Siri, Kobe Bryant & Michael B. Jordan feature in latest Apple TV ad

AppleInsider

Apple on Sunday posted a new ad for the Apple TV, featuring soon-to-be-retired basketballer Kobe Bryant and actor Michael B. Jordan, best known for roles in movies like Creed and Fruitvale Station.

In the TV spot, Bryant and Jordan are sitting in a trailer discussing a fictional biopic, using Siri on the Apple TV to call up things like the NBA app or the David Fincher movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Jordan's take on Bryant eventually leads to him being kicked out.

Apple has been more aggressive in marketing the fourth-generation Apple TV, the first to feature both Siri and an iOS-style App Store. That includes not just TV commercials, but other mediums like billboards.

Previous generations of the set-top were classified as a "hobby" by Apple, and not promoted very strongly.

The new ad also reflects Apple's growing reliance on celebrities to manufacture a brand image. A recent Apple Music promo, for instance, featured pop superstar Taylor Swift.

scotty321

Oh my god, that was terrible. Time for a new ad agency.

apple ][

AppleInsider said:

The new ad also reflects Apple's growing reliance on celebrities to manufacture a brand image. 

I would argue that that's not necessarily a good thing for Apple, and I view it as a rather unfortunate step in the wrong direction.

That's basically how Samsung and others have been advertising for years now. If a celebrity is holding a Samsung phone in their hand for 30 seconds, does that make the Samsung phone great, and does that make me want to buy a Samsung phone all of a sudden? If Samsung had a commercial using not just Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, but if they enlisted the entire NBA league, and every single player, would that make me want to use Samsung phones?

There are plenty of celebrity whores available who are willing to whore themselves out to whoever is flinging money in their direction.

Apple should rely on the strength of their products.

ireland

wut

foregoneconclusion

I think you can make the argument that the 'Think Different' campaign made use of celebrities.

mdriftmeyer

scotty321 said:

Oh my god, that was terrible. Time for a new ad agency.

From the response on YouTube you should find a different career, if it involves marketing.

cali

Michael Jordan playing Kobe Bryant. Interesting ;P

bobschlob

apple ][ said:

AppleInsider said:

The new ad also reflects Apple's growing reliance on celebrities to manufacture a brand image. 

I would argue that that's not necessarily a good thing for Apple, and I view it as a rather unfortunate step in the wrong direction.

That's basically how Samsung and others have been advertising for years now. If a celebrity is holding a Samsung phone in their hand for 30 seconds, does that make the Samsung phone great, and does that make me want to buy a Samsung phone all of a sudden? If Samsung had a commercial using not just Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, but if they enlisted the entire NBA league, and every single player, would that make me want to use Samsung phones?

There are plenty of celebrity whores available who are willing to whore themselves out to whoever is flinging money in their direction.

Apple should rely on the strength of their products.

Celebrities?
 Ok. So who are Alison Brie and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau then?

EsquireCats

That awkward ad needs to go, those are probably two of the least used Siri functions available, delivered in quite possibly the most jarring way imaginable.

Why not just have a couple laying on the couch while it's raining outside. Ask siri the weather outlook.."it looks like more rain", then the duo agreeing to watch a film "siri, show me some comedies."

djkfisher

Great ad, I give it a 5 star. Wow very creative..

metrix

Considering Kobe is no actor, his timing isn't half bad. I think it on par with Jennifer Lawrence's " I volunteer as tribute" line.

cali

apple ][ said:

AppleInsider said:

The new ad also reflects Apple's growing reliance on celebrities to manufacture a brand image. 

I would argue that that's not necessarily a good thing for Apple, and I view it as a rather unfortunate step in the wrong direction.

That's basically how Samsung and others have been advertising for years now. If a celebrity is holding a Samsung phone in their hand for 30 seconds, does that make the Samsung phone great, and does that make me want to buy a Samsung phone all of a sudden? If Samsung had a commercial using not just Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, but if they enlisted the entire NBA league, and every single player, would that make me want to use Samsung phones?

There are plenty of celebrity whores available who are willing to whore themselves out to whoever is flinging money in their direction.

Apple should rely on the strength of their products.

I agree the commercials aren't that great. The original Apple TV 4th gen ones were a lot better.

Still you can bet Sammy paid a ton for celebrities while advertising for Apple is an honor for any celebrity who already loves their products. They probably don't pay much.

I just heard a song with Lil Wayne(Sammy's ad celeb) where he trashes android. This is worse than Sammy celebrities tweeting from iPhone.

radarthekat

The reason got celebrities for marketing a TV-related product is the same as the reason for musicians for marketing a music service.  Hard to see how peeps don't get that.  Duh!

rogifan_new

radarthekat said:

The reason got celebrities for marketing a TV-related product is the same as the reason for musicians for marketing a music service.  Hard to see how peeps don't get that.  Duh!

And the reason for celebrities marketing smartphones???

This is actually a good ad and the Cookie Monster one is cute but I agree with others, I'm not sold on Apple's ads being so celebrity focused these days. And where the heck is an ad for the iPad Pro/Apple Pencil? Or how about some new Watch ads for spring? Also I don't know where Apple's ads are running but I see Samsung, Microsoft, LG, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile ads on TV all the time but rarely see an Apple ad. I've never seen the Cookie Monster one on TV and saw the Taylor Swift Music ad once so far. I'll see Samsung ads several times in one night.

bobjohnson

Almost everyone in this thread is so myopic as to border on blind.

What's the #1 cause of people keeping cable? Sports. How better to convince people who are thinking of cutting the cord to do so with an Apple TV than to show Kobe Bryant using it to get NBA highlights?

foggyhill

rogifan_new said:

radarthekat said:

The reason got celebrities for marketing a TV-related product is the same as the reason for musicians for marketing a music service.  Hard to see how peeps don't get that.  Duh!

And the reason for celebrities marketing smartphones???

This is actually a good ad and the Cookie Monster one is cute but I agree with others, I'm not sold on Apple's ads being so celebrity focused these days. And where the heck is an ad for the iPad Pro/Apple Pencil? Or how about some new Watch ads for spring? Also I don't know where Apple's ads are running but I see Samsung, Microsoft, LG, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile ads on TV all the time but rarely see an Apple ad. I've never seen the Cookie Monster one on TV and saw the Taylor Swift Music ad once so far. I'll see Samsung ads several times in one night.

So, you want Apple to spent the 11B Samsung does in advertising? Not sure it got them anywhere...

Apple's marketing is the product itself, its services, it's stores; nothing sells better than a good well supported product.

foggyhill

EsquireCats said:

That awkward ad needs to go, those are probably two of the least used Siri functions available, delivered in quite possibly the most jarring way imaginable.

Why not just have a couple laying on the couch while it's raining outside. Ask siri the weather outlook.."it looks like more rain", then the duo agreeing to watch a film "siri, show me some comedies."

The ad was fantastic and it will the target public especially will love it. You're probably not that public.

twolf21

scotty321 said:

Oh my god, that was terrible. Time for a new ad agency.

This ad is actually brilliant with the timing of its release. This is targeted at sports fans, or more specifically NBA fans. Basketball fans will find this funny and enjoy it. Sorry it didn't work for you. 

franklinjackcon

cali said:

Still you can bet Sammy paid a ton for celebrities while advertising for Apple is an honor for any celebrity who already loves their products. They probably don't pay much.

Honestly, you think someone like Kobe Bryant is doing ads on the cheap for the biggest corporation on the planet? They would have paid megabucks for that. I'm sure he likes Nike too but I don't think he's endorsing them for free.

patchythepirate

bobjohnson said:

Almost everyone in this thread is so myopic as to border on blind.

What's the #1 cause of people keeping cable? Sports. How better to convince people who are thinking of cutting the cord to do so with an Apple TV than to show Kobe Bryant using it to get NBA highlights?

Good idea, bad execution. Dialogue seemed awkward and forced, and the whole thing just felt too cheesy. It's possible that sports fans will give it a pass because of the subjects involved, but it would be a lot more effective if it was actually good. Seems like there needs to be a better vetting process for commercial concepts.

What I really wish Apple would do is to find a way to better and more authentically convey its priorities, ethos, and basic product strengths. Apple can't just sit on mount olympus only to give a few announcements a year and expect accurate information to actually stick with and resonate with the public. For most people, a lack of information (they're not paying attention to Apple's events or limited press releases) is a tacit confession of their suspicions, and since Apple is so successful, people suspect they must be doing something nefarious at some level. Almost everyone I have a discussion with (regardless of education, intelligence, or tech knowledge), have terribly inaccurate views on Apple:
-think Apple is bad: 1) responsible for excessive suicides/child labor, 2) "always" changing cables "just" because Apple is greedy, 3) "always" releasing new products to trick people into buying more, 4)....
-don't see Apple's good aspects: 1) regular/easy system updates, 2) security/privacy (Apple dropped the ball completely in not taking advantage of the incredible leadership Tim just showed in this area), 3) custom/advanced hardware that competitors don't come close to matching (and if they do it's due to doctored benchmark tests), 4)....

bobjohnson

patchythepirate said:

bobjohnson said:

Almost everyone in this thread is so myopic as to border on blind.

What's the #1 cause of people keeping cable? Sports. How better to convince people who are thinking of cutting the cord to do so with an Apple TV than to show Kobe Bryant using it to get NBA highlights?

Good idea, bad execution. Dialogue seemed awkward and forced, and the whole thing just felt too cheesy. It's possible that sports fans will give it a pass because of the subjects involved, but it would be a lot more effective if it was actually good. Seems like there needs to be a better vetting process for commercial concepts.

What I really wish Apple would do is to find a way to better and more authentically convey its priorities, ethos, and basic product strengths. Apple can't just sit on mount olympus only to give a few announcements a year and expect accurate information to actually stick with and resonate with the public. For most people, a lack of information (they're not paying attention to Apple's events or limited press releases) is a tacit confession of their suspicions, and since Apple is so successful, people suspect they must be doing something nefarious at some level. Almost everyone I have a discussion with (regardless of education, intelligence, or tech knowledge), have terribly inaccurate views on Apple:
-think Apple is bad: 1) responsible for excessive suicides/child labor, 2) "always" changing cables "just" because Apple is greedy, 3) "always" releasing new products to trick people into buying more, 4)....
-don't see Apple's good aspects: 1) regular/easy system updates, 2) security/privacy (Apple dropped the ball completely in not taking advantage of the incredible leadership Tim just showed in this area), 3) custom/advanced hardware that competitors don't come close to matching (and if they do it's due to doctored benchmark tests), 4)....

First, subjectively, as a sports fan, this spot is hilarious. 

Second, do you think they just make this stuff up as they go along? The people in charge of Apple's brand strategy are not idiots. They aren't marketing to you or to anyone else who reads this forum; they're marketing to everyone else.

Third, while all those things you list may be views held by some portion of the population, it's bad marketing strategy to act defensively. Similar negative beliefs are held by many people about many other companies.