Ken Segall: the origins of "NeXT", Siri pubs and the new iPad

The advertising Ken Segall, interviewed by the New York Times, told where the idea came to baptize "NeXT", as the company Steve Jobs founded after leaving Apple. And also to judge how Apple communicates in his later campaigns. An anecdote he had delivered in his book Insanely Simple (€ 9.99 - English) released in April, but worth repeating if one was missed.

Segall said that Tom Suiter, a mutual friend with Steve Jobs and former creative director at Apple, one day received a call from his former boss. Steve Jobs called for advice on the name of his new company, he had an idea in mind "I think I'll call it 'Two'." Suiter paused and replied "I do not know what to say, Steve. People will perhaps ask you what happened to 'One', 'and Jobs to invite him to recall if he found a better idea than his.

Ken Segall says Tom Suiter attended shortly after a lecture by Bill Gates, during which the Microsoft boss kept using the word "next" to describe the technology his company. By dint of hearing this word, Suiter thought he had something "It represents the future is something cool. "

He then remembered Jobs telling him he had a name. Steve Jobs at the other end was a moment of silence and then he told her he loved the idea. Segall added that neither Jobs nor Gates ever knew whence the inspiration for this name came.

Communication from Apple

During this interview, Segall addressed other topics. Under the anecdote, he tells that among the ideas in the air at Apple iMac to baptize the future, there was 'MacRocket' (for ease of connection to the Internet) and 'Macster' (in addition 'MacMan' known that Jobs was preferred for its resemblance to the ear with Walkman).

It also analyzes how Apple manages some of its campaigns, to find a form of drowsiness. It refers to such advertisements where we saw a hand holding an iPhone in Action "They had to make 10 or 15 like this over a period of three years. This is one of the lessons you learn early in your advertising career, one that says if I do not pay too much attention on television and I see this ad and it looks like the 10 others already made before it, there is little chance that I stop to watch it. "

It is concerned less with the ability of Apple to keep innovating on our products as a risk to let go in its communication, laziness maintained by the success of its products which would not lead to be original .

This led him to address the recent commercials for Siri who have staged three familiar faces, Zooey Deschanel, Samuel L. Jackson and John Malkovich. Campaigns that marked a break, but were variously received. Is hung, or not. "There are different ways to campaign with celebrities. Normally, these people stand up and explain how the product is great. Apple, for this campaign, took different people and let them each a pub, instead of showing random people using Siri in various ways, as in the beginning. This is an interesting way to show the characteristics of the product and use of celebrities in a manner that you do not have just hired someone to become the face of Apple. ".

Segall also speaks the name of the last iPad which dropped the number to be called the "New iPad". Like just about everyone, he expects it to go away even with the next iPhone, which will not be 5 or 6 but just the "New iPhone".

Initially, however, he saw an error, before changing his mind; after all, Apple is often very well "Because it is easier for the customer. When the first iMac came out in five colors, there were many people in the distribution channels that hated them because everyone had a number of different products and it generates an awful mess. I was in a meeting with Steve Jobs that day, and he responded to this criticism "It makes more work for you and more work for us, but it makes life better for our customers. I do not want give those names of different models, so be with and make sure it works. “And people have made sure that it works.”