Apple May Part Ways With Ad Agency TBWA, Plans to Tap Beats' Jimmy Iovine for Marketing Revamp

Apple may be planning to part ways with longtime ad agency TBWA/Media Arts Lab, according to a new report from The New York Post. Citing industry buzz, the report suggests that Apple is ready to put its entire advertising account "up for grabs."

The Cupertino company is also said to be planning to leverage Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine to bolster its marketing efforts. Beats is well-known for its aggressive marketing tactics and clever advertising campaigns that have skyrocketed its headphones to popularity. Most recently, Beats launched a "The Game Before The Game" advertisement for the World Cup, featuring key players wearing Beats headphones.

Beats' most recent advertisement

What's more, the industry is buzzing that Apple will look to music maestro Jimmy Iovine, the boss of newly acquired Beats headphones and its sister music-streaming service, to help it regain its marketing mojo.

"Apple bought Beats for a lot of reasons," said one new business executive at a top agency. "They think they're marketing geniuses. It is safe to assume Beats would be part of an assessment of all [Apple] partners."

Apple's troubles with advertising agency TBWA began back in 2013, after Apple's Phil Schiller sent a tense email to the agency following a line of highly popular Samsung commercials with the tagline "The next big thing is already here."

Apple reportedly considered parting ways with TBWA at that time, but instead began working on building out its own in-house advertising solution while continuing to allow TBWA to produce some of its recent popular advertisements like "Powerful."

Despite continuing a relationship with TBWA, Apple has pitted its in-house team against its longtime partner and it has also invited outside agencies to offer pitches on major projects, suggesting tension between the two companies has been ongoing.

Apple has plans to hire 1,000 employees for its in-house team, which may end up replacing outside agencies altogether when complete. Most recently, Apple's in-house team created "Strength," the company's newest advertisement that takes advantage of the "Chicken Fat" song and focuses on fitness.

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
120 months ago
That ad was really cool! I really like how much sports! Those guys were really big and very cool, and I liked how the women liked them. They sure were big and good at hitting rubber balls with various appendages. I don't know if anybody else noticed because of how subtle it was, but the big, cool men whom women like were wearing a specific brand of headphones! I think I may purchase a pair, for they will doubtlessly make me big, muscly, and liked by the opposite sex! It's like the mushrooms in Mario: magical and definitely sensical! What a phenomenal ad! Also, if anybody is interested in providing an alternate interpretation of what happens at 3:01 (http://youtu.be/v_i3Lcjli84?t=3m1s), I'd greatly appreciate it, for all I can see is a low angle shot of a woman thrusting up and down (gif'd (http://i.imgur.com/3OYot5l.gif)) as if in the midst of… anyway, what a great ad! I really need to buy some SEX—I mean Beats®!
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrazyForApple Avatar
120 months ago
I would like to see the "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC" ads again.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrtravel123 Avatar
120 months ago
I would like to see the "i'm a Mac and I'm a PC" ads again

Sadly, Apple doesn't make Macs anymore. Just phones.

629 days since the last update of the Mac Mini. Not that this is my preferred Mac. Just saying... Apple is concentrating on phones much more than on some of their computers. Too bad. There are some loyal Mac Mini users. They deserve at least a spec bump once per year. 2 years between even small updates... not good, Apple. If they do put out an update on the Mac Mini, it had better be as drastic as the Mac Pro update was.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
plix Avatar
120 months ago
Apple's ADs HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE since Jobs passed away.

They are so stupid. Older ads were much simpler and got to the freaking point right away. The new ads are so goofy.

/rant
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thievesarmy Avatar
120 months ago
that Beats ad is AWFUL, from the unnecessary opening that so self-centeredly and conspicuously mentions "Beats by Dr. Dre Presents" to the slow, monotonous, melodramatic conversation urging the athlete to "run like a crazy man". That conversation was so unnatural. Who the hell do they think they are with this ad??? Jesus christ, give me a ***** break. A long 5-minute ad that tries WAY too hard to communicate the oh-so-subtle concept of "buy these headphones". I much prefer Apple's more subtle ads, although maybe that's not what works anymore. I really hope they don't lose sight of who they are, or feel like they need to change.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cambox Avatar
120 months ago
I'm just to old for this company! It was a good time Apple but I don't feel the love any more.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 With Bug Fixes, Plus iOS 17.0.2 for iPhone 15 Models

Thursday September 21, 2023 10:28 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates for the iPhone and the iPad, adding bug fixes to the new software. The iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates come just a few days after Apple launched iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. The software, which is build 21A340, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a...
iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

iPhone 15 Models Feature New Setting to Strictly Prevent Charging Beyond 80%

Tuesday September 19, 2023 2:04 pm PDT by
All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled, as confirmed by The Verge's Allison Johnson during a Q&A session today. The new setting is separate from the pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature on iPhones, which intelligently delays charging past 80% until a more...
emojipedia 15 1 emoji

Emoji Coming to Future iOS 17 Update Include Shaking Head, Brown Mushroom, Lime, Phoenix and More

Tuesday September 19, 2023 12:43 pm PDT by
As Apple was announcing new iPhone models last week, the Unicode Consortium was officially approving new emoji characters that are set to be added to smartphones starting in 2024. Mockup of new emoji from Emojipedia Approved Unicode 15.1 emoji include phoenix, lime, an edible mushroom, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake), and broken...
iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x Optical Zoom Limit Feature 1

Apple Explains Why iPhone 15 Pro Max is Limited to 5x Optical Zoom

Wednesday September 20, 2023 9:52 am PDT by
In an interview with Numerama's Nicolas Lellouche, Apple's VP of camera software engineering Jon McCormack explained why the iPhone 15 Pro Max's tetraprism lens system is limited to 5x optical zoom, instead of 10x like on Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra. The interview is in French, so quotes below are computer translated. Apple says the Telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max features the...