 | A happy iTod customer |
SAN FRANCISCO Following the smash success of the iPod and iPod Shuffle, Apple announced last Thursday the release of iTod, an innovative new product available exclusively at Apple stores. According to Apple spokesman Julian Mikelson, iTod will bridge the gap between urban hipsters and the rest of America, which is decidedly less hip.
When asked to describe iTod, Mikelson compared it to the hit series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. iTod is a new service offered at all Apple retail locations. People can come in and rent their very own iTod for the day so that they too can learn how to be hip consumers of Apple and other select hip products.
Following the press conference, attendees were asked to check out the Apple website for the official iTod launch via webcast at the flagship San Francisco store. After several minutes of anticipation, iTod was unveiled for the world to see.
 | iTod's target demographic |
Clad in faded Diesel jeans and a vintage T-shirt from Urban Outfitters, iTod also sports black horn-rimmed glasses, bed-tousled hair, and an emaciated heroin-chic physique. Each iTod comes complete with an iPod mini (colors may vary) and iPod Shuffle around his neck, as well as the ubiquitous white earbuds that are permanently in his ears. Optional accessories include an iBook in a Timbuk2 messenger bag, and for an additional $50, consumers can get an upgraded version of iTod with the U2 Special Edition iPod.
Apple VP of Product Marketing, Uri Schultz, described iTod as a bleeding-edge product offering that fills a niche for Apple as we begin to move downstream in our product marketing. Up until this point, Apple frankly has been the favored brand of urban hipsters and other trend-setting individuals. He went on to say that it is time for Apple to reach out to the rest of America and show them what were all about. iTod is the first step in this strategy to bring Apple and the hip lifestyle to the masses.
Consumer reaction to iTod has been overwhelmingly positive nationwide. Twenty-eight year old Denver resident Keith Clarke raved about iTod. Ive already rented an iTod twice. He helped me replace my boring Dell with a Mac mini, and he taught me how to perfect my smug Im cooler than you smirk as I walk around town listening to my iPod. Clarke went on to say that he is renting iTod again next week when he goes new car shopping for either a Mini or a Prius.
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