Apple's new 'Sticker Fight' ad for iPhone 7 emphasizes iMessage feature

Posted:
in iPhone
The latest in Apple's advertising campaign for the iPhone 7 and iOS 10 brings Apple's "stickers" feature into the real world in a playful and colorful manner.




The feature starts simply, with a single sticker applied to an seemingly unwilling recipient, who responds in kind with a "thumbs down" retaliatory application. The video escalates through a diner and a sticker fight, and ends on a quieter note with an interaction between two people.





Apple has consolidated the stickers from the ad on a special App Store landing page.

The ad is a diversion from the recent iPad-centric pieces at a minute long, rather than the 15-second vignettes from the other campaign.

The iMessage sticker feature was first revealed with the iOS 10 debut at the 2016 WWDC. The ability to attach the embellishments to a message officially launched with the release of iOS 10 alongside the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    gmacgmac Posts: 79member
    iMessages Stickers are to Snap Chat what Ping was to Facebook!  
    entropys
  • Reply 2 of 19
    This is the worst ad I've seen from Apple. :-p
    baconstang
  • Reply 3 of 19
    I have been thinking about a way to pitch an idea to an advertising agency about branding using iMessage stickers. I most definitely will be adding a link to this commercial to my pitch. Thanks, Apple! Well timed!! 
  • Reply 4 of 19
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    this is clearly targeted for a demographic that id hazard a guess excludes the majority of users here. so if you dont look like one of the kids in the ad (or dont give a crap about stickers), dont get upset that you dont like it. the beauty of a smartphone is its not all things to all people.
    edited March 2017 baconstangadamcwatto_cobralostkiwi
  • Reply 5 of 19
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    this is clearly targeted for a demographic that id hazard a guess excludes the majority of users here. so if you dont look like one of the kids in the ad (or dont give a crap about stickers), dont get upset that you dont like it. the beauty of a smartphone is its not all things to all people.
    Yup, I agree. I am definitely not in the target demographic :(   I am not sure what age group this really is for. My guess is that the kids in the ad are older than the target group. That makes sense aspirationally speaking - kids tend to be awestruck by kids even a year older than themselves.  I'd say the ad was aimed at 10-14 yo's. The music seems very young and the whole thing comes across as way too 'safe' for 14+'s
    baconstanglostkiwi
  • Reply 6 of 19
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    Well...so much for Apple never trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator... :'(
    tallest skilbaconstang
  • Reply 7 of 19
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    josephyli said:
    This is the worst ad I've seen from Apple. :-p
    How old are you? As with many have stated, this is meant to appeal to a younger demographic. You do realize Apple products appeal to all ages right? 
    watto_cobralostkiwi
  • Reply 8 of 19
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    iMessage needs some simplifying soon.
  • Reply 9 of 19
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    JinTech said:
    How old are you?
    Younger than Lemmings, I'd guess. Though that set of ads from right after Steve died about "needing a Genius" were the worst in recent memory...
    As with many have stated, this is meant to appeal to a younger demographic.
    'Younger' does not mean 'more retarded', however. The bastardization of communication needs to stop.
    ireland said:
    iMessage needs some simplifying soon.
    How much more simple can it get? I imagine you're right–you usually are about this sort of thing–but I can't think of any way to make it more painless to use.
    edited March 2017 baconstang
  • Reply 10 of 19
    JinTech said:
    josephyli said:
    This is the worst ad I've seen from Apple. :-p
    How old are you? As with many have stated, this is meant to appeal to a younger demographic. You do realize Apple products appeal to all ages right? 
    I am 33. I do use Instagram, SnapChat and iMessage stickers. I just didn't like the ad, though I like the iPad ads. I just feel this ad didn't really convey the different things iMessage can do (For instance, Sticker Pals gamifies stickers). Also I suppose it just didn't feel like an Apple ad to me.
    edited March 2017
  • Reply 11 of 19
    adamcadamc Posts: 583member
    This is a fun commercial and even though I am old but I know my grand children will love it when I apply stickers to the messages to them. Face it everything Apple do is controversial, either you love it or you hate it.
    watto_cobralostkiwi
  • Reply 12 of 19
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    this is clearly targeted for a demographic that id hazard a guess excludes the majority of users here. so if you dont look like one of the kids in the ad (or dont give a crap about stickers), dont get upset that you dont like it. the beauty of a smartphone is its not all things to all people.
    Yes but this is exactly the kind of demographic that doesn't like corporate marketing. For these people it's a bit like when your grandfather tries to be hip. Cringe worthy.

    I think this demographic will find the notion of stickers yawn worthy.

    As stickers have been around since virtually the dawn of instant messaging apps (they've been on Line for as long as I can remember and monetised from the start, too), Apple is very late to this party.

    I don't actually know anyone that uses iMessage/SMS. WhatsApp, Line, Telegram etc seem to be the Apps that dominate. At least in my of the world. In business too.

    The only SMS I get nowadays are codes for transactions or other security based uses.

    I think from a marketing perspective it would have been more effective to just let users discover it in a viral way. At least that way there is less risk of being yawned at.

    BTW, is the sticker functionality monetised?


  • Reply 13 of 19
    michelb76michelb76 Posts: 612member
    This would have been fun when sticker/gif messaging was a thing.
  • Reply 14 of 19
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    avon b7 said:
    this is clearly targeted for a demographic that id hazard a guess excludes the majority of users here. so if you dont look like one of the kids in the ad (or dont give a crap about stickers), dont get upset that you dont like it. the beauty of a smartphone is its not all things to all people.
    Yes but this is exactly the kind of demographic that doesn't like corporate marketing. For these people it's a bit like when your grandfather tries to be hip. Cringe worthy.

    I think this demographic will find the notion of stickers yawn worthy.

    As stickers have been around since virtually the dawn of instant messaging apps (they've been on Line for as long as I can remember and monetised from the start, too), Apple is very late to this party.

    I don't actually know anyone that uses iMessage/SMS. WhatsApp, Line, Telegram etc seem to be the Apps that dominate. At least in my of the world. In business too.

    The only SMS I get nowadays are codes for transactions or other security based uses.

    I think from a marketing perspective it would have been more effective to just let users discover it in a viral way. At least that way there is less risk of being yawned at.

    BTW, is the sticker functionality monetised?


    The problem here is that you think you know this demographic better than Apple does. I'm not entirely  sure that you do.  But that's a fairly common problem round here (and I include myself in this): a very limited sense of anything outside our own comfort zone. I personally found the ad mostly annoying, though amusing in places. But having had friends drop round with their kids, I know they prefer to speak in hieroglyphics these days rather than texting actual words. (Hmmm). This is just emoticons on steroids. Are you saying that kids don't use emoticons?

    Now whether or not I think this is a good idea for kids is another story. 

    And yes, some sticker apps do cost money which means Apple will get a cut. Most of the useful ones are attached to an iOS app. 


    edited March 2017 StrangeDays
  • Reply 15 of 19
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    avon b7 said:
    this is clearly targeted for a demographic that id hazard a guess excludes the majority of users here. so if you dont look like one of the kids in the ad (or dont give a crap about stickers), dont get upset that you dont like it. the beauty of a smartphone is its not all things to all people.
    Yes but this is exactly the kind of demographic that doesn't like corporate marketing. For these people it's a bit like when your grandfather tries to be hip. Cringe worthy.

    I think this demographic will find the notion of stickers yawn worthy.

    As stickers have been around since virtually the dawn of instant messaging apps (they've been on Line for as long as I can remember and monetised from the start, too), Apple is very late to this party.

    I don't actually know anyone that uses iMessage/SMS. WhatsApp, Line, Telegram etc seem to be the Apps that dominate. At least in my of the world. In business too.

    The only SMS I get nowadays are codes for transactions or other security based uses.

    I think from a marketing perspective it would have been more effective to just let users discover it in a viral way. At least that way there is less risk of being yawned at.

    Get back to me when you've successfully launched a dozen ad campaigns -- Apple didn't fall off the turnip truck here.

    And you don't know anyone who uses Messages? Yyeaaaahhh -- pretty clear you use a knockoff device. Blue bubbles are huge.
    Rayz2016
  • Reply 16 of 19
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    avon b7 said:
    this is clearly targeted for a demographic that id hazard a guess excludes the majority of users here. so if you dont look like one of the kids in the ad (or dont give a crap about stickers), dont get upset that you dont like it. the beauty of a smartphone is its not all things to all people.
    Yes but this is exactly the kind of demographic that doesn't like corporate marketing. For these people it's a bit like when your grandfather tries to be hip. Cringe worthy.

    I think this demographic will find the notion of stickers yawn worthy.

    As stickers have been around since virtually the dawn of instant messaging apps (they've been on Line for as long as I can remember and monetised from the start, too), Apple is very late to this party.

    I don't actually know anyone that uses iMessage/SMS. WhatsApp, Line, Telegram etc seem to be the Apps that dominate. At least in my of the world. In business too.

    The only SMS I get nowadays are codes for transactions or other security based uses.

    I think from a marketing perspective it would have been more effective to just let users discover it in a viral way. At least that way there is less risk of being yawned at.

    Get back to me when you've successfully launched a dozen ad campaigns -- Apple didn't fall off the turnip truck here.

    And you don't know anyone who uses Messages? Yyeaaaahhh -- pretty clear you use a knockoff device. Blue bubbles are huge.
    Not as huge as other messaging apps. 
  • Reply 17 of 19
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    Rayz2016 said:
    avon b7 said:
    this is clearly targeted for a demographic that id hazard a guess excludes the majority of users here. so if you dont look like one of the kids in the ad (or dont give a crap about stickers), dont get upset that you dont like it. the beauty of a smartphone is its not all things to all people.
    Yes but this is exactly the kind of demographic that doesn't like corporate marketing. For these people it's a bit like when your grandfather tries to be hip. Cringe worthy.

    I think this demographic will find the notion of stickers yawn worthy.

    As stickers have been around since virtually the dawn of instant messaging apps (they've been on Line for as long as I can remember and monetised from the start, too), Apple is very late to this party.

    I don't actually know anyone that uses iMessage/SMS. WhatsApp, Line, Telegram etc seem to be the Apps that dominate. At least in my of the world. In business too.

    The only SMS I get nowadays are codes for transactions or other security based uses.

    I think from a marketing perspective it would have been more effective to just let users discover it in a viral way. At least that way there is less risk of being yawned at.

    BTW, is the sticker functionality monetised?


    The problem here is that you think you know this demographic better than Apple does. I'm not entirely  sure that you do.  But that's a fairly common problem round here (and I include myself in this): a very limited sense of anything outside our own comfort zone. I personally found the ad mostly annoying, though amusing in places. But having had friends drop round with their kids, I know they prefer to speak in hieroglyphics these days rather than texting actual words. (Hmmm). This is just emoticons on steroids. Are you saying that kids don't use emoticons?

    Now whether or not I think this is a good idea for kids is another story. 

    And yes, some sticker apps do cost money which means Apple will get a cut. Most of the useful ones are attached to an iOS app. 


    Kids love the stuff. No doubt about it. My point was that Apple should let the idea sell itself instead of trying to sell it to kids through ads. 
  • Reply 18 of 19
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    avon b7 said:
    this is clearly targeted for a demographic that id hazard a guess excludes the majority of users here. so if you dont look like one of the kids in the ad (or dont give a crap about stickers), dont get upset that you dont like it. the beauty of a smartphone is its not all things to all people.
    Yes but this is exactly the kind of demographic that doesn't like corporate marketing. For these people it's a bit like when your grandfather tries to be hip. Cringe worthy.

    I think this demographic will find the notion of stickers yawn worthy.

    As stickers have been around since virtually the dawn of instant messaging apps (they've been on Line for as long as I can remember and monetised from the start, too), Apple is very late to this party.

    I don't actually know anyone that uses iMessage/SMS. WhatsApp, Line, Telegram etc seem to be the Apps that dominate. At least in my of the world. In business too.

    The only SMS I get nowadays are codes for transactions or other security based uses.

    I think from a marketing perspective it would have been more effective to just let users discover it in a viral way. At least that way there is less risk of being yawned at.

    Get back to me when you've successfully launched a dozen ad campaigns -- Apple didn't fall off the turnip truck here.

    And you don't know anyone who uses Messages? Yyeaaaahhh -- pretty clear you use a knockoff device. Blue bubbles are huge.
    I really don't know why that surprises you about that. WhatsApp reigns supreme here, even on iPhones. Telegram and Line (among others) are also popular. All of my contacts have WhatsApp installed. Bar none.

    I haven't even checked it on the iPhone 6 at home. Is it still tied into the SMS function?

    People stopped using SMS years ago.
  • Reply 19 of 19
    dipdog3dipdog3 Posts: 89member
    josephyli said:
    This is the worst ad I've seen from Apple. :-p
    Yes, it is terrible!
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