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John Deere and iPhones

On Twitter the other day, I said:

I think I might be the first person in history to use John Deer and the iPhone together in the same sentence to illustrate a point.

Yeah, I know, there's a typo there; but I fixed it in the title, that counts for something, right? Anyhow, I thought it would do to explain what I meant.

I read How you know a phone is rubbish the other day talking about the difference between iPhone ads and everything else. The gist: iPhone ads show you an iPhone, Pre, Blackberry, etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum, show you what your life will be like if you purchase their phone.

My favorite has to be this Pre commercial (which for some reason doesn't want to embed correctly). It seems to suggest that all you need to do is purchase a Pre and the world starts bowing down before you in perfect harmony. If only.

John Deere commercials tend toward the same path as an iPhone. Granted, I seem to recall (can't verify as John Deere doesn't seem to post their commercials anywhere online) a few commercials that show husbands getting that little bit of extra adoration from their wives after mowing the lawn and such, but generally John Deere commercials focus on John Deere tractors and the satisfaction you get using them.

I think its fair to say that both John Deere (yes, yes, I know. I'm showing my midwest colors right about now) and the iPhone are iconic symbols. Both are instantly recognizable, and both have rabid followers. To top it off, both rely on images of using their product in their marketing, not trailers for faux-movies or promises of a more balanced life perched upon a rock, to convince you that you should be using their products.

That's going to be the goal for any software products that I create from here on out. No gimmicks to give you a subminial message that the package is superior. Instead, it's going to be all about the package. Use this software because it's good at what it does and you need what it does.