It was the India launch of the new iMac, a pristine white
work of art with a hemispherical base, aka the sunflower Mac due to its vague
likeness to the flower. The event was being held in a hotel near Connaught
Place, Delhi. The Product Manager had flown down from Cupertino for the unveiling.
As the Marketing Manager, I wanted to emulate the grand spectacle Steve Jobs had put up a few days earlier in
the US., though at a smaller scale. One of his tricks included a levitation of
the iMac
on a platform followed by 360 degree rotations to emphasize its beautiful backside. I was
skeptical we could pull off the platform levitation bit till we discovered a
hydraulic lift from the nearby electrical market in Bhagirath Palace, Chandni
Chowk. It worked perfectly..
The stage was set, the press and dozens of Mac enthusiasts
arrived for their first glimpse of the latest marvel. The final dry run was
being conducted 30 minutes before the unveiling and we seemed in perfect
control …till the hydraulic lift decided to get jammed . The damn thing just
wouldn’t start. The supplier rushed to get a replacement but given the Delhi traffic there was little
chance he could make it unless he
himself levitated all the way to his shop. Not doing the levitation &
rotation act would have ruined the entire sequence. Minor heart attacks were
happening all around!
Fast forward 40
minutes - the iMac was launched to thunderous
applause in a slick routine that included
levitation and rotation revealing
its three dimensional glory – just like Steve’s show at Moscone Centre, SFO.
Here’s what happened behind the scenes. No, the supplier's replacement never appeared but the 30 minute gap between the lift’s act of defiance and the unveiling was
just about enough to find a person of
modest height (one of the employees with the hydraulic lift supplier) who could
fit into the 5 ft. cylinder encasing the lift. The levitation was mimicked by
deftly pushing the iMac platform from underneath by our vertically challenged
savior after getting a cue from the Product Manager (which was a knock on the
top of the frame). Then he spun around inside the cylinder like a pirouetting
ballerina to provide multiple 360 degree views of the iMac. Our man crouched inside in perfect stillness
till the end of the presentation -
luckily someone had the foresight to drill
enough holes to let in precious oxygen and avoid manslaughter. And so the
world’ most talked about machine owed its India launch to the flexibility and
spinning ability of a guy from Chandni Chowk or the Indian practice of jugaad!
