My girlfriend has a better Mac than I do

It's true, but I'm not bitter.  Yet.  I'm OK with my 2.2 GHz Macbook {late 2007} now that I have 4GB of RAM.  

My girlfriend has the newfangled unibody 15" MacBook Pro.  She's a one-woman video production studio these days and I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop when she discovers Garage Band.  I digress.  This post is about how she got it.  The miracle of global logistics.  The "placement" function of the marketing mix.  

Hmmm.  Let's review the 4Ps:

• Product:  MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz 15.4" LCD, 320 GB SATA @7200, 2GB RAM.
  
• Price:  $2,637.17 US with Westchester County, New York sales tax
  
• Promotion: Advertising campaign
  
• Placement:  Global delivery from assembly plant to the consumer {see below}
  

The order was placed on 10/24.  The custom configuration was assembled in Shanghai that day.  A day later it was going through customs in Anchorage, AK, like a "maverick.".  You betcha!  A day after that it was in Newark, NJ.  It was delivered to it's destination in Sleepy Hollow, NY on 10/27, but nobody was home, so it arrived a day later on 10/28.    Four days.  It was actually available in 3 days, from eastern China to just outside of New York City. 

I should have documented the "out of box" experience, but it looks like someone else has done so.  Brands aren't just labels, they're experiences.  They're performances.  Maybe we're just suckers?  All I know is that I want one, but don't tell my current MacBook.  I still love you.