R
Rene Ritchie
Karl Heiselman, CEO of brand consultancy firm Wolff Olins Global, is leaving to join Apple's marketing communications team. Both Heiselman and Wolff Olins have confirmed the move though, unsurprisingly, no other details were offered. Ad Age reports:
Mr. Heiselmen was a design contractor for Apple in the early 1990s, before Steve Jobs returned to save the company. "It was a bit of a weird time, they were trying to find their way," Mr. Heiselman told The Guardian in 2009. "The big lesson I learned was they were trying to be somebody they weren't and Jobs came back and said very clearly, 'we are going to go back to who we really are'."
Once it was back on top, Apple sometimes felt "a little too cool for its own good," he said in the Guardian article. "I think it might be in danger of becoming too cool, maybe not too cool, but too slick."
I addition to his previous work at Apple, Heiselman also spent time at Swatch.
Apple has been building out their in-house branding, design, and advertising team for a while now. It makes sense in-so-far as Apple dislikes dependencies and loves to control as much of their experience as possible. How far they take it and in how many directions will be interesting to see...
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