| Tuesday, January 22, 2002 |
09:31 - Hey, Look: Exposure on The Onion!
http://www.theonion.com/onion3801/index.html
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Follow the link and check the "Infographic" in the box at the upper left. It's gentle mockery of the new iMac, the way The Onion tackles all kinds of things that clearly aren't genuinely stupid, but are outlandish enough to warrant having fun poked at them.
Like I've said before, this is a good thing. Exposure like this is the best possible exposure. Ads by Apple are suspect in the public's eyes-- sure, every company will say their products are the best thing ever. Gushing articles on the Mac Web-- okay, nice, but Mac websites can't be trusted to be objective. Positive ZDNet and CNet articles-- good, but few people will read them. Time Magazine cover stories-- helpful, but it still feels contrived.
What puts a product like the iMac into the public consciousness is parody. Parody means that it's a big part of what people think about, and they want a different perspective, one that doesn't take it as seriously as the ads and articles do. You know how MAD Magazine always does parodies of popular movies? They're often scathing, but do they ever hurt the sales of the movies? Not hardly. I know for sure that I've had my interest piqued in many movies by the MAD parodies I've read. And you know how big a Tolkien nut I am-- and Bored of the Rings is still one of the most treasured things on my bookshelf.
The key to the iMac's success is for it to be a big enough "thing" on the edge of people's minds for them to want to see it lampooned. Especially in this kind of way. Outright mockery and derision (like the "iCar" ad) isn't great. But stuff like this Onion thing is perfect.
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