Editorial - Macrimination 

Apple Needs To 'Switch' Advertising Tactics

By Steve Sobek - Contributing Editor

We all want Apple's push to give iPods and the iTunes Music Store to Windows users to draw more switchers from the dark side.

This will have to happen without Apple being too obvious about it. The company will need to distance itself from this notion that many PC people have that Macs are a separate, isolated species from Wintel computers. I still have many friends who don't believe me when I tell them that I can open up Office files without a problem on the Mac using Office for the Mac.

Enter BuyMusic.com.

Its service is inferior to Apple's in many ways (more on that later), it's based completely on Microsoft technology from beginning to end and it gives the boot to the open standards that could help free us all from the chains Redmond would have us wear.

But most PC users will swallow it hook, line and sinker because they don't know any better.

Apple's iPod works with Windows out of the box. The iTunes Music Store will soon be open for PC users. But even after this happens, and Apple starts advertising, many of the brainless Wintel followers probably won't believe it would work on their computer.

They think of Apple products as something separate. They believe everything Mac is incompatible with the rest of the computing world.

I know this because I was once one of these mindless PC users. I'm what you would call an "Early Switcher." I switched in 2000, back when OS 9 was still the standard and hard crashes due to memory problems and extension conflicts were normal occurrences. Unfortunately, many PC users who haven't seen a Mac in years still base their opinions on this outdated vision of what the Mac OS is like.

But the really bad part is that BuyMusic.com's exclusionary tactics and obvious emulation of the iTunes Music Store will probably work. Which is why Apple has to do everything it can to make sure folks know that yes, the iPod will work fine with Windows, and that yes, the iTunes Music Store will play nice with your PC as well.

Apple has to (oh man, this is hard to say) mention Windows in its advertising for the rollout of the store, and maybe even use a different look and feel for the commercials. The white background will make viewers feel like "This is just another Apple product that I can't use." Maybe use background colors based on Windows XP's color scheme?

Wait. Don't do that. It would look atrocious.

Our only hope through all of this is that Windows users who fall for the iPod and the iTunes Music Store start to notice how easy the interfaces are and how integrated everything is. Then, they'll start hanging out on the discussion boards at Apple's site and maybe start visiting other Mac sites. Maybe they'll visit an Apple store and play with a Powerbook. Then, we've got new switchers.

But Apple has to walk a fine line before that will happen. Look and sound too much like Apple, and PC users will treat the campaign just like they've always treated Apple. They'll watch and say to themselves: "There goes that Apple again." Then, they'll go off and log on to the BuyMusic.com site and download music from the service they think was designed for them.

And what is their experience there going to be like? Nothing like the iTunes Music Store, I can assure you. While I didn't give them the satisfaction of getting my credit card number, I did load up Virtual PC and Windows XP and visit the BuyMusic.com site for a little research.

The first thing I noticed was the list of digital music players they were spotlighting along the right rail of the Web page. The iPod was not included, of course. Then, I noticed how much the page vaguely resembled the iTunes Music Store, but somehow just wasn't as elegant.

Along the bottom, below the commercial clips that mimic and make fun of Apple's music ads, is a series of videos meant to help users learn how to use the store. Your host is a pretty blonde model who intones: "Simple, huh? So what are you waiting for?"

If it's all so simple, why do I need three video clips to learn how to use it?

The iTunes Music Store is pretty obvious about how things work out of the box. And its integration with your audio application -- enabling you to browse, download and listen to your music in one program outside of your browser -- just can't be beat by the Web interface provided by BuyMusic.com.

The only place they get us so far is in the number of songs available. Apple's iTunes Music Store page says it has 200,000 songs. BuyMusic.com boasts 300,000.

But while Apple's store sells songs for $.99 each, BuyMusic.com sells songs for "from" $.79. What does this mean? Many songs are more than in the Apple store, which sells it all for one price: $.99. Songs from the new album by one of my favorite bands, Train, for example, went for $1.14 apiece on BuyMusic.com.

And the company's whole attitude about the project is exclusionary and makes me want to wash my hands after visiting the site.

BuyMusic.com is obviously trying to hijack the online music industry away from Apple, which is their prerogative. But BuyMusic.com's founder Scott Blum's comment on Apple's Steve Jobs having the right ideas but being "on the wrong platform" is just plain uncalled for -- and untrue. Yes, it is currently on Mac only, but it will soon be available for Windows, as well. So, in a short time, it will actually be on what Blum considers to be the "right" platform.

BuyMusic.com is very upfront about its lack of support for Macs. From its FAQ: "Do I need a Macintosh computer? No. Our music downloads are only compatible with PCs running Windows OS. (See Minimum System Requirements.)."

It also requires Internet Explorer. When I tried to log on to the page using Safari, I got this: "Thank you for visiting BuyMusic.com. In order to take full advantage of BuyMusic.com's offerings you must be on a Windows Operating System using Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher. Download Internet Explorer Here."

Apple uses open standards available to everyone for its store. There is no good reason why BuyMusic.com couldn't do the same, except for if its founders obviously want to scoop up the entire PC market for themselves.

This roguish attitude, coupled with the innate ignorance of most PC users, will be a lot for Apple to overcome in this battle, unfortunately.

And Apple will have to have a complete makeover of its advertising habits in order to win.

Steve Sobek is a journalist and Webmaster of United Mac. Reach him at ssobek@stevesobek.net.