Apple stays on message

So Apple ships some iPods with malware. As George Ou points out here, Apple then displays "arrogance and insincerity" in blaming Microsoft. George is absolutely right, Apple's display was disgusting and offensive to those of us that would like companies to accept responsibility when they screw something up.

But what George is missing is that what Apple did is good marketing. Dare I say it, maybe even great marketing. Huh? Did I say good/great marketing? With the blogosphere in an uproar? With everyone questions the legitimacy of Apple's security posture? Absolutely, this is classic example of why Apple is by far the best marketing organization in technology.

Why? Because their target market is not us. We'll buy their stuff anyway because we KNOW it's more secure. We can get pissed off and blow off steam and call them names. But what are you going to do, buy a new XP machine in protest? Not likely. Or maybe you are a Windows bigot (yes, they exist) - you aren't going to buy a Mac anyway - so they aren't talking to you either.

One of the first keys to good marketing is to stay on message. Apple certainly does that. It's all about the "Windows virus" and how Microsoft's OS should be more "hardy" and resistant to malware - like a Mac. Consumers eat this stuff up. And I suspect quite a few (who love their iPods) will certainly consider buying a Mac when their current machine blows up. If they had a Mac, they wouldn't have this problem.

Of course, it's ridiculous given that Apple created the problem. But the mass market is not comprised of the sharpest tools in the shed.

Another key to good marketing is to speak to your target customer. Apple's customers just want things to work (like their iPod) and because this virus only compromised Windows machines, it's another opportunity to poke Microsoft in the eye. Like they did in the original no virus ad here. See, they always stay on message and they never miss an opportunity to make the competition look bad.

So as much as I'm with George in being disgusted by Apple's actions, sometimes the best marketing makes you want to puke. And this is one of those times.