Comments on: About Brand

By: M. Allen West

M. Allen West — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:19:13 +0000

icarly they use pear pc a Pear PC is the Mac OS running on a standard PC

Google “Pear PC” , “OS86project”, and Hackintosh …
A Pear PC is a hacked computer…

I would rather use Linux Ubuntu or Linux Mint or one of the 1,000 of free distributions … but that’s just me.
You can run the Mac OS on a standard PC using VMware as well… The skin of the computer is custom made.
I know that icarly does dell laptop Commercials…

Hackintosh
I pc 10.5.6
Ideneb 10.5.6
Itkos 10.5.5
Leo 4all v3 10.5.2
kalway 10.5.2

By: David

David — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:16:44 +0000

Yes, there are rules pertaining to children’s programming and advertising (overtly or covertly) to kids. I’m not the expert, my wife is, because she is in the business. Changing the apple to a pear has little to do with copyright infringement and more to do with regulation.

By: Jin

Jin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:42:31 +0000

Thanks for stopping by Steven. I don’t know if there are rules with kids’ shows. I’ve started paying attention to product placement on TV since I made this post. I noticed there are several shows where Apple products are not “censored.” e.g. House MD, Bones and few others.

By: Steven Clark

Steven Clark — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:11:56 +0000

I’m wondering also if there is some constraint on direct product placement in children’s programs by law – preventing say McDonald’s or Coke from taking over your child’s brain while you cook dinner.

In which case, if you were to use your logo or branding wisely – thus changing the apple to a pear – you might be able to legally circumvent that rule and still be fundamentally recognisable.

Just a thought. :)

By: Quality test: Kill your logo — UX Hero

Quality test: Kill your logo — UX Hero — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:02:24 +0000

[...] friend Jin Yang (@jzy) wrote an excellent post about how Apple’s brand is instantly recognizable by style and build quality, even when the Apple logo is obscured. It reminds me of this quote: It [...]

By: Jin

Jin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:17:05 +0000

@Will, I think you pretty much nailed it. The "censor blur" on the logos of sodas and apparels definitely is due to legal reasons. Now I'm more conscious about shows/movies that use "real Macs." BTW, I'm pretty sure the production team of iCarly uses Macs

By: Will

Will — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:12:58 +0000

Why did they go with a Pear? Obviously to be like Apple, to be seen as hip and cool. Apple has associated themselves very well with design and content creatives. Besides, I’d bet most of the post production is done on Macs and we all know how much people love their iMovie. To have any other laptop would be just that… a laptop. Sure, you can do whatever iCarly does with other software but it isn’t top of mind. That, and the Apple/Pear is cute and appeals to kids. My much more functional Lenovo X61 tablet may be more suitable to what I do but it’s “all-business” like black case (which I love and so would Darth Vader) just wouldn’t appeal to the kiddies. But turn to a show featuring people doing what might be considered “work” and then you’ll see that sophisticated yet demure all black laptop show up.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:07:28 +0000

Having been on sets and acting parts of TV productions I can tell you that they are VERY careful about showing anything that could have a copyright or trademark. Often artworks will be removed or blurred. This is most frequently seen with logos on clothes. How many music videos have you seen with shirt logos blurred out? Countless? Any owner of the trademark could sue for payment or removal of the product shot. That’s why you see so many “cola” cans and not “Coke” on sitcoms, or in this case a Pear laptop and not an Apple.

By: Dmitry

Dmitry — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:43:59 +0000

That’s the thing — I think Apple could pay them to have the product in the show — or they could just use it anyway — Apple will surely not stop them doing so since it’s free advertising? Just weird to see them going so far as changing the logo to block out the product placement. It’s also funny on some other TV shows where they put a big sticker over the Apple logo to block that out.

Apple is interesting in that their branding so heavily influences the look of their products, both the electronic UI and the casing of the hardware. They almost have these waves of different designs that evolve over time — from transparent plastic and colors, to alumium and white plastic and now to even more curvy aluminum, black plastic and black glass. All the products incorporate the same lines and feel — its almost like Apple’s products all share the same soul. Other manufacturers product all kinds of designs, even across the same product line — look at all the different computers Dell produces :)

By: Jin

Jin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:36:34 +0000

@Alex, I think that’s just a standard Macbook with a pear logo. I love how Apple is so keen on its product design, both the hardware and software. Their products are so identifiable, even if you’re shown the corner, edge or partial UI, you’d immediately know it’s an Apple product. The same can’t be said about other computer makers.

@Dmitry, I’m guessing TV shows are keen on product placement. The companies that sponsor the shows get their products on screen without disguise. In the case of iCarly, I doubt Apple is a sponsor, but the producers want to associate the show with hip and trendy things.