This article is a prime example of why tech literate people aren’t inherently strong marketers for tech.
What does the Ubuntu ad say to the user? How does it capture someone’s attention? None of the ad tells me why this is something worth paying attention to versus other distros or OSs, it doesn’t even tell me it’s about the OS at all unless I already know what Ubuntu is.
Contrast with the Apple ads that tell you exactly what they want in the same time frame. Apple ads have always been tongue in cheek, and have always had a portion of people rubbed the wrong way because they took it too literally.
But at the end of the day, barring the few missteps like the crush ad, they seem to work for the target audience.
I find a lot of technical folk seem to struggle with “I don’t like it therefore it must be bad” and would have failed basically any media analysis class in college as a result. Similarly, the author falls into the “I like Ubuntu and this ad” and hasn’t stopped to think about how it plays to anyone but himself. It’s a really self centered outlook and one that means they’d never be able to market to others.
I remember iPods being advertised as, like, very cool. Remember all the ads with, like, the silhouettes dancing on colorful backgrounds? I can see thinking these ads were a bit over the top and silly, like a corporate ad exec’s idea of what is cool, but they definitely intended to be cool.
The people in these new ads are lame and clearly Apple intends to portray them as lame.
Apple have a range of ads to appeal to a range of people.
Even back then they had the Mac vs PC or a variety of other ads too that weren’t “cool” but were funny. Tongue in cheek ads have been in their DNA since forever.
Take for example the new Mac mini ad which is cute
One could argue that they’ve not had anything as iconic as the silhouette commercial. I’d agree with that, but I disagree with the position that their ads today don’t show cool people or that ads back then didn’t show “lame” people.
Eh, but even in the Find Your Friends ad, where the guy is pretty nerdy and not conventionally cool (I mean he’s going to some cosplay festival), it is still portraying the main character as kind of… somebody you wouldn’t mind being, right?
Like he’s doing something nerdy, dressing up in cosplay, but he’s doing it well, he’s got friends, businessmen get out of his way as he strides down the sidewalk. Some of the people he interact with don’t get him, but he doesn’t care. He’s nerdy but he’s living his best life.
The Mac Mini ad is cute, and it portrays the Mac Mini as a sort of… little computer with over-the-top bravado. It is sort of self-effacing and tongue in cheek, like clearly the little computer is over-compensating for its small size with attitude. But it works somehow. Partly because it is the device, I think. I’m not imagining being the computer, I’m imagining being the user, so the over-eager awkwardness of the computer doesn’t reflect poorly on the “me” character. Partly I think because the computer is like… awkward but not unpleasant.
There’s a big difference between being nerdy/awkward but embracing it, and being nerdy/awkward and a loser.
Some of these new ads look more like the latter to me. The Bella Ramsey ones, IMO, they are not so bad, like she’s doing a “forgetful/absent minded but still successful” character and it kinda works. But one with the guy who can’t write a professional email and the lady who forgot a gift but wants to sneak into the nice moment, they didn’t work for me. You don’t want to be those characters, right?
Coolness is about being comfortable and confident being yourself these days. Not just outward shows of “coolness” That’s apples brand and has always been.
It’s the “you’re weird, you’re quirky, you’re different, you’re you” of being cool, not the jock/rockstar cool. The iPod commercials just happened to illicit both. But look at most Apple ads through the years and they have a consistent corporate theme.
That’s what is cool. Being confident to meet your friends at a convention in costume is cool.
Idk who said it, but it’s the “personal computer”. The person is key.
> What does the Ubuntu ad say to the user? How does it capture someone’s attention?
Exactly. Contrary to the article, it doesn't tell a story at all. It's just some slick-ish graphics with a few words overlayed on top. They're nice words. But they didn't really embrace "show, don't tell".
> it doesn’t even tell me it’s about the OS at all unless I already know what Ubuntu is.
Try watching the iPhone ads assuming you don't know what Apple does nor what an iPhone is. They make absolutely no sense.
Ads are targeted at a market, and these in particular assume some degree of familiarity. I guess the Ubuntu one in particular is to celebrate the 20 years, so it's a different vibe from a sheer call to action spot.
Which iPhone ad can you point me to that doesn’t have a story around a feature at the least?
Also since you bring up familiarity, does that Ubuntu ad tell you which version it’s about? What’s it telling even a seasoned Ubuntu veteran?
And lastly, there’s a much larger percent of the population that knows what an iPhone is but even if they didn’t, it’s in the name. The ads end with iPhone, by Apple and show the product.
Based on that ad, what is Ubuntu? A desktop? An OS? A computer company?
Is that a story or one single scene ? Was there someone on the phone ? Is the text bubble that person answering ? or is it just movie magic like so many over ads?
It only makes sense as an ad if you know the product, otherwise you wouldn't even understand it's the phone doing it all.
We're in agreement that the Ubuntu movie isn't selling it either. My point was that it's probably not aimed at that, you aren't suppose to rush to Ubuntu's site to download an ISO on the spot after watching it, it's probably more of a branding act than a push to action. Precisely to seed the Ubuntu name perhaps ?
The story is you ask your phone and it tells you. The rest of the details are irrelevant to it.
You don’t need to know how it happens.
And that’s fair about the Ubuntu ad. I think the issue is the Ubuntu ad isn’t trying to be anything much. But the author has positioned it on a podium against the Apple ads where it doesn’t belong. They’re not trying to do the same thing at all, and so framing them that way isn’t fair to Ubuntu
> barring the few missteps like the crush ad
Ideally I should be one of the people offended but the ad but I actually liked it and the concept. Of course ymmv
I've learned not to trust my taste in marketing for the same point you make in your first sentence.
While watching those ads i considered a kids perspective. It bugs bunny looney tunes stuff. Its silly, cartoonish, and sticky. Its a very good ad.
Side-point: imagine if this clearly cartoonish ad did encourage "cheating at life". whats the downside? Those people are still putting in as much effort as they would have regardless. only now maybe they have read an example of a good email or a summary which could encourage them to learn more later. or maybe its just fun having a world where lazy people are trying to skate by a la The Dude
Yeah, I think the Apple ads also reveal changes in the meta level of human communication. You cannot know for certain, that the other person is "being real", if that makes sense.
That Ubuntu commercial left me with a weird akwardness, not knowing what or who it was for. It said "For you", which was the best part and I think it means I am in control of things, but that message might be lost with everybody not familiar with IT/Linux/Open Source. I don't know what certificates it was talking about though.
What does the Ubuntu ad say to the user? How does it capture someone’s attention? None of the ad tells me why this is something worth paying attention to versus other distros or OSs, it doesn’t even tell me it’s about the OS at all unless I already know what Ubuntu is.
Contrast with the Apple ads that tell you exactly what they want in the same time frame. Apple ads have always been tongue in cheek, and have always had a portion of people rubbed the wrong way because they took it too literally.
But at the end of the day, barring the few missteps like the crush ad, they seem to work for the target audience.
I find a lot of technical folk seem to struggle with “I don’t like it therefore it must be bad” and would have failed basically any media analysis class in college as a result. Similarly, the author falls into the “I like Ubuntu and this ad” and hasn’t stopped to think about how it plays to anyone but himself. It’s a really self centered outlook and one that means they’d never be able to market to others.