To brand dictators

It's always nice to see a brand that has a very clear sense of its own self and its tone of voice.

Apple is great at this and the front page of the website over the weekend is a fine example - smelling very strongly of Steve Jobs.

Most brands in the tech sector would have gone on some superlative rampage about "seductive whiteness", "alluring perfection" or "sublime smoothness".

No, Apple takes a subtle shot at itself and the lengthy delay in the launch of it's white iPhone 4 with the headline "Finally". You can almost hear Jobs screaming it at someone at Chiat Day - or whoever comes up with these things these days...

Yeah, being the second most valuable company in the world does give you a certain amount of swagger.  But, Apple has always had a very clear sense of itself - that's what happens when you're run by dictators I guess. Maybe we need more of them - in business at least.

Ps. It's important to distinguish between visionary dictators & bullying sociopaths - we need more of the former and yet are blessed with an abundance of the latter.