Just an off-the-cuff rant

>
> Speaking of media mentions, did you notice that not only is the Mac
> unsurprisingly featured in "The Devil Wears Prada" but that it is
> also Al
> Gore's computer of choice in "An Inconvenient Truth"?

I wonder if that had anything to do with the fact that Gore is on the
Board of Directors at Apple?

Important movie...must see message...best lecture "powerpoint" (keynote) demonstration I've seen (the slide with the CO2 and temp graphs where Al uses the hydraulic platform at the end...you'll know what I mean if you've seen the movie).

As far as Al and his Powerbook (like mine!), IIRC, Al's on the Board of Directors of Apple, isn't he?

At 1:46 PM -0700 8/8/06, Paul Brians wrote:
>As I read through the September 2006 Consumer Reports I noted several other
>positive mentions of the Mac, recommending Apple's Mail as a good product
>for blocking spam, for instance.

        I note that they listed the price as $140 for this software, which
while perhaps true (that's the cost of a Mac OS X installation if purchased
in a box "off the shelf"), it is also true that anyone who has Mac OS X
installed on their computer (meaning anyone who has purchased a Macintosh
in the past six years) has a version of the program.

        I suppose that if you want the "latest" version, you might need to
buy Mac OS X 10.4 which was released on 2005-04-29, so people with
computers from before that would have to pony up for the upgrade.... But
not mentioning that it comes with a new computer seems like a bit of an
oversight.

--
* Johann Beda - contact link: <http://xri.net/=j-beda> *
* Johann's MostlyMac Computer Consulting - <http://mmcc.beda.ca/> *

> I'm an avid Consumer Reports reader and read the spyware/virus/spam
> articles and the laptop reviews. The magazine definitely caters to the
> majority of computer users, not we special Mac few. Macs weren't
> completely ignored. Mostly they mentioned the absence of spyware/spam
> filters for Macs, though they should have emphasized this is because
> Macs have much less problem. They discussed spam filters in Apple
> Mail, then listed a price of $130 for Mail (which I thought was
> hilarious; I suspect they were talking about the price for Tiger and
> failed to mention what else is included). The only virus protection
> they mentioned available for Macs was Norton.


I'm not. I've had very bad luck w/ CR. Especially in electronics and
(Ugh) the plethora of disposable
items we use. i.e. batteries, video tape, etc. I feel if they don't
speak directly to the product you get a not necessarily accurate review.
Using Norton would ruin any Mac experience.

At 1:51 PM -0700 8/9/06, rlennox wrote:
>Oh well, the lemming read CS to confirm their choices, not to inform
>them. They deserve what they don't get! -- If you want to
>unsubscribe or change your address, use this link:
>http://emperor.tidbits.com/webx?unsub.3c3f6899!u=sfjksldsdfjksdlfsfdfd

I tried clicking on the link to unsubscribe to Consumer Reports, but
it didn't work.
--
Jay Schille

On Aug 10, 2006, at 11:27 AM, Richard Weiss wrote:

> Using Norton would ruin any Mac experience.

Which is part of my dislike for Symantec.

I used to have great respect for the old Peter Norton Group, before
the borg assimilated them. (Actually, they were allowed more
latitude than many purchased operations, including not being forced
to use Think C--for the not unreasonable reason that it wouldn't work
for them, but that didn't always stop Symantec brass.)

How many remember that the hair on the "doctor" who scanned disks
became steadily more grey in later versions, as Peter Norton's own
hair did?

   --John

On 8/9/06 3:55 PM, "Edward Reid" <edwardpaleo.org> wrote:

> At 13:46 08/08/06 -0700, Paul Brians wrote:
>> Speaking of media mentions, did you notice that not only is the Mac
>> unsurprisingly featured in "The Devil Wears Prada" but that it is also Al
>> Gore's computer of choice in "An Inconvenient Truth"?
>
> And I wonder how much Apple paid for those placements ...

Nothing. Apple doesn't pay for product placement.

--
Shawn King
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclife.com

On Aug 11, 2006, at 3:52 PM, Shawn King wrote:

> On 8/9/06 3:55 PM, "Edward Reid" <edwardpaleo.org> wrote:
>
>> At 13:46 08/08/06 -0700, Paul Brians wrote:
>>> Speaking of media mentions, did you notice that not only is the Mac
>>> unsurprisingly featured in "The Devil Wears Prada" but that it is
>>> also Al
>>> Gore's computer of choice in "An Inconvenient Truth"?
>>
>> And I wonder how much Apple paid for those placements ...
>
> Nothing. Apple doesn't pay for product placement.

Actually they do - and they have specialists on staff that do this.

But even more than paying, they often donate equipment to productions
if they will feature products screen.

Marilyn

On 8/12/06 2:58 PM, "Marilyn Matty" <mmattynyc.rr.com> wrote:

>> Nothing. Apple doesn't pay for product placement.
>
> Actually they do - and they have specialists on staff that do this.

They have people who manage the interactions but they don't actually fork
out any cash.
 
> But even more than paying, they often donate equipment to productions
> if they will feature products screen.

Yup.
--
Shawn King
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclife.com

At 1:50 PM -0700 8/14/06, Shawn King wrote:
>On 8/12/06 2:58 PM, "Marilyn Matty" <mmattynyc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>> Nothing. Apple doesn't pay for product placement.
>>
>> Actually they do - and they have specialists on staff that do this.
>
>They have people who manage the interactions but they don't actually fork
>out any cash.
>
>> But even more than paying, they often donate equipment to productions
>> if they will feature products screen.
>
>Yup.

Are you guys insane? Apply employs the most prominent PR firm in the
U.S. to promotoe Apple's products: Chiat Day.

Apple buys Time magazine cover stories as well as product placement in movies.

-m

> Apple buys Time magazine cover stories as well as product placement
> in movies.

Do you have some proof to offer that Time Magazine receives payment
for the way it's feature stories are positioned in the magazine? Or
is this just an assumption on your part?

BRIAN

On 8/15/06 1:33 AM, "michael-amorose.com Lists" <listsmichael-amorose.com>
wrote:


> Are you guys insane?

LOL Nope.

> Apply employs the most prominent PR firm in the
> U.S. to promotoe Apple's products: Chiat Day.

TBWA Chait/Day is Apple's Ad Agency. Their Public Relations, such as it is,
is done internally.
 
> Apple buys Time magazine cover stories as well as product placement in movies.

Well, "buys Time magazine cover stories" can be argued (they don't actually
but it "looks" that way) and they in fact *don't* pay money for product
placement on TV or movies.

That's why you often see the Apple logo blocked out - if Apple won't pony up
money, they'll cover the Apple logo.

Check out old episodes of The West Wing for a great example. They used Macs
and the logo was obvious. The producers went to Apple and said, "Would you
like to pay us for this product placement?" Apple said no so, the next
season, they blocked out the logo and, the season afterwards, Dell's were
*very* prominent.

Dell *will* pay for product Placement. :)

--
Shawn King
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclife.com

Brian Pearce wrote:
>> Apple buys Time magazine cover stories as well as product placement
>> in movies.
>
> Do you have some proof to offer that Time Magazine receives payment
> for the way it's feature stories are positioned in the magazine? Or
> is this just an assumption on your part?
>
They may not pay TW but they do "pay". They make available folks for
interview, photo shoots, story outlines, videos, photos, etc... Many
large or on the ball firms will put together story ideas for the media.
A local TV station may run a stop with only drop in local lead ins and
outs. Time may hand the information to a reporter and ask them to
develop it into their own story or anti-story. Good PR costs money,
just not always cash to the target.

David Ross wrote:

>They may not pay TW but they do "pay". They make available folks for
>interview, photo shoots, story outlines, videos, photos, etc...

Likening Time magazine to local TV is a bit ridiculous. Undoubtedly
Apple uses currency -- advance access, interviews with Jobs and
others -- in order to get better coverage. But I'm pretty sure that

a) Time doesn't guarantee them the cover

b) Time doesn't accept story outlines from Apple

-jason
--
Jason Snell / VP and Editorial Director, Macworld / jsnellmacworld.com
415-243-3565 / AIM/iChat: MW jsnell

Jason Snell wrote:

>> They may not pay TW but they do "pay". They make available folks for
>> interview, photo shoots, story outlines, videos, photos, etc...
>
> Likening Time magazine to local TV is a bit ridiculous. Undoubtedly
> Apple uses currency -- advance access, interviews with Jobs and
> others -- in order to get better coverage. But I'm pretty sure that
>
> a) Time doesn't guarantee them the cover
>
> b) Time doesn't accept story outlines from Apple

I was illustrating each end of the scale. Time wants to do an article
about Apple that's not about something like option grant dates, (!),
well Apple is very likely going to provide them with lots of stuff. Time
will not let the write, edit, or approve the story but Apple will be
very interested in providing input and even tossing out PR releases
hoping to trigger a "nice" article. It's all semantics.

On Aug 16, 2006, at 4:34 PM, Jason Snell wrote:

> Likening Time magazine to local TV is a bit ridiculous. Undoubtedly
> Apple uses currency -- advance access, interviews with Jobs and
> others -- in order to get better coverage. But I'm pretty sure that
>
> a) Time doesn't guarantee them the cover
>
> b) Time doesn't accept story outlines from Apple

c) Time doesn't always respect embargoes (probably accidentally in
the Apple-related instance I'm thinking of).

   --John
(OK, what English rule causes the "es" plural ending for "embargo"?
Sigh! I'm probably just forgetting it.)

On 8/17/06 05:06, "johnbaxterlistsmac.com" <johnbaxterlistsmac.com> wrote:

>> Likening Time magazine to local TV is a bit ridiculous. Undoubtedly
>> Apple uses currency -- advance access, interviews with Jobs and
>> others -- in order to get better coverage. But I'm pretty sure that
>>
>> a) Time doesn't guarantee them the cover
>>
>> b) Time doesn't accept story outlines from Apple
>
> c) Time doesn't always respect embargoes (probably accidentally in
> the Apple-related instance I'm thinking of).

That was not a respecting embargos issue. It was due to the way Time ships.
They ship issues to airports and the like a day or so early. They SO aren't
changing that for Apple.

--
John C. Welch Writer/Analyst
Bynkii.com Mac and other opinions
jwelchbynkii.com

Friends:

        Longtime journalist with career split between education, wire
services, newspapers and magazine work, including TIME-LIFE phone sales
training in Chicago center;
        and over sixty years working "in the media" at all levels;
since early-Maine daily newspaper work, then United Press-Bsn
wires-work;
        can add to PR-discussion facts-of-life learned long ago in associated
PR work
including national association assignments in D.C. and elsewhere:

        You give the publication whatever the h... it needs-and-wants.
        Very seldom cash, but not unknown;
often --make that always !-- extreme access, always piles and piles of
paper and information in any form...
        and you "hold their hand" with warm, comforting style;
while singing the best song you can set up for as long as it may take.

        That's for ordinary PR-exposure. You really turn it on when you have
shot at national-level and/or specialized situation.

yrfriendhank

"Rationalization doesn't mean "acting rationally". It means attaching
desirable motives to what we have done so that we seem to act
rationally...People seek justification for their behavior.
Rationalization makes people feel good." --- Gao and Schmidt, Journal
of Behavioral Finance (Vol. 6, No. 1, 05)

On Aug 15, 2006, at 2:33 AM, michael-amorose.com Lists wrote:

> At 1:50 PM -0700 8/14/06, Shawn King wrote:
>> On 8/12/06 2:58 PM, "Marilyn Matty" <mmattynyc.rr.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> Nothing. Apple doesn't pay for product placement.
>>>
>>> Actually they do - and they have specialists on staff that do this.
>>
>> They have people who manage the interactions but they don't
>> actually fork
>> out any cash.
>>
>>> But even more than paying, they often donate equipment to
>>> productions
>>> if they will feature products screen.
>>
>> Yup.
>
> Are you guys insane? Apply employs the most prominent PR firm in the
> U.S. to promotoe Apple's products: Chiat Day.
>
> Apple buys Time magazine cover stories as well as product placement
> in movies.

Chiat Day is Apple's advertising agency, not their PR agency, and
public relations is a totally different discipline than advertising.

Since Steve Jobs regained the leadership of Apple, it has been
reputed to have developed one of the best internal PR departments in
the high tech industry. I don't pay much attention to the PR side,
but last I heard Edelman were advisors to Apple, though they might be
doing/have done more on the investor relations aspect of the business.

Product placements are handled by another department within Apple
that specializes in it, and I'm not sure if they outsource any
efforts to other firms. There was an interesting story, with an
accompanying photo of Kiefer Sullivan using an iMac in "24" in
Wednesday's NY Times' Ad column:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/16/business/media/16adco.html?
_r=1&oref=slogin

It is completely impossible to buy cover stories in Time magazine -
their covers are not for sale, no way, no how. They are completely
editorially driven; if you see Mr. Jobs, and iPod or a Mac inside the
magazine, it is because the editors/writers decided it should be
there. I've never been affiliated with the Time Warner publishing
company, but have had friends and co-workers who have been.

Marilyn

On 8/18/06 3:16 PM, "Marilyn Matty" <mmattynyc.rr.com> wrote:

> Since Steve Jobs regained the leadership of Apple, it has been
> reputed to have developed one of the best internal PR departments in
> the high tech industry.

A lot of us would disagree with that statement but it depends on what you
want/expect out of Apple PR. But most "members of the Media" consider Apple
S PR a black hole - information goes in but never comes out. :(

> I don't pay much attention to the PR side,
> but last I heard Edelman were advisors to Apple

Not according to Edelman. Apple fired them quite a few years ago.
--
Shawn King
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclife.com