Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!beta!hc!ames!amdahl!kim From: kim@amdahl.amdahl.com (Kim DeVaughn) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Amiga and Advertising are mutually exclusive terms, but... Message-ID: <16467@amdahl.amdahl.com> Date: Sun, 18-Oct-87 06:37:47 EDT Article-I.D.: amdahl.16467 Posted: Sun Oct 18 06:37:47 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 18-Oct-87 23:44:13 EDT References: <8710130223.AA15695@cory.Berkeley.EDU> <2495@cbmvax.UUCP> <2785@xanth.UUCP> Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Lines: 76 Keywords: vidiots versus customers Summary: more facts, less hype In article <2495@cbmvax.UUCP> higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom SALES) writes: >>What they need are fewer bells and whistles, and more intelligence. >> -Matt > >I think you overestimate the TV viewing audience. A survey once declared >that the maturity level of the TV audience is on average the same as >that of a 12 year old. > >You, Matt, are clearly more intelligent that the average viewer. >In TV in 30 seconds, it's really tough to convey much beyond enforcing >NAME recognition. Sorry Paul, I can't quite agree with you on this. For example, there is a recent ad out for the ST that is VERY effective, provides decision making information and name recognition, and looks like it was rather inexpensive to produce. It doesn't resort to hype or glitz, nor mystical, fog-shrouded images, nor etheral voices to make it's point. The commercial opens with an ST sitting along side a Mac. The professional sounding voice then compares some aspects of the two machines. Paraphrased: "The ST's screen is larger than the Mac's." "And in color." [shows the same 3D histograms on both machines, the ST in color, of course] "Useful for drawing fruit." [shows Apple logo on both machines, the ST in color, of course] "The ST plays great music with it's MIDI ..." [various music, shown with the program displaying a score] "Both machines have a mouse." "And a simple, powerful user interface/operating system." "How much more does the ST cost?" "HALF as much!" [cut to local dealer ... in this case Federated] (There were a couple other comparative points in the commercial, but I don't recall them ... amount of memory may have been one.) I dunno if this is Atari's own commercial, or Federated's (moot point), but I found it to be quite effective ... particularly the last line after having seen the side-by-side comparison in which the ST was shown to outperform the Mac. And I don't think it took a high-powered Madison Avenue whiz-kid to come up with it, either. Now I don't want to throw cold water on your efforts, because y'all actually *are* starting to advertise, but I'd really like to see you do some *quality* stuff, and avoid the "gee whiz" kind of hype. Properly presented, with some factual information, the Amiga can sell itself. Comparing Amy with other machines could be a particularly effective way to show off some of her unique features. And when I say "features", I do NOT mean the ability to display a bouncing ball, or other such demos ... few people spend hundreds of $$$'s to do that kind of thing. I DO mean showing them what multitasking really *is* in meaningful ways, and how you can *use* the powerful graphic capabilities, and how expandable the machine is, etc. Oh yes, and PRICE ...! /kim -- UUCP: kim@amdahl.amdahl.com or: {sun,decwrl,hplabs,pyramid,ihnp4,uunet,oliveb,cbosgd,ames}!amdahl!kim DDD: 408-746-8462 USPS: Amdahl Corp. M/S 249, 1250 E. Arques Av, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CIS: 76535,25