Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, who starred in Apple's first original TV show "Planet of the Apps" as a mentor and investor, recently shared some insight into why he thinks the show ultimately failed, blaming Apple's marketing efforts.
Vaynerchuk made the comments in a recent episode of AskGaryVee, where he spoke with The Grill Dads from Food Network (via Business Insider). In the video, Vaynerchuk says that Apple did "everything" wrong when marketing "Planet of the Apps," and that he sat through Apple marketing meetings metaphorically "bleeding profusely from his mouth" from biting his cheeks to keep quiet on Apple's decisions.
I was on an Apple show, right? Planet of the Apps? Gwyneth, Will, Jessica Alba, and me and Apple didn't use me or Vayner[Media] to do the marketing and did EVERYTHING wrong. Apple. [...]
I don't trust anybody in marketing today. And I feel like when you have the misfortune of also knowing production and marketing you're sitting there -- and I did the same thing -- for all my bravado, I'm a real tough guy when it's in my home, this is my home. When I do content, it's my home. But when I'm in somebody else's house, I was taught to show respect.
You'd be blown away by the way I handled myself in the Apple marketing meetings. My cheeks were bleeding profusely out of every meeting because I was biting them. My tongue completely fell out of my mouth. You're also there with Jimmy Iovine and Jimmy is like 'I got it, we got it,' and I knew he wasn't in the trenches, I know Jimmy's no dope, clearly, but I was like f**k this.
Vaynerchuk didn't go into specific detail on what he thought Apple did wrong, but he did say that he felt Jimmy Iovine was not involved enough in the marketing of the show. Apple limited "Planet of the Apps" to its Apple Music subscribers as a perk, which undoubtedly had an impact on its popularity, but given the response to the show, it's doubtful more expansive marketing would have improved the ultimate outcome.
"Planet of the Apps" launched in the summer of 2017 and received rather mixed reviews. Engadget, for example, called it Planet of the Naps and said it was lousy TV, The Guardian said it "won't be a fun watch for anyone except maybe venture capitalists," and Variety said it was a "bland, tepid, barely competent knock-off of 'Shark Tank.'"
The unscripted series was meant to be about apps and the developers who make them. It featured several app developers who pitched different app ideas for a chance to be mentored by influencers and entrepreneurs that included Vaynerchuk, Gwyneth Paltrow, Will.i.am, and Jessica Alba.
Mentors helped their chosen candidates build out their apps and prepared them to ask for funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners.
"Planet of the Apps" wasn't universally hated and some viewers did enjoy it as it earned 3.5 stars on iTunes, but unlike Apple's second original TV show, "Carpool Karaoke: The Series," "Planet of the Apps" did not get renewed for a second season and Apple has not continued on with the series.
Top Rated Comments
Gary Vaynerchuk is annoying. Nobody can figure out what he does or why he thinks he is the man. Whenever his videos come up on social media I just hit the 'Report' button and choose the 'Spam' or 'Scam' option.
Gwyneth Paltrow is privileged out-of-touch rich chick who used her fame to build a brand that defrauds women and encourages women to be stupid by selling complete quackery like Jade Eggs to strengthen their vaginas.
Same as above with Jessica Alba. So far this casting is a disaster and would offend most real entrepreneurs who had no fame and worked to the bone from poverty.
Then we add Will.I.Am to the mix. Overexposed, overrated, overpaid, and has an annoying name.
The only way this show could have been a bigger failure would be to add Ashton Kutcher to the mix.
Apple should had muffle it more.
No, it wasn’t Apple marketing, and he never was in a successful show and never will be.
This is true. Many people think it was a bad show, and those people happen to not fit into the target audience and viewed the show as Apples touted competitive original content designed to go against Netflix.
Or that target demo was just too small. I can only speak for myself (crazy on the internet, I know), but I had no interest in the show, I thought the cringeworthy name telegraphed even lower expectations, and it didn't matter who was starring in it. The marketing had no effect either way.I am looking forward to some of the other announced shows, however, especially Foundation.