In a viral marketing move that's sure to draw the fire of Apple
fanboys enthusiasts (probably right here in the comments, if history is any indication), SanDisk has posted a website called "iDon't" that encourages people to flee the closed iPod universe (the "iTatorship," they call it) -- and to pick up a SanDisk
Sansa e200 while they're at it. While we certainly won't go into the pros and cons of each company's products here (mainly for fear of getting flamed), we must say that the iDon't site features little compelling content other than a few cheesy wallpaper downloads and some links to anti-iPod sites, and mostly comes across as sour grapes from
the runner-up in an industry being dominated by a single player. Still, other manufacturers need to do
something in order to gain market share, and R&D is, like, really expensive, so if you can convince a couple of kids to sport t-shirts and buddy icons featuring your propaganda, who knows, maybe a few consumers will bite.
[Via
iLounge forums]
posted May 22nd 2006 1:30PM
This...is pretty dumb.
I know that this ad campaign is old and they have some stupid "Lil Monsta" (O_o) thing now, but honestly...it's an mp3 player. It plays mp3s. I've had iPods, and I've had Sandisk Sansas, and honestly...why does anybody really care about what brand it is? iPods might have a cooler design, but if I can get something that holds twice the songs for half the price, I'll get it, whether it's Sandisk or Apple. They both are of equal (crap) quality, anyway. I took perfect care of my nano...and a year later the backing fell off. So I went out, and got a Sansa...and a year later the screws to the backing fell out. I think the only things that they have over each other are that iPods are pretty and Sandisks are....well, Apple comes out with a new iPod like every six months, basically rendering your model obsolete. Sandisk doesn't.
Well considering that the iPod is an overpriced, underachieving device, I wouldn't mind saying iDon't as well.
L ... O ... L ...
Speechless, sorry.
Well at least they're thinking out of the box to try and dethrone apple
I saw some of these posters this morning on the Bowery or 4th Ave (I can't remember which).
Any device should have a mem card slot. No Apple player does... That's mcnasty.
Boone, I'm guessing around East 6th street? I've seen AMD ads there before, but I wouldn't be surprised to see these ads there as well.
I'm definitely anti-ipod, and I like the e250 except for the fact that its extremely buggy (even with the lastest firmware). I've already had to exchange it twice.
desperation is a stinky cologne...
Big Sam - none of my 7 or so iPods have been buggy.. ;)
7 iPods.
lol
What a douche.
iDon't!
iPod fanboys flame on!
Fun. My trusty old first-gen Zen broke when I dropped it a couple of months ago so now I'm looking for new one. Considering the Zen Vision M, but I'm waiting for larger capacity. Feels stupid to just upgrade by 10 GB after what..? 3-4 years...
WOw This is sheer despiration by a 2nd rate player in the market. Their products have a *LONG* way to go before they catch up to apples deign and functionality.... Basicly they I will bet anyone that they only loose marketshare in the next year. GAME OVER
-DS
Yeah, ok. Just as soon as a SanDisk player has all the 3rd party options an iPod does, THEN I'll switch. But I'm not seeing anyone in a hurry to put out Car CDChanger Integration or RF Remotes or Integrated Alarm Clocks or any of the other products that truely EXPAND what the iPod can do. SanDisk lists, what, 5-10 things in the "accessories" area of their product website.
WHi iDon't you get some expansion options SanDisk???
People Buy iPODs to be trendy i had a sansa 1gb the only thing that sucked was battery life and no color screen but i gotta say the head phones with it were verrrrry comfortable with like a rubber gel form fitting and sandisk line is cheap and of somewhat good quality if you hate you Pod buy one
iDon't, and I never will. All I need is my Creative Zen Vision:M...
Humouring market leader is no brainer. It's easy to find holes in something as big as Apple's digital music market share.
They (competitors) better spend money developing (1) good device to sell and (2) good software to accompany it.
I have had about three non-iPod mp3 players now - and none of them performed even close to iPod Mini of my friend. None.
iDon't want to switch to an inferior player with inferior content.
#7 - "I'm definitely anti-ipod, and I like the e250 except for the fact that its extremely buggy (even with the lastest firmware). I've already had to exchange it twice."
This is probably the funniest comment I've read in a while. "I hate ipods even though they work better.", the intelligence of some people just cracks me up.
HAHAHA i think this is hilarous
SanDisk should start saying "iDon't copy the iPod". WTF are they talking about? The Sansa player is just a COPY of the iPod. The same form factor, the wheel... the buttons (not as good and simple as the clickwheel, but they are trying).
It is funny to see the desperation of these companies. If SanDisk wants me to say iDon't, well, start offering something new, not an iPod wannabe. They can stick that manifesto in their... ears.
Jeeeeeeezzz...
hmm, that makes me want to buy an iPod actually. If they are so desperate that their entire marketing plan is to attack the iPod, I think I'll have to go with the iPod over the SanDisk.
What iDon't get: Why do people want removeable memory in a player? iPod capactities seem to be pretty generous. Do you really want to have to manage a stack of stupid SD cards?
Well lol I have and iPod and have replaced it 3 times in the past two years. I needed a voice recording device so I brought a Scandisk mp3 player today. I have never heard of iDon't ... which is seriously funny to me.
As the saying goes, "If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, confuse 'em with bullshit."
Remember how well this 'viral' style worked for Real Networks..? SanDisk should have better sense. I'm sure MP3 players are a tiny part of their sales anyway - why bother to try to break into the market...? Yes it's a big market in dollars, but 80% of that goes to Apple so the other companies are all scrabbling over the last 20%.
this is an iRevolution of sorts!! wooo o/
#19... I think you're on to something. Maybe Apple set this whole thing up in an attempt to completely undermine the competition... on second thought, Steve probably has better things to do, like spending his enormous fortune on... i don't know... a new ipod for his mailman?
ipod's not about being a great player,..
its about walking down the street like your cool because you can ignore everyone that says hi. its about watching your favorite movie on a 2" tv. its about buying a $.10 song for $1 and keeping it on one device, your ipod. its about being like everyone else as well as your own individual unique iTOOL
I say idont to flash, but I'm not a sad individual... idiots...
And another thing... aren't those iChimp and iSheep type posters going to backfire..? How many people are going to look at them and just see the white earphones and assume it's some kind of iPod ad. How many of those who do go to the idont.com web site are going to bother to read through it enough to find the link out to the real world on SanDisk retailers..?
As we all know, insulting people is the best way to get people to buy your product.
Contrary to popular belief...the iPod IS NOT Trendy anymore. It has been overwhored by many sheep so therefore the REAL trendsetters have got to find something better :D....really it is an iRevolution!!!
o/!!!
i LOVE it !!! about time we crush the evil Apple and their mind control. this web site has MADE MY DAY! thanks Engadget!!!
>> Big Sam - none of my 7 or so iPods have been >>buggy.. ;)
That is like saying: "I love all of my 7 ex-wives".
Case in point: My mp3 player is a 4 year old Archos Jukebox.....It still works great -- and has user replacable batteries that I have replaced every year or so for about 12 bucks.
The biggest reason why iPodders re-up every year or so is because the battery no longer holds a charge -- and they must have disposable incomes.
It's like KIA (the car manu.) posting an ad, "Don't BMW."
Bah, they should ask people to send pictures of them with their current iPods and send a free Sansa to the first 150 or something to encourage people to make the switch.
Calling hipsters sheep isn't the way to discourage them, they already KNOW they're sheep!
Quote
ipod's not about being a great player,..
its about walking down the street like your cool because you can ignore everyone that says hi. its about watching your favorite movie on a 2" tv. its about buying a $.10 song for $1 and keeping it on one device, your ipod. its about being like everyone else as well as your own individual unique iTOOL
/quote
I'm sorry, but i have an ipod, and i love the device, i have a pioneer accessory that connects it directly to my deck and lets me control it from the head unit, and i have a dock connector to my home theater system. Seemless integration into my music listening habits. Which other mp3 players have this much versatility, plus having 60 GB of storage space that doesnt just allow me to store all the MP3's i could ever want, but also to mount as a hard drive to let me store all my backups of my laptop hard drive.
The iPod is NOT just a status icon, SOME of us have a great deal of utility out of this device. One which also has more accesories made for it, then any other mp3 player out there. PLUS if i ever have ANY problem with it inside warranty the apple store has been SUPER helpful. They even replaced my friend's iPod OUTSIDE of warranty! That's service.
For all these reasons i love my ipod and will continue to support the product as long as i feel it's worth it.
Yeah, the campaign is a bit lame, but understandable in today's DAP market with Apple miles ahead in terms of penetration. At min, people may wake up a bit more than merely yet another blah-de-blah DAP.
One note, I will concede that iTMS' FairPlay DRM boarders on an "iTatorship".
Great. Under the "The Alternative" section, the player looks like... A FIRST GENERATION iPOD!
Yah, real nonconformist.
My 3G ipod holds a full charge for all of 1 hour i think? Takes me about 40 minutes to get to my office door to door and if i charge it one night, go to work the next day, and DONT charge it that night it will die on the train on the way to work the following morning.
I am in the market for a new player, have no clue what to get.
the haters dont understand IPOD. (THE BEST PLAYER ON THE MARKET,, STANDARD)
Apple are dominating, reason: great product.
sandisk have just lowered there standards.
peace
Give it up already. People buy them because they like how they work. They do what they want (play music). They are easy to use. And yes, they look good. Most people don't care about all the bells and whistles the other players now have. For instance, who listens to radio these days? It sucks, especially since clear channel took over the whole industry and cranks out a brain mushing repetition of crap on a grand scale. Apple's DRM allows you to burn CD's of your music to listen in your car or wherever you want to with no iPod involved. Lastly, there are no legal locations to download songs for 10c that I know of so I don't know how that's a mark against Apple.
"its about walking down the street like your cool because you can ignore everyone that says hi. its about watching your favorite movie on a 2" tv. its about buying a $.10 song for $1 and keeping it on one device, your ipod. its about being like everyone else as well as your own individual unique iTOOL"
In the immortal words of Huey Lewis and the News, "it's hip to be square."
I used to have a lot of respect for SanDisk until now this is pathetic and so is there MP3 Player nothing on the market right now can beat the iPod physical interface, looks and software and for all you people who want choice by something else all I need is mp3 :p
"iDont"? Hey, don't ask, don't tell!
All of the "...Apple fanboys to the ready!!!" comments crack me up so much, it easy to forget that a large corporation like ScanDisk would NOT launch such a campaign if there wasn't something to the "iTatorship" reference.
iDont, but it's OK if YouDo
"13. People Buy iPODs to be trendy"
Call me trendy!!
i dont care!!
But my ipod is the best mp3 player i ever had..
#19,
Most companies looking to gain market share are going to go after the market leader, not #'s 8, 9, and 10.
And for all the rest of you...Just becuase Apple has the lion-share of the player market does not mean that its the best product out there...Just look to another Apple division - computers - which have very little market share. What about OS2 vs. Windows. The list just goes on and on.
iPods - at least for the moment - are "fashionable", but the market will eventually even-out. Just think about hom many Sony Walkman you see out there today?
What a fantastic way to insult 80-90% of the market. I bought an iPod, so that makes me a chimp? Well hell, I'm convinced, let's go buy some SanDisk crap!
I don't get all the hostility toward people who own iPods. That's the most made-up class of people I've ever heard of-- like hating people who wear jeans. Clearly cargos are the superior pants. Jeans don't even have thigh pockets! ALL PANTS SHOULD HAVE THIGH POCKETS! They just do it to be trendy, you know.
For the record, my iPod's battery has been fine for three years now. It obviously doesn't hold a charge like it used to, but then I also haven't been throwing away dead AAs for three years either. When I finally get around to it, it's going to cost me, what, $20-$30 to replace it? I can't believe I bought such a godawful product, and only because everybody else was buying them!
It's facinating how so many of you hate apple for being successful. If Sandisk was as much of a success Apple was, you would hate them to. You have no basic grounds or reason for flaming and spewing anti-apple propaganda. You are just another citizen, hating the the rich for making themselves something great, and when it comes down to it, you're just jealous.
Mmm... iTators...
If this works, watch for carmakers to adopt a similar strategy:
TOYOTA: At least we're not Hyundai.
FORD: Don't buy that Chevy! Don't do it! Nooooo!
JEEP: You can't afford a Hummer anyway.
SAAB: None of the cool kids own Volvos.
MERCEDES: Go ahead, buy the Jag... if you SUCK!
but isn't this just what the new apple ads are? as opposed to viral, they are going full out and trying to chip at the windows market share by all-out attacks. these flame wars would really cool down if people remember their masters are doing the EXACT SAME THING!
Right on Sandisk!! Down with the iCrappod.
iDo use an iPod and iAm proud of it. Best device for my needs.
I've had an M260 for about a month now and still haven't figured out how to get playlists to work on the damn thing. Guess what, the iPod just works.
I thought the whole Dell Ditty campaign much better. SanDisk ought to hire that poor man's John Goodman to be their spokesperson as well.
On a more serious note, SanDisk really ought to take advantage of being the underdog to Apple. They will never take over the lead in the MP3 market, but they could pick up some market share if they would promote their product as the lesser known product (like that rental car place... "No.2, But We Try Harder", etc.)
You don't become cool by launching a campaign that has the ring of a disgruntled grade-schooler.
It's a silly ad campaign, but it's getting attention and that's the point. I doubt they're going to be getting many "switchers" from it. I don't see switching to a company that's calling me a "sheep."
iPods aren't trendy anymore, too many people have them. Do you really want to try and generalize HOW many million iPod owners?
I have a 3-1/2 year old 20GB iPod that's still going strong. iPods have a nice, clean interface, play well with iTunes (by design), and continue to work after having been through normal wear and tear. Do I want one of the new ones with video and half the thickness? Sure. But I have other things to do with my money.
Are iPods the best choice for everyone? No. And I'm happy to see competition, though I'd like to see something that doesn't look like a blatant rip-offof the iPod nano...even though it does have an FM tuner.
Middle ground people, middle ground.
As an Apple fanboy, I am just flat out mad they made fun of monkeys.
HECK AT LEAST THESE GUYS DIDN'T SUE APPLE. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FOR CREATIVE, WHO SEEMS TO HAVE MORE LAWYERS THAN ADVERTISING STAFF ON THEIR PAYROLL...
SanDisk sucks... and this campaign just proves how desperate they have gotten.
"That is like saying: "I love all of my 7 ex-wives".
Case in point: My mp3 player is a 4 year old Archos Jukebox.....It still works great"
Actually, I am a completely obsessive gadget junky, which is why I have had 7. I have 4 right now in the family. My first iPod ever, a blue iPod mini, holds a charge and works great to this day. I sold it to my sister, and she loves it.
For this discussion, the merits of the products are irrelevant. What matters is the statement this makes about the SanDisk brand. This kind of cowardly attack ("the other guy sucks") paints SanDisk in a negative light. It enforces one notion: SanDisk is not playing from a position of strength--they're defensive and weak.
Why would they want to tell the market that they're defensive and weak?
Sandisk makes an mp3 player?
I want an iPod. Not because it's trendy or "hip", but I've used one, used others, and it feels quality. Yeah, it's overpriced. Yeah, I'll have to replace it in ~2 years thanks to a non-replaceable battery. But it works. That's what counts. Sandisk has buggy firmware (my DAP from 2 years ago has been killed thanks to a firmware upgrade from Sandisk).
Other products may be better. They may offer outstanding features like drag and drop, data space, free software, and FM radio. But the iPod does what it was designed to do: sound good, play music, and now it plays video.
I'm not a fanboy. Apple is the devil in a sleek white vinyl plastic exterior, but if you offered me the iPod or any other player, I'd take the iPod. I know it will work.
OK, pulling on muckboots to jump into the fray...
It is true that Apple makes a quality product. Solid software, decent hardware, but indeed, the products' shortcomings are large (i.e. battery, no FM radio, no voice recorder (without optional accessories of course)). This leaves lots of room for competitors (who will never unseat Apple on their own) to strut their stuff.
IANAAB (I Am Not An Apple Bigot), but I'll put my Creative Zen Micro up against an iPod Mini any day. Everything Apple offers plus replacable battery, FM radio, and voice or FM recorder. I don't need the glitz. I need the gadgets.
Nice publicity stunt - I don't believe I had even heard of SanDisk prior to this. Then again, I'm one of those happy-go-lucky chimps.
w00t!!! w00t!!!
the end of iPod just got one step closer!!! other players need to unite and drop the sleeping giant evil apple!!!
w00t!!! w00t!!!
SanDisk is reinforcing its base, which is a simple one: people that don't like iPods, for whatever reason. When there's a market leader, there are a bunch of people that just Don't Like It, for whatever reason.
The downside to their ads is, well, there's no real mention of SanDisk. It's not an ad so much as a negative campaign against the l00s3rs that use iPods. Weird.
At least the iRiver ads plastered around town show you the product & company name. This looks like the CEO of SanDisk is lashing out in some kind of odd music player vendetta.
The 2 campaigns are different. The apple ads are not insulting anyone by calling them chimps. Instead they try to show things that apple computers do better than windows machines do.
"but isn't this just what the new apple ads are? as opposed to viral, they are going full out and trying to chip at the windows market share by all-out attacks. these flame wars would really cool down if people remember their masters are doing the EXACT SAME THING!"
I like viral marketing in general, even if its not well thought out.
ipersonally think ipods are overated. Are they good products? Sure. But only "good".
ithink idid fine with my random 10 dollar mp3 player with a 4 gb SD card in it. Sounds better than an ipod and holds just as much as a nano for a far cheaper price. and if i drop it on the ground ireally dont mind. i rather drop a noname, than an ipod.
Odd way to go about beating Apple, but it does seem like a good way to get people talking about your product, so I can't really knock it.
I have a black iPod Video and I really like it, it's a bit basic it terms of formats supported, but the great navigation won me over?.not to mention it?s a nice looking device as well, which can?t really be said for most of the media players out there now.
I really didn't like itunes at first, but once I got used to it I really started to love it.
I thought trendsetters had a cowon X5 or X6? anyway.
http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/23/cowon-iaudio-x5-reviewed/
I don't think ipods are great and I certainly wouldn't buy one, but for sandisk to say this is pretty screwed up, given they basically copied the ipod design.
If I was looking to buy a alternate to ipod it would NOT be this. (oh it's also on 2-6GB) - ipod have up to 60 or whatever.
I don't understand... the iPod is a successful product and, personal opinions aside, there's got to be a reason for that. Be that fashion, marketing or simply the fact that it's a good device, it doesn't really matter.
In my opinion, a better way to get some of Apple's market share is to *make a better alternative*. Yes, the Zens and Sonys are mighty fine devices, but they can't compete with the iPod's success is the market as they stand.
Sour grapes indeed.
@27, the songs are not $.10. If you figure that most albums are released with about 15 songs and sell for about $14.99, that equates out to be about $.99, which is fair enough.
Well...
iDo! I'm getting an iPod 30GB in two weeks. Go Apple! Go Nintendo! The true innovators. It's bull to see other companies take what another company started: Apple for the personal computer market and Nintendo for the home and handheld console market.
sanpod ha ha ha....
"I don't get all the hostility toward people who own iPods. That's the most made-up class of people I've ever heard of-- like hating people who wear jeans."
Thank you Logan for summing up the iHater mentality so succinctly. You'd think an iPod ran over their dogs for all their ranting and raving. All while they foam at the mouth and peck out their bitter commentaries about "mindless sheep" on their...Microsoft Windows machines? Ah, the sweet irony of it all.
I guess when your music player is, well, in 29th place, you have to go after the guys in first place even it if makes you look as if you are desperate. This is typical of low lifes and those who can't innovate beyond next Tuesday.
my iPod's battery is so bad that it shuts off after 10 minutes and even if I keep it plugged in all the time it loses all the playlists and ratings I gave songs
it is by far the worst electronic device I have ever owned
its funny apple fanboys having a go at sandisks having a go at their opponents sty;e of advertising arent apple running a similar campaign at the moment about how much better macs are than pcs or some rubbish and portraying pc users as middle age men wile mac users are young and hip so apple fanboys just shut up you hypocrits
This cracks me up, people complaining about the battery life, and the high price.
for one, the battery is lithium ion, which it states in the manual has a limited life, it's a downside of these batteries in general, but they work great for the size until you go over 500 charges. These people simple charged their ipods too much, thats no ones fault but your own.
And as for the high price, Apple constantly releases a new one every year or so, which means your paying a premium for being an early adapter. All consumer electronics are high priced when they are first released, but since apple chooses to be ahead of the pack and release the newer features constantly, your going to pay them for that. Go on ebay on some online electronics store and search for an older ipod specifically, and that premium is obviously long gone.
If you want the newest stuff, you gonna have to pay.
and if you compare stat to stat, nothing compares to ipods, even if you can get more storage for cheaper, it's not going to be as small. everyone has a different reason for buying an iPod, but simply no other player can beat an iPod in every category.
Wait, am I sheep for liking my 3G iPod and iTunes or will I be a sheep for doing what a printed poster tells me to?
This is pretty dumb move by Sandisk.
Most professional, nay, all, professional photographers all use Macs for processing their photos. Guess what cards are used in all the high end cameras? Compact Flash. Guess who USED to be the most widely respected seller of CF cards? Yep, Sandisk.
Great way to piss off your fan base, Sandisk.
I haven't seen a company shoot themselves in the foot like this in forever.
iDon'tCare
Ya we could all be Sandsuckas...
*yawn*
#73
I agree Apple and Nintendo set the bar. these other jokers just try to do chin ups!
DS
iLaugh
First, It's just a freaking portable music player, stop hating! Do you actually hear yourselves talk? What a bunch of pussies!
If iPods are crap, what does that say for the rest of the field.
"Boo hoo, I don't like iPod. All iPod users should die!"
Keep crying, you jealous bitches!
Seems like an awfully big scuffle over nothing... do any of you even know what your portable player is capable of in the first place? Knocking the iPod's sound if you've only used headphones by Sony or Apple is pretty moronic...
When you've compared the iPod to other players with reference quality headphones and a proper amp (read: $1000 or more investment) then perhaps you won't seem like such a fanboy retard.
hahah... that's just a little sad really.
"It's like KIA (the car manu.) posting an ad, "Don't BMW.""
that's a good quote. :)
what's the point? you'll never carve out a market just by feebly attacking the #1 guy.... What the hell is wrong with marketing departments today? damn.
Oh, sweet IRONY! Anyone notice in the review of their product (http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2006/03/sandisk-sansa-e200-series-review.php) that the only video codec supported by the device is Quicktime? Niiiice.
...the difference between this and apple's new ads is that at least apple is TRYING (poorly) to point out the actual differences, to say WHY their product is better... instead of just the "U SUCK" campaign sandisk is running.
I still think attacking the competition is one of the weakest marketing campaigns i can imagine. ...pathetic (for ANYONE to do.)
The problem with iDont isn't that it is insulting iPod owners, the problem with iDon't much like the problem with Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine(not that iDon't compares in effect or message) is that they are PREACHING TO THE CHOIR! Most of us out there that laugh at iDont are those who already hate apple and iPod. Everyone else will just be offended because essentially they are happy ignorant chimps, they don't want to be offended and upset informed chimps. So you know what? Let them buy their shitty iPod's and their faulty VW's....while the minority of us buys Cowon's and Irivers and are informed chimps. :)
What people fail to understand when they list the features of competing players is that MOST PEOPLE DON'T WANT their MP3 player to do anything, but play MP3's. I don't want an FM radio, voice recorder, line in recorder... ect. Simplicity sells, stop shoving useless features down our throats. Tech geeks want them, but as the market shows there just isn't enough tech geeks to unseat the iPod.
A few things.
Sandisk makes pretty awful mp3 players. We got a bunch in at our library (we're planning on renting them) and they suck.
Do people really use a voice recorder on their mp3 player? What the hell for? Are you all aspiring playwrites or novelists or can you just not remember what you're supposed to pick up at the grocery store?
IMO, more people decide against an iPod as a rebellion against what they feel is conformity than people who do buy them only to be thought of as trendy. The rest of us are normal folks who listened to a bunch of different things, decided which one had the best ratio of features/sound quality/styling and went with it.
iDon't care.
Can't be mad at them for trying, but you know they would kill to have the following that they are making fun of.
Heh, that takes serious balls, I love it!
iDon't iPod and that's for damn sure. I don't like any restrictions put on my tunes or what I can do with them.