and has struggled to impress advertisers ever since. It's tried slashing ad prices, and upping developer revenue share, but it still feels like an afterthought to other avenues.

However, that doesn't mean that it's not a viable option. And to prove that, Apple just posted a new promotional video for its iAd service, touting the success seen by luxury auto-maker Land Rover, as it's utilized iAd in a new campaign...

iPhone ad features e-book with fabricated quotes

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2012

A new report points out that Apple's been airing an interesting iPhone television commercial in some local markets, such as Canada and Germany, and it shows a shot of Jonah Lehrer’s “Imagine: How Creativity Works” front cover.

What's interesting is that Lehrer last month admitted to making up the quotes attributed to Bob Dylan. Though the book sold more than 200,000 copies in digital and physical formats, sellers pulled it over the scandal, including Apple which no longer offers a dead tree version of "Imagine: How Creativity Works" on the iBookstore...

Apple airs new adverts about Geniuses

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 27, 2012

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Apple has begun airing interesting new commercials, possibly marking a subtle change in advertising direction. The adverts debuted during the Olympic Games opening ceremonies tonight. Rather than focus on the newly released Mountain Lion, the nine-month-old iPhone 4S or Siri (which is increasingly working against Apple these days), these new clips depicts Apple Store Geniuses solving problems for customers.

The first advert that can be seen above is aptly named Mayday and depicts a Genius on board an airplane helping a customer solve an issue before landing. Two more commercials are included right below for your viewing pleasure...

Apple not required to publicize apology to Samsung before October

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

As we told you earlier in the month, a Judge in the United Kingdom ruled that Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablets don't infringe upon the iPad's design because they're "not as cool".

This was followed shortly by another ruling requiring Apple to publicize the ruling on its website and in Britain's high-profile newspapers.

Today, a London court ordered a stay until Apple's appeal against the ruling is heard in October. As you know, Apple is thought to be unleashing the next iPhone and possibly mini iPads upon the world around September or October...

First Nexus 7 commercial is clever on many levels

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 23, 2012

Google's Nexus 7 tablet is admittedly off to a surprising start, with demand crushing expectations as the pricier $249 16GB model has been out of stock over at the Google Play Store for a couple days now. While the Internet giant is ramping up production, an inaugural advert for the device was posted today at the official Google Nexus channel on YouTube.

Though Google's advertising is becoming increasingly cheesy lately (and it's always been this way, cynics might add), this particular commercial is clever on many levels, I think. But you be the judge - it's included right after the break...

Run for the hills, Galaxy S III ad assault begins

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 21, 2012

I know this is an iOS blog, but today Samsung launched its Galaxy S III in the United States with much fanfare and we thought you'd be interested in some of the television commercials they're running now. They're shiny, 100 percent devoid of Apple bashing and way cooler than Samsung's first promo video for the S III.

You can also bet on Samsung bombarding us with more commercials for the S III in the coming weeks. If these two adverts are an indication ("the next big thing is already here"), I'm expecting some fast jabs at the iPhone (though Terry Gou would disagree).

The question is, will Samsung's latest baby become the first smartphone to outsell the iPhone?

Apple fined $2.29 million over “4G” iPad claim

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Apple has bent the truth by advertising its iPad in Australia as having "4G" capability, thus misleading would-be buyers. For that, Cupertino has now been fined a whopping $2.29 million, Associated Press reports.

The case was brought by regulators shortly following the iPad's release in Australia, when the company began advertising the tablet as "iPad with WiFi + 4G" though it cannot connect to Australia's fourth-generation LTE network. Apple will also have to pay 300,000 Australian dollars in litigation costs...