Return to the Little Kingdom_ Steve Jobs and the Creation of Apple - Michael Moritz [118]
Apple’s advertisements were devised for an industry where small companies drenched their computers in superlatives. For skep-tics there wasn’t much room to argue. There was no authoritative market research. MITS had taken out full-page advertisements with the copy shaped in the form of a large figure 1, boasting that the Altair was the leading computer: “When you buy an Altair, you’re not just buying a piece of equipment. You’re buying years of reliable, low-cost computing. You’re buying the support of the NUMBER ONE manufacturer in the micro-computer field.” Vector Graphic called its machine “the perfect micro-computer”; the IMSAI 8080 was dubbed “the finest personal computer”; Radio Shack announced “the first complete, low-cost micro-computer system.” Processor Technology named the Sol “The Small Computer.” Apple trumpeted its machine as loudly as the rest.
In July 1978, barely a year after the first Apple II was shipped, a double-page advertisement in the trade magazines carried the banner headline WHY APPLE II IS THE WORLD’S BEST SELLING PERSONAL COMPUTER, a boast that just proved that numbers can be dredged up to support any claim. About the same time another advertisement, which also stretched reality, read “No wonder tens of thousands have already chosen Apple.” Chuck Peddle, who worked on the Commodore PET, thought “Apple consistently overstated their position and contribution.”
The corporate image was also reflected on the counters of computer dealers. Many of the stores were in a fragile state. They were strapped for cash and managed by hobbyists who sometimes seemed more interested in the computers than they were in their customers. Apple had a hunger for dealers. Some prospective independent dealers trooped to California, were antagonized by officials at Commodore, and found far more affection at Apple. From the start Apple also understood that the attitude and appearance of its dealers were important. For instance, it forced a dealer in San Francisco to switch his company’s name from Village Discount to Village Electronics and modeled the dealer agreements on those used by Sony.
When Computerland, a franchise chain of computer stores, started to open outlets around the country, Apple tagged along, Markkula was the linchpin for setting up the original arrangements with Computerland. He took to attending store openings and giving computer demonstrations. Ed Faber, the head of Computerland, said, “It was one of those mutually advantageous relationships. Apple had a product; we had the beginnings of a retail distribution system. The more success we had, the more success they had. The more success they had, the more succcess we had.” Apple, however, also used it dealers to help a limited amount of money go a long way. It was the first company in the personal-computer business to start a co-op advertising program where factory and dealer shared the costs of advertisements. Faber said, “It frightened other manufacturers. They thought we were so closely allied with Apple that they wouldn’t get any recognition in our stores.”
Some of Apple’s success could be put down to the advertising campaigns that were paid for by other companies. After Commodore and Radio Shack introduced their computers, they wasted no time before taking out large newspaper advertisements. At the beginning of 1978, a memo sent to Apple by the Regis McKenna Agency candidly noted that “Commodore and Tandy . . . have popularized the personal computer.” But few of Apple’s competitors proved to be particularly competent and none of their machines reflected the delicate balance of expertise and exuberance that was being knit together in Cupertino—even though almost every company that, at one time or another, announced or was rumored to