Bad apple
Apple is a company I have a great deal of respect for and their marketing of late has been pretty damn good. Most of all this comes down to their fantastic products which sell themselves, something I believe should be the cornerstone of any marketing campaign. Their new 3G iPhone is no exception; a truly remarkable product. I also tend to think of Apple as a respectable company, with their products leading the market in minimising environmental impact, for instance. So it saddens me to say that I find their marketing for the 3G iPhone to be misleading and deceptive. This is from the front page of Apple’s U.S. site:
“Twice as fast. Half the price.” If only if this were so. Apple has been at pains to not mention the fact that although the upfront cost has been cut in half, the price of the contract it is tied to has increased, meaning the iPhone will actually end up costing customers $160 more over the 24 months of the contract, for the same service (or only $40 more if the customer is willing to forego SMS).
A sneaky marketing ploy by Apple that will taint their trustworthy brand image.
