Apple's main creative guy is going to Samsung (and why Apple will still succeed)

“Creative guy” is a bit off-base —  Scott Trattner was actually the executive creative director for Apple’s ad agency, TBWA/Media Arts Lab (sexy name, yo).

He is the guy behind the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” commercials, as well as all the iPhone and iPad stuff. 

Haters like to spout platitudes that all boil down to “Apple is so successful because its marketing has convinced everyone its products are better than PCs and Androids and that’s it.”

Trattner is now working for another creative outfit with a weird name, 72andSunny, whose extensive client list includes Samsung, HP and Xbox 360 (three guesses which accounts Trattner will be working on).

Should fandroids’ theories on “awesome marketing” hold up, Samsung will wipe out Apple with superior advertising.

Except, ha ha, it won’t. Joke’s on you, dorks.

The real reason Apple succeeds

Here’s the rub, and the secret every marketer who’s been around knows: No matter how great your marketing is, if your product sucks, it won’t do well. Just ask Samsung about the Galaxy Tab. 

Ouch.

Marketing gets the word out. Marketing creates presence in consumers’ minds. Marketing highlights why you should want something. The more you market, the greater the awareness created among bigger and bigger populations.

But if the product doesn’t deliver on our expectations, it’s pretty much dead in the water.  

The real reason behind Apple’s success: When Apple redefined smartphones, it had already created trust — trust that the makers of the iPod could deliver a device that Blackberry, Nokia, and Samsung couldn’t begin to imagine, much less build. 

That trust held true. So when Apple created a market for tablets — a market that essentially didn’t exist — with the iPad, people trusted that the makers of the iPhone could deliver once more.

And Apple again succeeded. Hell, Apple exceeded expectations. 

That’s why when Apple decides to deliver a television set or wristwatch or some other device, people will line up and gobble up millions of them. They know what to expect. They trust they will be happy with their purchases.

But let’s not rain on fandroids’ uninformed marketing theories just yet. We’ll see Trattner in action soon enough. Maybe he can convince us fanboys that Samsung makes better devices. 

Snurk.