Apple appoints ex-Beetle marketing chief

Apple is set to appoint ex-Volkwagen US sales and marketing boss Steve Whilhite as its own head of marketing, according to a report in Advertising Age. Whilhite will become Apple's VP Marketing, a position currently unfilled, while interim CEO Steve Jobs oversees the promotion of Mac products. Given Whilhite was ultimately responsible for the marketing of VW's new-generation Beetle, a car often compared with Apple's iMac not only as a design classic but as the product that turned the company round. ®