Mid-Week Bonus: Tim Cook, Walmart, & More
A GQ profile of the Apple CEO came out one day after my recent column about him, an article about Walmart promoting Paramount+ that sounds familiar, plus a big arrival at Ad Fontes Media.
A Mid-Week Bonus Dispatch.
Sunday's main article about Augmented Reality (AR) and Apple's history and future of self-disruption seems to have struck a chord. I was happy when the piece made LinkedIn's Top 10 the following day:
Another pair of things hit on Monday:
1. Zach Baron's GQ profile of Tim Cook, and
2. A 9to5Mac piece that pulled out of the GQ article how Cook's thinking about AR has evolved over the years:
Years ago, when asked about the possibility of Apple manufacturing glasses, in the mold of Google Glass, an early AR product, Cook told The New Yorker’s Ian Parker that he was skeptical of the enterprise: “We always thought that glasses were not a smart move, from a point of view that people would not really want to wear them. They were intrusive, instead of pushing technology to the background, as we’ve always believed.” He said then: “We always thought it would flop, and, you know, so far it has.”
When I raise this with Cook, he laughs. “My thinking always evolves. Steve taught me well: never to get married to your convictions of yesterday. To always, if presented with something new that says you were wrong, admit it and go forward instead of continuing to hunker down and say why you’re right.”
I like the idea of not marring your convictions of yesterday. The one thing about life that never changes is that things change.
Baron's profile is well worth reading because it provides some insight into Cook's character and leadership style.
It also points out something that I didn't mention in my Sunday piece, which was Google Glass. My friend Peter Sarrett emailed me about this, too—thanks, Pete!
The question here is why Apple might win at AR glasses when both Google with Glass and Facebook with the Oculus have failed? I have two answers.
First Answer: Apple has always invested heavily in design, in creating premium products in commodity environments. There are plenty of cheaper phones and computers out there, and while I personally think that Apple's interfaces and interoperability are more elegant than the alternatives, functionally they are pretty much all the same. Google and Facebook have never made similar design investments.
Second Answer: As I argued Sunday, as the world's most valuable company, Apple doesn't have to be in a rush with AR. The smartglasses coming in June are just the first AR product from Apple. It might be a decade before the popular version hits.
In other news...
An Advertising Age piece revealed that Walmart has started pushing the fact that Walmart+ subscribers get Paramount+ as a free benefit. This makes a feature-to-feature comparison between Walmart+ and Amazon Prime easier to make:
Walmart and Paramount's partnership gives Walmart+ members free membership in the ad-supported version of Paramount+. The duo announced the plan in August and implemented it in September. It puts Walmart+ on a more even footing with rival Amazon Prime in combining free shipping with video streaming, but at less cost. Amazon Prime membership costs $139 annually, compared to $98 for Walmart+.
Back in August, I argued that Walmart should simply buy Paramount outright, making it impossible to see Paramount+ shows (including all that Star Trek) without subscribing to Walmart+, and adding all the inventory on Pluto to its retail media network. (Extra details here.) In addition to Paramount+, I argued:
By acquiring Paramount, Walmart would suddenly own a huge and venerable collection of assets far beyond a shiny new streaming service. It would also own Paramount Studios, the Showtime cable network (with its streaming service), Pluto TV (another streaming service), MTV, Nickelodeon, Noggin, BET (with yet another streaming service), and the Tiffany Network itself: CBS.
Some people would subscribe to Walmart+ just to get CBS Sports alone.
I still think this is a no brainer. (The only thing that has changed since summer is that Paramount is considering a sale of BET.)
Paramount by itself is too small to last as an independent studio when squared up against giants like Disney, Comcast, and Warner Bros Discovery. Acquisition by Walmart would put Paramount into a different consideration set alongside Amazon and Apple, where the entertainment products were a feature rather than an independent business.
Tangentially, I think that the most delicious acquisition that might happen is for Apple to buy Disney.
Finally...
Big News for Ad Fontes Media: Lou Paskalis joins as Chief Strategy Officer!
My friend Lou Paskalis has been on the front lines of convincing brands to advertise in the news for years, and it's fantastic that he'll be able to extend this work, which Ad Fontes makes easier by rating the news for accuracy and bias.
Back when I was Editor in Chief at the IAB, I led the News Trust Halo research that showed not only that news is safe for brands to advertise in but also that it benefits brands to advertise in the news. Sadly, many brands have yet to get this important message.
If you've seen the famous "Media Bias Chart," then you already know Ad Fontes.
Disclosure: I'm an investor and active advisor in the company.
Thanks for reading. See you next Sunday.