Apple and Newsweek Special

Advertising

By Philip H. Dougherty
The New York Times

November 7, 1984

The characteristics that might be best remembered about the super-colossal display of Apple Macintosh advertising that will dominate the special Newsweek Election issue could well be its classy graphics and, given the topic, its delightful sense of humor.

As the only advertiser in the news weekly's first special issue outside its 50th anniversary celebration, Apple Computer had its longtime agency, Chiat/Day, Los Angeles, create 39 pages of advertising that showcase not only the single product but also the talents of the agency.

The inside front cover spread serves as an introduction to the ad opus with a picture of the computer, whose screen explains that just as Election Day demonstrated the one- person, one-vote principle, the advertising to follow is ''going to demonstrate the principle of democracy as it applies to technology. One person, one computer.''

And the back cover, appropriately, is a full-page picture of the back of a Mackintosh. In between the advertising is divided into three chapters.

The first tells of the ease of use. The second, its applications, including software and word processing. The third will show concrete examples of what the machine turns out from chapter 2. Finally there is an offer to take a Macintosh home free for a ''test drive''.

Penny Kapousouz, the copywriter who did an earlier 20-page Macintosh introductory print spectacular, was joined by Steve Rabosky to create the various printed materials - from electronic correspondence through graphs and charts and on to packaging design. All had to do with the fictional Krug/Helm Heavy Industries subsidiary, Splendora Baby Food, which was preparing to produce ''Gourmet baby food for the rug rats of the Yuppie Generation.''

The menu included Strained Sushi and Petite P¬ate, which the chief executive of the fictional Krug/Helm believes will ''bang big bucks to the bottom line.''

Newsweek actually began thinking about a special election issue a little more than four years ago and did not have time to do it in 1980, according to Gerard P. Smith, senior vice president and associate publisher who was meeting yesterday in the office of S.H. (Steve) Price, publisher, with the publisher and Greg Helm, a senior vice president of Chiat/Day, just off the ''Red Eye'' from the Coast.

Peter Goldman, the same senior editor who was in charge of the 50th anniversary issue, was named to head the 1984 election effort a year and a half ago. And his six-member staff has been hard at it for a year.

The issue will not only be covering the news, it will also be making it, said Mr. Price, explaining that the reporters were privy to much behind- the-scenes goings on, with the condition that any news would be embargoed until after Election Day. So it will be out tomorrow, with Newsweek expecting to get a circulation of 4,075,000 here and abroad. The cover price of the 114-page issue, which will be sent to all subscribers, will be $2.50 instead of the regular $1.75. It will remain on newsstands until Dec. 10.

What made the Apple involvement possible is the commitment of John P. Sculley, president and chief executive, to ''event marketing,'' or speaking loudly when it comes time to speak. It was what led to the award- winning Big Brother commercial ''1984'' appearing but once on network TV and during the Super Bowl and the 20-page insert mentioned earlier.

Knowing Mr. Sculley's proclivity for such advertising ostentation, Mark M. Edmiston, Newsweek president, made his little sponsorship pitch during a visit to the West Coast last April.

Mr. Helm said that Apple would be paying between $2 million to $3 million for its involvement and that includes a press overrun for extra copies.

Meanwhile, a few blocks to the northwest, the Time magazine team announced yesterday that its Election issue, a regular issue that has its publication date pushed up a few days, would result in more advertising revenues than any issue in the magazine's 60 years - $12 million as measured by the Publishers Information Bureau.