Yes, I intentionally exaggerated. Apple isn't ruling the market with an iron fist (or a monocle). They are however making confident, clever marketing moves to continue to build their brand in inventive ways nobody has really done before. This recent one is especially clever in light of the fact that what they're doing isn't particularly inventive in an engineering sense, so the innovation is purely in public image. It's not going to completely counter their recent tailspin, but it's a lot stronger than I can imagine most other companies attempting. The only other one that I would believe capable of this sort of play is Coca-Cola.

And so yes, if anyone else does dare try the "we have cool testing facilities" move, they'll be patently copying Apple's marketing — not that this hasn't happened before.

The only other companies I've seen try to spotlight their facilities as being really cool and beneficial to customers have been car companies with their automated assembly lines and Intel. It doesn't work in a lot of circumstances, but there is definitely a huge cultural significance in the amazement at technology (or if you're not amazed, it's just nerd porn).

Well uh, Apple markets its products as being beyond Earth technology, extraterrestrial, life-changing, as if God himself had bestowed it upon us mere mortals...

... So yes, I don't think that's a ridiculous word to use.