With Apple TV+, the tech giant is taking a page from HBO, ordering fewer TV shows and movies, but aiming for a quality that’s a cut above the rest. But the Apple brand has always been a bit more family-friendly than HBO, and the Disney envy is still apparent. Enter Ricky Strauss. When Disney launched the marketing campaigns for films like Frozen, The Avengers, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and The Incredibles 2, it turned to Strauss’ team to deliver.
Now Apple wants a piece of that marketing magic for itself. The tech giant hired Strauss on Jan. 3 to lead marketing for Apple TV+, a bold hire that suggests Apple is serious about growing its streaming division, and potentially its theatrical film efforts. In streaming, while Apple has promoted Apple TV+ (and offered aggressive free trials to buyers of its products), it has not spent nearly as much time or money marketing the service as its competitors.
This year will see Apple release Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, star-studded spy thriller Argylle, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and [John] Lasseter’s animated film Spellbound.
