For all of you who a) are beside yourselves wondering what Apple’s Tablet PC is going to look like when it’s unveiled tomorrow and b) need reminding that Apple’s marketing, particularly when Steve Jobs wasn’t at the company, hasn’t always been stellar, here’s an ad from 1993 hyping the release of the Apple Newton, a high-profile blunder from the company. You’ll note that the spirit of the work is much different than the current Apple ads, perhaps because it was created by BBDO rather than Apple’s current agency, TBWA. For one thing, it’s got a macho voiceover, rather than the quirky, bemused voice work of Jeff Goldblum, which set the tone for the current goofy yet logical "Get a Mac" ads. Among other faults, the ad also lamely shows a man purported to be Sir Isaac Newton asking "Who is Newton?," features unhip older people using the device and touts the digital notepad device as "cool," which is surely the kiss of death. Other ads showed a woman "bordering on hysteria" lying on a coach while her shrink scribbled notes on the device and reporters toting Newtons as they followed a beautiful model around, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal from the time. Ultimately, a convergence of factors, including poor handwriting recognition and relentless mockery in Doonesbury (which was much more of a public influencer in those pre-Web days), did the Newton in, though it appears the advertising didn’t help much, either. There are a lot of mysteries around Apple’s announcement next week, but one thing’s for sure: The ads won’t look anything like this.
—Posted by Todd Wasserman