Apple marketing: just who are they targeting?

Today I found a great article over at Apple Matters (where our own C.K. occasionally contributes an article) by Mr. Chris Seibold. Mr. Seibold puts a critical eye on Apple marketing, and I have to say I agree. I've been confused and frustrated by Apple's campaigns over the years, and I'm glad to see I'm not alone.

Mr. Seibold states that "Apple seems to be selling to the already convinced." He cites the example of the Tiger page on Apple's website. Describing the benefits of a UNIX based OS, the H.264 video codec and more, Apple is appealing to people who either: A.) Already intend to buy a Mac or B.) Are especially computer savvy. I'll take it even further. More after the jump.

My parents have an iMac. They purchased it after using mine for a while and enjoyng it. Now they check their email, browse the internet, shop at Amazon, etc. They are the quintessential end users. They don't read tech magazines or visit the blogs or watch the keynote streams. They don't edit digital video or even own a digital camera.
And the fact is, they represent the majority of computer users. Not necessarily their age bracket, people who just want to do the basics.

Apple excels at making the basics easy. Safari is a pleasure to use, as is Mail, Address Book and the like. The problem is that no one knows it. When's the last time you saw Apple advertise a computer on TV? I
can remember seeing an ad for the flat panel G4 iMac, in which a young man was amused by its shape in a store window. Cute, but it tells me nothing about the machine other that it doesn't look like a typical computer. I have a friend running Mac OS 10.2 on a 350mhz iMac, because she never knew an OS update had been made available, nor did she know the iMac line had been revamped. Like Mr. Seibold implies,
unless you're a member of the Mac faithful, you just don't get useful information.

iPod marketing, however, has worked wonderfully. They've succeeded in making it a cool, hip little device. I only hope I'll one day see an ad that simply states, "Here's why this machine is great, and why we think you'll love it."