Sheep to be sheared
SanDisk launches iPod-hate campaign By Macworld staff
SanDisk has launched an anti-iPod marketing ploy, called the iDon't campaign.
That's exactly it. All of Apple's compebreastors in this market seem to sit around scratching...
The campaign dismisses iPod owners as followers, and recommends music lovers instead turn to the company's own e200 music player. The campaign website points to a range of anti-iPod sites.
A graphic on the site's front page displays a herd of white earbud-wearing sheep.
The site proclaims: "Calling all free thinkers, contrarians, and malcontents. The time has come to rise up against the iTatorship. To resist the monotony of white earbuds and reject the oppressive forces of cultural conformity. Now is the time to break free from restrictive formats and a single source for music. It's time for choice, for freedom, for self expression - and for independent spirits to stand up and say 'iDon't'. You don't need to follow. There is now an alternative."
Speaking in March SanDisk CEO Eli Harari explained his company's plans. The company has a 10 per cent market share in digital players, he claimed. He said his firm aims to be a "strong number two" in the music player market.
Campaigners have been recruited at college campuses across the US.