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My appleII Notes-17

My AppleII Notes-17

01/1/9　Thanks, Apple.

　 Apple's magazine advertisement "Baked Apple", from "Chiat/Day: The First Twenty Years"

I got a copy of "Chiat/Day: The First Twenty Years", which was published to mark the 20^th anniversary of Chiat/Day,  a US advertising agency. The following relates something of the relationship between Chiat/Day and Apple.

Chiat/Day: The First Twenty Years

This book was published in 1990. It is in a large format, which is one size larger than A4 size, and has 349 pages of high quality paper. Chiat/Day's advertising history over 20 years from 1968 to 1988 is covered in the book together with various comments. Major companies that were clients of the agency and are mentioned in the book include Honda, Pioneer, Suntory, Yamaha, Nike, Porsche, Mitsubishi Electric, Nissan and Apple Computer. It is a book about which there would be no complaints even if Apple were not mentioned at all. In this book, photos of advertisements are printed in a reduced size in many cases, but the book is still pretty generous with full-size advertisements too. Also, the allegory-like comments that are inserted between past advertisements are show what makes this specialist advertising agency Chiat/Day. There is a list of employees at Chiat/Day over the 20 years at the end of the book. Apple's 10th anniversary book "So Far" used a similar technique in 1987. The relationship between Apple and Chiat/Day began around 1980, and in this book, the first page shows the famous Apple "Welcome, IBM. Seriously" advertisement, which was run in the Wall Street Journal when the IBM PC was released in August 1981.

Steve Jobsとの出合い

Apple's full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal (August 24, 1981)

According to this book, the encounter between Chiat/Day and Jobs went something like this. Jay Chiat of Chiat/Day, based in New York, was looking for clients in new markets. He knew that Apple were looking for a copywriter to work at their head office. But he did not know which of his copywriters knew about about personal computers. He had been keeping an eye on a young writer who had worked at MITS. He was doing important work in New York, but he sent him to San Francisco for 2 weeks and just let him get on with it. Jay, who knew that Jobs was coming for an Apple show at the New York Hilton Hotel, and he took the young copywriter with him to the Hilton. The young copywriter and Jobs talked about computers, classical music, the concept of copywriting, etc. In the evening they had dinner at the "Four Seasons" (a famous restaurant in New York). The copywriter was seated next to Jobs, who was actually a few years younger than the copywriter himself.  The copywriter was nervous and and lit up a cigarette without thinking. Jobs said, "Why does someone who behaves so well smoke?" (The writer ran into the toilet and put out the cigarette.) Jobs then said, "Jay says you are the best writer. This is what Jay thinks." (The writer was not aware that such a thing had been said about him). Jobs begins to talk about his vision for Apple, saying, "It took four years to get here." They waited to see Jobs off, and then as soon as Jay got into the copywriter’s car, Jay punched the copywriter on the arm and said, "You did it, he liked you." And they all went home.

Chiat/Day's Achievements　

The storyboard for the TV commercial "1984", from "Chiat/Day: The First Twenty Years"

Chiat/Day worked together with Apple’s advertising department until 1986. Jobs wanted the company's advertising to have a stronger message and more refined image than the original material produced by Regis McKenna. In the 1984 Annual Report, the creative team was introduced with profile photos as the Team from Chiat/Day. The team consisted of 3 people: Jay Chiat, Lee Clow, and Steve Hayden. If one thinks about what is written above, then the young copywriter that met Jobs in New York was probably Steve Hayden. In "Chiat/Day: The First Twenty Years", the advertisements for each company are recorded for 10 year periods and shown for each year. The parts of the book about Apple include magazine advertisements (Baked Apple) and TV commercials featuring TV personality Dick Cavett for the Apple II; business advertising for the Apple III; advertisements for the Lisa business computer; a storyboard for the Macintosh “1984” TV commercialsl; the “Test Drive Macintosh” promotion; and a series of TV commercials. Apple's advertisements and  strategy for brochures and TV commercials  and Macintosh and Apple IIc promotional events during this time, which  reached a peak in 1984 and were often talked about afterwards, were planned by Chiat/Day.

Thanks Apple, and afterwards

Full-page advertisement run by Chiat/Day in the Wall Street Journal (May 1986)

The relationship between Chiat/Day and Apple encompassed the era of the Apple II, the Lisa, the Macintosh, and the Apple IIc, and it ended in 1986. In the previous year, poor sales of the Macintosh and Apple Iic led  for the first time to a quarterly loss and three factories were closed. Jobs  lost a power struggle with Scully and left Apple in September. According to the book "So Far", Apple concluded an agency review  in May of 1986 and replaced its advertising agency in the United States, Chiat/Day, with BBDO, which until then had been responsible for overseas advertising. In the second quarter of fiscal year 1986 (January–March), the restructuring led by Scully succeeded, losses were stopped, and in the wake of all this a reduction of advertising expenses was sort. It would appear that Chiat/Day was abandoned as a scapegoat. Chiat/Day posted a full-page advertisement to say "Thanks Apple" in the Wall Street Journal. This was planned to complement  Apple’s 1985 message to IBM that also appeared in the Wall Street Journal. Fast forward about 10 years, and Jobs returns to Apple as a director in August 19．97 with real power. He rehired Chiat/Day, replacing BBDO  in September. And the “Think Different " campaign began. .

　
A selection brochures and other promotional material from the era when Chiat/Day was involved.

Chiat/Day: The First Twenty Years: 1990, by Stephen Kessler, Jill Savini Design, Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. 349 pages, 305 mm × 240 mm