42 CREATE THE STORY
World did not create the headline themselves. Apple provided it
in its press release, and Steve Jobs reinforced it in his keynote
presentation at Macworld. Apple’s headline was specific, memo-
rable, and consistent: “Apple Reinvents the Phone.”
During the keynote presentation in which Jobs unveiled the
iPhone, he used the phrase “reinvent the phone” five times.
After walking the audience through the phone’s features,
he hammered it home once again: “I think when you have a
chance to get your hands on it, you’ll agree, we have reinvented
the phone.”^8
Jobs does not wait for the media to create a headline. He
writes it himself and repeats it several times in his presenta-
tion. Jobs delivers the headline before explaining the details
of the product. He then describes the product, typically with a
demo, and repeats the headline immediately upon ending the
explanation.
For example, here is how Jobs introduced GarageBand for the
first time: “Today we’re announcing something so cool: a fifth
app that will be part of the iLife family. Its name is GarageBand.
What is GarageBand? GarageBand is a major new pro music
tool. But it’s for everyone.”^9 Jobs’s slide mirrored the headline.
When he announced the headline for GarageBand, the slide on
the screen read: “GarageBand. A major new pro music tool.” Jobs
followed the headline with a longer, one-sentence description of
the product. “What it does is turn your Mac into a pro-quality
musical instrument and complete recording studio,” Jobs told
the audience. This is typical Jobs method for introducing a
product. He reveals the headline, expands on it, and hammers it
home again and again.The Excitement of the Internet,
the Simplicity of Macintosh
The original iMac (the “i” stood for Internet) made getting on the
Web easier than ever. The customer had to go through only two
steps to connect to the Internet. (“There’s no step three,” actor
Jeff Goldblum declared in one popular ad.) The introduction