The "Shitinabox" thing dates back to the Mac Cube, which actually did sell well for a couple months after release. (Presumably mostly because it was Steve Jobs Approved.) I think it was popularized by John Dvorak.

There's a reason people go nuts over most apple products, and it's not because Steve jobs gets up on stage, and it's not because of technical specifications.... it's because he managed to setup the company to produce and market products that carried a bit of that magic with them for some reason. The packaging, the styling, etc...... we can argue that a box is just a box, but I can't help but notice when I give someone an iPod for christmas or something the fascination they have with simply opening the box. They start delicately examining the box and protecting it, usually keeping it afterwards for no explicable reason, even before getting to the product at hand. So a box is more than just packaging obviously... if it has that effect on people, it bolsters the brand..... pretty simple.