Earlier this week, Apple debuted its pricey $200-$300 Designed by Apple in California coffee table book — and, boy, has it already garnered a ton of publicity. Not all of it favorable.
In a fake ad which debuted on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Apple book is ridiculed for, well, basically being an insanely expensive book.
Check it out below.
While funny, the ad doesn’t really do anything that’s groundbreaking, of course. In fact, it basically repeats the beats of an IKEA ad from a couple of years ago, by describing the way that a book works as though it was cutting-edge technology. There is an amusing dig at the iPhone 7’s lack of headphone jack, though.
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By this point, Apple’s ads featuring Jony Ive talking sincerely about technology over a minimalist white backdrop have become instantly recognizable. In that way, this is more free PR for Apple — which is sure to sell a few more books as a result.
With that said, the book itself is the first time Apple has seemed to jump the shark when it comes to design pretension. As anyone who reads my “Today in Apple history” posts will know, I’m a huge sucker for Apple history, which should make me the perfect target audience for a book composed of pictures of old Apple products.
However, the thought of shelling out $300 for glamor shots of Jony Ive’s greatest hits seems excessive — and combined with the mixed reviews for the recent MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, having another product out there more likely to provoke negative than positive reactions seems to compound the worst fears people have about Apple.
What are your thoughts on Apple’s pricey new book? Leave your comments below.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
6 responses to “Late Show ridicules Apple’s pricey design book”
I have to admit, they deserve this ridicule this time. hehehe! The company is growing too big for one man to handle, unless that man was Steve Jobs, rest his soul.
It’s a book I’d like to own, but not for $200. If they priced it at even $100, I might bite (a perfect price point would be $75, since a lot of nice coffeetable books go for $65-$75) but if I’m shelling out more than a hundred bucks for a book it had better be a signed first edition (or just generally out of print/rare).
They should have made it available to employees only.
Then every single post would be clamoring for them to sell it. “Please, Apple, even if it has to be $300, give us a chance to own this unique work! I’ve spent $10,000 on your products over the past ten years and you won’t even give me a chance to own this!”.
Then we’d read that Apple is out of touch with what consumers want, and arrogant to refuse to respond to demand.
I love how you just created an alternate scenario where this book would have been equally unsuccessful. Why?
To show that EVERY move by Apple is chronicled as a mistake.
Inaction – Apple blew it.
Action – Apple blew it.
Opposite Action – Apple blew it.
It’s the only response the tech industry knows to Apple’s success.
Certainly the book will be a success, it won’t take huge sales volumes to recover all costs and be profitable. In addition to the exposure from all the negative articles, which would have written whether they took any action or not.
These types of book often are introduced at heavy price tags. Later on, you’ll see them for cheap. This is nothing new, and nothing new from Apple.
Good lord.