Marketing Of The Macbook Air Vs. The Dell Adamo

I’m sure that all of you have seem the lovely MacBook Air by now. Sleek, sexy, thin and a masterpiece of Apple engineering. This has caused other computer companies to scramble to offer a similar product. Dell recently released a new laptop called the ‘Adamo’. It’s interesting to take a look at the marketing campaigns for both products and compare.

First off lets just take a look at how these products are visually represented through images and commercials:

Dell Adamo

MacBook Air

Contrast this with the simple Apple advertisements for the MacBook Air:

My Thoughts

The Similarities:

Its interesting that both laptops marketing campaigns have an ‘airy’ quality. The Adamo is portrayed with very sleek elegant looking people with flowing hair and clothing. The Adamo commercial even appears to have a floating quality. The MacBook Air advertisements portray this in name, and also in the imagery. The MacBook Air is always floating (cheezy photoshop effects aside). Both of these products are trying to convey how thin and light they are. Its interesting to see their different approaches.

I also have to admit that the Dell Adamo is a very slick looking laptop. Its very similar in specs to the MacBook Air but its dark gray or black which I like. The MacBook Air is also a very sleek looking laptop as well. But alas this little article is not about what the laptops look like – its about how they are marketed.

The Differences

Overall I think that the Apple ads beat the Dell ads hands down. The MacBook Air ads are just simple and elegant without being showy – which follows the true Apple style. You can’t get any simpler than some sexy thin Univers 45 light and a drop shadow.

The marketing and advertising of the Dell Adamo just flat out made me laugh. I think the very well dressed uber-fashion models that they have in their ads are totally unnecessary and lust fluff! If you are trying to show that the product is an amazing feat of engineering – feature the product itself more!

Lenovo Strikes Back…

Another last note – It’s not just Dell and Apple out there making uber-thin laptops. Check out this ad for the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 that takes a stab (or rather a kick in the balls) at the MacBook Air: (and also sort of copies their ad style…)

What do YOU think?

Leave a comment and let me know what you think about the ads! Love it? Hate it? Are super thin laptops the future of technology? I’d like to get a discussion going! Let me know what you think!

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276014 Responses2009-03-23+11%3A08%3A22Niki+Brown to “Marketing Of The Macbook Air Vs. The Dell Adamo”

Rose says:

I like this topic of comparing marketing visuals. With the ad campaigns side by side, it’s easy to see it’s hard to beat Apple’s confidence and straightforwardness.

March 23rd, 2009 at 4:40 am

Patrick says:

And we thought the macbook air had problems! lols. I can’t wait to see this thing in action.

March 23rd, 2009 at 4:51 am

Chad Engle says:

I like the very first adamo ad… At least when apple put the Air into a manilla envelope it made since because you “could” do it not that you would but you could. Now carrying a laptop behind your back is just a little bit far fetched. I mean, I understand its “light enough” you could do it. But, just isn’t quite the same.

March 23rd, 2009 at 5:49 am

Shortee says:

no sane customer would buy such an expensive and useless product, so u have to make it exclusive and stylish.
apple does it this way since years

March 23rd, 2009 at 8:58 am

Antonea Nabors says:

I don’t think the adamo ad’s are necessarily using the models to ’sell’ the laptop, but rather as an element of comparison. High-fashioned models holding high-end accessories is how I portray the advertising approach taken by Dell. I definitely see the connection made between the way the models are styled, and the design of the adamo. If those models were laptops, they would be the adamo! (haha)

As for the macbook air, the advertisement speaks for itself. It is very ‘apple-like’ and familiar. It is the same approach apple takes on all of their advertisements, which is good. Apple has always been about simplicity and using white space effectively to market their products.

I think both companies are advertising their products accordingly to their identity. Apple always tries to advertise their products in an easy-to-use and simple way. Almost in a way that makes you forget you are purchasing a piece of technology. while dell has always been one for showing a more technical approach. I think their way of displaying ’style’ works well. They are hitting more audiences then people who buy computers because they ‘look pretty.’ They are also drawing in PC users who appreciate PC’s from a technical stand point.

March 23rd, 2009 at 11:18 am

gaz-j says:

Its interesting that both advertising campaigns are completely without colour! I know that the machines themselves are grey but there is absolutely no colour in either of the campaigns. This is a little surprising as in the past both companies have used a comlete colour spectrum in their adverts. iPod is a great example and also Dell have used coloured laptops in adverts too. Anyone else think it is a coincidence?

March 24th, 2009 at 2:06 am

iiiccchhhaaa says:

still in love with apple.
as always..

xoxoxo

March 24th, 2009 at 4:07 am

Lee says:

It’s simple. MAC wins.

March 24th, 2009 at 7:54 am

Kevin.L says:

I’d buy Adamo if it runs OSX. (that’s besides the point)

Anyway, I think in terms of comparing the marketing done by both companies. Apple has always taken the stance of offering a fair alternative to PC-based systems elegantly succinct without being cheesy. PC systems have Apple and other fellow PC systems to contend with, I would think due to that point, marketing their systems would not be as straightforward as they would like to be.

March 25th, 2009 at 8:33 am

Michael says:

My feelings from watching the ads:

Dell – made by machines in an artificial environment designed for high fashion people who live in a rarified word. This is conveyed by the animation, techno music and over the top models, who aren’t actually using the computers. The commercial/marketing distances the audience from the product.

Apple – everything in the commercial is tactile and human. The use of a hand gives the viewer a P.O.V. experience that allows them to imagine themselves opening the envelope and using the computer. The music is some they may find themselves humming after watching the ad. The marking draws the viewer in and helps them relate to the product.

Apple (as usual) wins.

March 25th, 2009 at 8:36 am

Chris Grayson - Art Director says:

I’m a Mac user, but I don’t think Dell should be dismissed out of hand. As is typical, Apple established a market, and Dell was fast to follow. I think Dell’s marketing is less derivative of Apple’s, than it is inspired by the way Dell users, or Dell marketing managers view Apple users– It’s not a device, it’s an accessory. I don’t agree with that, but that is the way many who don’t like Apple, view Apple’s products (”Oh, just they make gadgets for the beautiful people, who care more about style than substance,” says a detractor.).

Apple users are people who are willing to pay for added-value (and as some may point out, “Can afford to.”). I view Dell as the Chevy of computers. It will get you from point A to point B. Nobody buys a Chevy with the expectation that it is anything more than that. It is a known statistic that people who live in areas with longer commute times spend more or their automobiles. LA being the highest. Several years ago I had an interesting conversation over dinner at a meeting in LA. A New Yorker was (light-heartedly) teasing a Los Angeleno about the city’s car culture, and how much money he spent on his car. To rebut, the Los Angeleno explained that, between his morning and evening commute alone, he spent three hours in his car everyday, and even more if he went out in the evening. If he was going to spend that much time in his car, he wanted to be comfortable. Many days he spent more waking hours in his car than he did in his home. I see a direct analogy to Mac users. I spend at least 10 hours a day at my computer. It isn’t just a point A to point B exercise. It’s a quality-of-life issue. I send a LOT of time here, and the experience of using my machine matters. Dell, Gateway, HP sell cheap injection molded plastic boxes produced by the lowest bidder, running a commodity operating system. It’s a WalMart style price war, race to the bottom. Sony builds more value into their hardware, and charges a premium over their competitors, but still runs a commodity OS.

Apple sells higher end computers to people who are willing to pay for the added value the same way owners of a BMW are willing to pay more than people who buy a Chevy. The Chevy owner still looks at the BMW driver and says, “What a fancy pants, with his fancy expensive car. He doesn’t need to spend that kind of money on a car.”

The way I read the Dell ads is, they reflect the way Dell users (or Dell marketing managers) views Mac users. It’s just a fancy accessory for pretty people. Which tells me they don’t get it.

As for any accusation of copying Apple, I think that could be said much more of the manufacturing process. Laser cut aluminum shell is a manufacturing process that Apple has pioneered. The Adamo is the first Dell model to use such a manufacturing process, and Dell is touting it in the marketing.

Marketing materials aside, on a purely aesthetic level, I think the Adamo is a handsome looking machine. It is slightly too “decorated” for my liking, but it has very nice lines. And the minimal modern Apple styling is probably too sophisticated for the market Dell is targeting.

They aren’t going to steal any sales from Apple. But they are likely to make a dent in Sony’s sales.

March 25th, 2009 at 9:16 am