As the Apple Watch hits the market, it’s emerged that the Cupertino-based company has spent a whopping $38 million (£26m) advertising it on US television.
That’s according to Reuters, which quotes statistics from advertising monitoring firm iSpot.tv.
Although unlikely to drain Apple’s huge cash reserves, this is a particularly impressive sum considering that this figure relates to just one month of campaigning – between March 9 and April 10.
In comparison, Apple only spent $4 million (£2.7m) more promoting the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus over a five-month period.
Though this is a lot of money, it’s hardly surprising, since the Apple Watch is the first entirely new product the company has released in five years. It also happens to be the first new product created under the stewardship of Tim Cook, and has been generating interest for the past couple of years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ql0Z8Il73s
Despite finally being up for pre-order, many customers won’t actually be able to don the new smartwatch until June or July.
Only one model – the £559 38mm stainless steel Apple Watch with a black Classic buckle – is currently listed to ship on 24 April.
All other standard Apple Watch models have estimated shipping times between 4-6 weeks and July, while none of the 10 Apple Watch Sport offerings will be dispatched until June.
Worse still, the gold Apple Watch Edition won’t arrive until June or July at the earliest.
Read more: 5 things the Apple Watch does that rival smartwatches can’t
The wearable was unveiled back in September, meaning that most consumers won’t get the timepiece around their wrists until nine months after it first emerged.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
