January 19th, 2000

[6:00 AM] Apple Sponsors TV Show "Angel" With Commercial Chosen By MACWORLD Keynote Crowd by Staff It has long been known that Apple rules the TV and movie worlds when it comes to product placement, but last night the company went one step further. During the television show "Angel," a spin-off of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" on the WB Network, it was announced that the show was officially being sponsored by Apple Computer. While there were no iMacs in the show, the one computer screen shown was a Macintosh with the Platinum appearance. The commercial being used for the sponsorship was the iMovie commercial chosen by the crowd at Steve Jobs's keynote address. At that time, the crowd was shown three commercials promoting iMovie and desktop video production, and the audience was asked to choose which one Apple should show. Mr. Jobs thanked the audience, and the company has apparently decided to trust the crowd. The Mac Observer Spin: The WB has long been a Mac stronghold with Macs making all kinds of guest appearances in shows like Felicity where the lead character's iMac practically has a title credit. Still, it is interesting to see Apple advertising on a show like Angel which is a darker show than one might normally associate with Apple. iMovie commercials were also shown during Tuesday's episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, itself a somewhat dark show. With a predominately young demographic for both shows, Apple must feel it can grab mind share with that crowd. This is interesting considering that the iMovie ad chosen is aimed more at parents and grand parents than it is young people. Let's face it though, it's always good to see Apple advertising in any event, especially when they are taking a strong role like a full show sponsorship. Apple - Angel - Buffy The Vampire Slayer