From the “Not really news, but someone wants to know about this stuff, I’m sure” desk…

Apple may be launching pieces of its newest ad campaign early. Is it true? Could Apple actually be launching a comprehensive advertising campaign for the Mac?

At last week’s shareholder’s meeting. Steve Jobs mentioned that Apple would be launching a new advertising campaign this week, with C|Net reporting that it would be Mac-oriented. The first components of such a campaign may be starting to trickle out of Cupertino.

The first piece is some new marketing goods showing up on university campuses, as highlighted in this thread on MacRumors’ forum. Yes, the third post is mine. Yes, I think it’s a pretty cool ad. The second piece is an article on ifoAppleStore highlighting new brochures and staff T-shirts at Apple’s own retail stores. The two messages being conveyed by these ads is that the Mac is fun and it “can do it all” (with a little help from our buddies at the Apple Store, apparently).

Both the Apple store and college-oriented marketing goods are Mac-centric, which is consistent with C|Net’s report. Apple’s last major Mac ad blitz was the Switch campaign, which featured former PC owners--including the legendary Ellen Feiss--complaining about their PCs and exuding the virtues of the Macintosh.