I am not sure how many people ever saw the birth of an industry. I found a video on YouTube that gives you the moment where Apple’s iPod, the super successful digital music player was introduced to the world for the very first time. With the introduction of the iPad two days ago I thought it interesting to go and look at the heavyweight product launches and what makes them so important.

In this video showing the very first introduction of the iPod you will see Steve Jobs at his very best.

Steve Jobs himself is a legend in this regard. We know that Apple does spread disinformation via the rumour mill to generate buzz and expectations ahead of launches. His personality also has a lot to do with the success of his products because many companies will inevitably struggle to find a personality to present their products quite the same way. Microsoft has employed Conan O’Brien, the late night television comedian at a product launch for example in order to give it some flair but Conan O’Brien did not have his hands on the product development the way Steve Jobs gets to do.

Here is a clip from the CES 2005 with a major malfunction on stage. Imagine what it would have looked like without Conan improvising. The audio is not syncing but you will get what I am trying to convey.

At Apple Steve Jobs is the entertainer and the captain of the ship. It is a very hard combination to beat. Here he is in a short clip spliced to show you how hard he punches for his products.

Over at Microsoft, Steve Balmer is clearly a convert of buzz, going out of his way, sometimes in a completely outrageous fashion to create excitement.

Not all product launches use personalities but those who do in my opinion are better off. Here is an example of one using visual effects, in this case a display with Kylie Minogue music in the background. These launches can get pretty insane sometimes.