Monday, December 14, 2009, 08:00 pm

Apple named 'Brand of the Decade' by Adweek

By Brian Garner

Apple received top honors in six categories in Adweek's “Best of the 2000s” advertising awards, including “Brand of the Decade” and “Marketer of the Decade” for Steve Jobs.

Naming Apple the "Brand of the Decade," AdweekMedia attributes the brand's success to Steve Jobs, calling Apple “the embodiment of a living, breathing person.” Jobs was named "Marketer of the Decade" and is credited with relaunching the Apple brand with the “Think Different” ad campaign. Apple's CEO is described as being visionary, iconoclastic, and fearless. Jobs is also up for Time's Person of the Year and was named “CEO of the Decade” by Fortune in November.

With 220 million iPods sold worldwide, Apple's music player was named “Product of the Decade” and is compared to the Walkman in terms of cultural impact.

Two of Apple's iconic ad campaigns are represented on the list, with the “Get a Mac” ads winning “Campaign of the Decade” and “Silhouettes” winning “Out-of-Home Ad of the Decade.”

The phenomenal success of the “Get a Mac” campaign is attributed to the ads' ability of allowing viewers to identify and connect emotionally with technology coupled with spot on casting. The “Silhouettes” campaign achieves what is nearly impossible according to Adweek: defining a product without actually showing what it looked like up close.

Nike Plus was named “Digital Campaign of the Decade,” calling the concept “a product experience that reinforces the brand message.”

Apple fell just short of winning “Digital Company of the Decade” and was bested only by Google. Google also won “Media Company of the Decade.”