Creator of Apple's 'Get a Mac' campaign departs famous ad agency
Scott Trattner, formerly a creative executive director at Apple's longtime advertising partner, will take on the same role at 72andSunny, an agency responsible for a number of high-profile clients like K-Swiss, Target, Activision and Carl's Junior/Hardee's, reports AdAge.
"I'm inspired to be joining 72andSunny at such an exciting time of growth and endless potential," Trattner said in a prepared statement.
Trattner is perhaps most well known for creating Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign, which featured actor Justin Long and humorist John Hodgman, who acted as human embodiments of a Mac and PC in series of now iconic commercials.
"Scott's track record for creating colossal impact on behalf of his clients is second to none," said John Boiler, CEO of 72andSunny. "His work has not only shaped one of the biggest brands in the world, but redefined industries."
The ad guru's latest Apple project fell flat, however, as critics panned the so-called "Genius" campaign, claiming it wasn't up to the tech giant's usually high standards. In the three-spot series that debuted during the 2012 Olympic ceremonies, an Apple Genius guides seemingly witless Mac owners through a number of increasingly ridiculous scenarios. While some speculated the campaign was an attempt to reach out to an older demographic, others noted the entire idea appeared to demean users, something Apple has never previously done in a commercial.
A TBWA/Media Arts Lab representative announced the series was being pulled shortly after it first aired, saying it had always been Apple's plan to have a "first run" limited to the Olympics' opening weekend.
49 Comments
All macusers are experts at using Apple computers!
Give me a break.
No matter how simple there is always a learning curve involved.
Kind of feel sorry for this guy. This showed you are as good as your current product or the last great one.
The ONLY successful campaign that Scott Trattner ever created in his entire career was "Get a Mac".
ONE campaign that really came from him AND was a success.
This guy is not an ad genius, he got lucky.
Ability has less to do with it than being born into an industry and collecting the right credentials.
I had no problem with the last ad, it reminded me of the things I see in real life all the time with new users. There are lots of witless Mac users out there, most of them being new users. Just be use you start using a Mac doesn't mean you're computer savvy, or even I intelligent at all.
[quote name="japm" url="/t/152136/creator-of-apples-get-a-mac-campaign-departs-famous-ad-agency#post_2176231"][SIZE=14px]The ONLY successful campaign that Scott Trattner ever created in his entire career was "Get a Mac".[/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]ONE campaign that really came from him AND was a success.[/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]This guy is not an ad genius, he got lucky.[/SIZE] [/quote] So genius is now defined as having multiple commercial successes? That's a new one on me. Also new to me is how you define such a structured campaign with many dozens of videos across at least two continents as [I]lucky[/I]. I tend to associate luck as something you guess at or just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Considering the number of variables for such a lengthy campaign it's hard to imagine it was all simply dumb luck with no actual knowledge, insight or critical thinking on his part to make this brilliant campaign. [quote name="POWERman" url="/t/152136/creator-of-apples-get-a-mac-campaign-departs-famous-ad-agency#post_2176289"]I had no problem with the last ad, it reminded me of the things I see in real life all the time with new users. There are lots of witless Mac users out there, most of them being new users. Just be use you start using a Mac doesn't mean you're computer savvy, or even I intelligent at all.[/quote] Apple really needs something in play when Windows 8 launches. They have a great opportunity to pull even more PC users to the Mac.