I remember many years ago, when Windows was completely dominating the market with 3.1 and Windows 95, it was a common belief that Apple might have a  better product, but they totally dropped the ball when it came to marketing.  I can’t really say if that was true or not, as I was much younger then, but I know I heard it mentioned quite often.

I look at Apple’s marketing today and it’s a very different animal.  Forget the iPad and iPod marketing campaigns, as those products pretty much stand on their own.  When I consider the computer market, there’s been quite a shift.  It seems that more often than not, where there is a computer in a movie or a TV show, you see the Apple logo – typically on the back of a laptop, but sometimes from an iMac.  Product placement I assume.

I’ve now begun to notice in some movies and television shows a new and strange type of computer [monitor].  This piece of hardware appears to be manufactured by Microsoft because it has the Windows logo for all to see on the back of the monitor, where one might typically see an apple.  I’ve noticed this on the T.V. show The Mentalist and others that I can’t think of right now.  It appears that MS is taking a queue from Apple in this department.  I wonder if anyone ever walks into Best Buy looking for a Windows monitor?

But what really brought this to light, and inspired this blog post, was a drawing by my 6 year old daughter.  She had to draw a picture of what her Daddy does, so she drew me working at my desk.  I sit with my back to the wall, so when my kids approach me they see the top of my head looking down at my dual 23″ monitors, displaying Windows 7.  Despite the fact that the only Apple product we own (for now) is an iPad and we don’t know anyone else with a Mac, my daughter drew my monitor with a large apple on the back, clear as day.

If that’s not effective marketing, I don’t know what is.