I’m trying to recall the last time a company’s big event was broadcast on prime-time television in the same way that Apple’s 8 p.m. ET keynote is attempting to do tomorrow. Victoria’s Secret, with its fashion show, is the only firm I can think of that has done it successfully recently. While I anticipate there will be some audience overlap between that and an Apple keynote, I also believe Bella Hadid will be a bigger draw than a new iMac.
But Apple is still after it! While programs like Monday Night Football run on conventional TV, the company is promising a presentation that will be aired on its website, YouTube, and Apple TV. The corporation is poised to leverage all of the cultural cache garnered by its phones, Bluetooth headsets, and PCs and transform that fan following into a larger audience to advertise its products.
This major prime-time Apple event appears to be the company’s inevitable next step. No one else in the technology industry has had as much success as Apple in convincing consumers to treat their launches as major events. Almost every big tech business has tried. Sony’s CES keynote included Taylor Swift, and Samsung marched out a member of BTS to cheers during a Galaxy Unpacked event. Google has the Slo Mo Guys on their team. Intel has LED-encrusted dancers and acrobats. However, something about an Apple event tends to pique people’s interest.
And, following the iPhone event, it’s evident that the business has reached the height of what it can do with an hour-long noon infomercial. One of the only ways to grow, gain attention, and become a more consistent part of the debate is to go prime time (or acquire and run a social media firm into the ground). Move that superbly created product that catches the attention of techies and a few of their closest friends to a time of night when a lot more of those close friends can watch.
And Apple is more likely doing it now rather than with the iPhone since the stakes are smaller. A Mac event is less important than an iPhone event. Before an iPhone event, my brother calls to talk about the phones. He doesn’t do it nearly as frequently with a Mac one. Furthermore, the iPhone event has the potential to significantly impact Apple’s stock price. While a spec upgrade for the MacBook Pro is great, it is unlikely to make a significant difference.
I can’t guarantee that fewer people will watch this presentation than the iPhone event last month, but I believe Apple is less obsessed with smashing viewing records. (These are not made public by the company.) Instead, I’d bet Apple is planning next year’s keynotes, particularly those based on the Apple Vision Pro. Apple will use every tool at its disposal to get customers interested in a $3,500 AR and VR device. If an evening presentation garners more attention than a regular morning keynote, Apple will want to take advantage of it when attempting to persuade people that AR and VR are the future of computing.
So why not try out a series of Mac updates that wouldn’t benefit from the conventional keynote, in which hundreds of reporters and analysts fly to Cupertino to sit in a theater and watch a movie before getting hands-on with the products?
But it must be a spectacular display. Tim Cook will have to do more than just show up in an AFC Richmond jersey with a Ted Lasso mustache spirit-gummed on his upper lip. The announcements (at least the rumored ones) will not suffice. In addition to the promised Mac upgrades, I suspect we’ll see more sketches like the one from the iPhone presentation starring Octavia Spencer as Mother Earth.
Given that SAG-AFTRA is now on strike and bargaining with Apple, among other studios, it’s unlikely to be as star-studded. So don’t expect a slew of cameos from the stars of Apple’s most well-known shows and films. That means no Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon doing the Apple equivalent of an SNL digital short with Eddy Cue, or Adam Scott and Patricia Arquette staring at each other from across the table for an unsettling amount of time before Craig Federighi interrupts as the newest Severance program member and shows off an iMac. Perhaps Martin Scorsese will demonstrate how simple it is to access his new Letterboxd account on a MacBook Pro. Perhaps half of the keynote will be represented in the video game Resident Evil Village (created on a Mac, of course).
Regardless, I believe Apple will go in a more creative route because, in addition to wanting to test run keynotes at new times, the corporation is increasingly displaying its Hollywood ambitions. We first heard about its intentions earlier this year, when Bloomberg claimed that the business planned to spend around $1 billion per year on new film content. Its flicks, such as Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon, are now Oscar contenders. (It won its first Academy Awards for Coda last year.) Apple TV Plus saw its second price increase since its introduction earlier this week (along with a plethora of other Apple services).
The company wishes for consumers to associate it with entertainment. It would be bizarre for Apple’s first prime-time event to disregard the entirety of its business in order to showcase some new M3 iMacs. Apple cannot just provide a time-shifted presentation. It can, but it won’t be able to meet its objectives.
