It was on September 30, 1997 that Steve Jobs revealed Apple's new marketing strategy, which would entail focusing on Apple's brand; Steve cited Nike commercials that left people with a feeling of physical excellence without ever showing the ..........

The problem with Steve's ......... is, of course, that Nike doesn't just advertise with television ads, Nike also sponsors athletes, tons of them.

Undoubtedly Apple would have pursued the sponsorship idea, but since people won't willingly watch other people use computers, they were unable to ......... themselves of that option.

Apple's strategy may have been mistaken, incomplete or a ......... of genius depending on your perspective.

In any event, Apple held the ......... for years: if you were to take any particular television ad produced between the date of Steve's speech and the most recent July you'll note that they share a common theme.

What could a TV spot featuring Einstein, Gandhi, Picasso and a Richard Dreyfuss voiceover have in common with G4 towers surrounded by tanks? — rest assured the common theme is there, but it takes a moment to ......... the thing out.

Once it ......... though, it becomes impossible not to notice it in every subsequent ad.

The theme isn't one of some hidden message or even a ......... background but rather something that is omitted: specifically, you never see the Apple products actually working.

You'll be treated to spinning Macs, slovenly snails, or silhouettes dancing, but never an actual product doing what it was designed to do: the most ......... example of this is the spot introducing Airport.

While the technology has become commonplace today it was Apple who first ......... onto the wireless future, yet they never showed Airport operating wirelessly.