Have you heard of Yael Naim? No? You probably have heard her song New Soul. Let's say if you watch any TV at all, and have seen the commercials for MacBook Air then you have heard it. It seems Steve Jobs personally chose her song for the commercial and it has now propelled the song, and Naim, into new popularity. Anyway, her song is catchy and has a very specific sound that has helped brand MacBook even further. Apple has been using music in their commercials for a long time--sometimes using previously lesser known artists like Naim, and sometimes using megabands like U2. Their strategy seems to be working. If you ever walk past an Apple store, you will notice that it is NEVER empty. People respond to music and when U2 appears in a commercial for ITunes, people listen.

But how many advertisers can afford to pay U2? Not many. So is this a level playing field? No way! For instance, there are many MP3 players out there and the most popular is the Ipod. I would argue that some MP3 players are better or have more features than an Ipod (and are certainly less expensive) yet Ipod rules. In my opinion, this boils down to having Apple, its advertising agency, and a big budget behind it.