Actor John Malkovich amused by Siri in new iPhone 4S commercials

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
John Malkovich is the latest celebrity to star in television commercials from Apple and Verizon touting the convenience of the Siri voice assistant feature of the iPhone 4S.

Apple posted two ads featuring Malkovich to its official YouTube channel on Wednesday.

In "Joke," Malkovich leans back in a chair querying Siri while having a drink and listening to opera music. His requests contain just one word: "weather," "evening," "linguica" and "joke."

In response to the request for a joke, Siri says, "Two iPhones walk into a bar. I forget the rest." Malkovich then finds the joke hilarious and tells Siri, "That's funny."

"Was it something I said?" Siri asks, to which Malkovich replies, "Yes, it was."





The second ad, "Life," shows Malkovich in the same chair staring off into space before saying the word "life" to Siri.

"Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations," Siri responds.

"That's pretty spectacular advice, actually," Malkovich says. "Thank you, I enjoyed this chat immensely, you are very eloquent."





Last month, Apple ads featuring Samuel L. Jackson starring Zooey Deschanel began showing on TV. Jackson used Siri to help prepare a date night, while Deschanel searched for tomato soup delivery on a rainy day.

Previous advertisements for the iPhone 4S have also centered largely around Siri. Two ads that aired in February highlighted the feature's usefulness on a cross-country road trip and in learning guitar.

Those ads actually turned out to be controversial. Class-action lawsuits filed this spring allege that they constitute false advertising because Siri doesn't work as depicted in the commercials. Apple responded earlier this month by claiming that plaintiffs' accusations are overly "vague" and lack standing.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Ah, the ham's ham.


     


    Nice ads, though. Does Siri properly respond to requests that short?

  • Reply 2 of 52
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member


    I can't say that I am a big fan of this celebrity advertising nonsense.


     


    Cute, but silly and pointless.

  • Reply 3 of 52
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member


    I prefer Samuel L. Jackson's 'Real Siri Ad'


     


    SLJ: "English, Mother f^%$#, do you speak it?"


    Siri: "What?"

  • Reply 4 of 52
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member


    Actually, I liked these two ads more than the Zooey and Sam Jackson ads...


     


    Still not convinced Apple is going the right direction by loading up their ads with very expensive celebs. Let the product be the star again, guys.

  • Reply 5 of 52
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Is the "Two iPhones walk into a bar" joke an inside joke about the two iPhones supposedly forgotten in bars or am I placing unintentional meaning where none was implied?
  • Reply 6 of 52
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Actually, I liked these two ads more than the Zooey and Sam Jackson ads...


     


    Still not convinced Apple is going the right direction by loading up their ads with very expensive celebs. Let the product be the star again, guys.



     


    You're missing the point of the commercials, Siri is the star of the commercial. Stars who amuse us for a living are amused by Siri.

  • Reply 7 of 52
    diddydiddy Posts: 282member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    Is the "Two iPhones walk into a bar" joke an inside joke about the two iPhones supposedly forgotten in bars or am I placing unintentional meaning where none was implied?


    I think it’s more of a play on a generic joke about 2 <insert persons> walk into a bar.  It’s one of the oldest in the books.

  • Reply 8 of 52
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Ah, the ham's ham.


     


    Nice ads, though. Does Siri properly respond to requests that short?





    Yes, just tried all of them, responses were the same as in the commercials when you start "fresh". That is to say, if you ask Siri, "weather" she tells you the weekly forecast. if you immediately say, "evening" afterwards, she gives you the forecast for the next 12 hours.


     


    But it does work just fine. I've noticed lately that Siri has become extremely quick, I wonder if Apple is finalizing the system and plans on releasing it out of beta soon?

  • Reply 9 of 52
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post

    Is the "Two iPhones walk into a bar" joke an inside joke about the two iPhones supposedly forgotten in bars or am I placing unintentional meaning where none was implied?


     


    You are, but it's hilarious that way.

  • Reply 10 of 52

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mjtomlin View Post




    Yes, just tried all of them, responses were the same as in the commercials when you start "fresh". That is to say, if you ask Siri, "weather" she tells you the weekly forecast. if you immediately say, "evening" afterwards, she gives you the forecast for the next 12 hours.


     


    But it does work just fine. I've noticed lately that Siri has become extremely quick, I wonder if Apple is finalizing the system and plans on releasing it out of beta soon?



     


    "Read" reads unread text messages.


    "Reply" initiates a text after a read.


    "Change it" if I screw up.


    "I'm on my way home period would you like me to pick up dinner question mark" composes 2 sentences to the recipient.


    "Time" current time.


     


    Siri works with single words just fine - and can handle follow-ups in context.

  • Reply 11 of 52
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member


    So strange.


     


    I can’t believe they made these ads, and they won’t sell a single iPhone with them.


     


    But they’re awesome!

  • Reply 12 of 52
    tony3dtony3d Posts: 47member
    I think all these new ads are pretty pathetic.
  • Reply 13 of 52
    solipsismx wrote: »
    Is the "Two iPhones walk into a bar" joke an inside joke about the two iPhones supposedly forgotten in bars or am I placing unintentional meaning where none was implied?

    I'd say yes. Seems highly unlikely that the ad agency would miss that connection and making those type of connections is their job. And whoever it is at Apple that deals with Chiat Day(<--is that right?) should have caught it too.
  • Reply 14 of 52
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    nagromme wrote: »
    So strange.

    I can’t believe they made these ads, and they won’t sell a single iPhone with them.

    But they’re awesome!
    When someone who doesn't have an iPhone sees mine, the first thing they want to do is try Siri. I think Apple sees Siri as a major differentiator in the smartphone arena and these adds play that up. I think they will sell scads of them with these adds, even if it is silly...

    Also, it is new and unique--most people already know about the games and the screen and the camera and such. Most people think other phones have those things too.

    Finally, Apple is claiming Siri as their own with an overload of adds like this--memorable adds with stars that scream Apple. If some Android or Windows phone tries to advertise their voice activated personal assistant in the next few years, they will clearly be seen as "me too!" attempts. Even if they come up with a great implementation, the general public will be skeptical of them as copies.
  • Reply 15 of 52
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member


    Why did he start laughing before Siri even reached the punchline?


     


    Dumb ads, but I want that library. And that chair.

  • Reply 16 of 52
    scotty321scotty321 Posts: 313member


    These are such creepy ads. All 3 celebrities are creepy.


     


    So very un-Apple-like.


     


    This is what happens when Phil Schiller takes control of marketing, now that Steve is gone.


     


    Does anybody honestly think that Steve would have approved these ads??


     


    They have no heart or emotion or make any resonance with the audience.


     


    Just terrible.

  • Reply 17 of 52


    John Malkovich was amused by Siri...


    I was not amused by the commercial.


     


    The commercial may still sell millions of iPhones...all it needs to do is be more entertaining than the drivel that was on just before the commercial break.

  • Reply 18 of 52
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tony3d View Post



    I think all these new ads are pretty pathetic.


     


    Wow, what a shocking reaction from you. Your entire posting history is composed of you whining about the Mac Pro, demanding that Apple make it their 'focus' and trashing anything to do with iOS or iDevices. Or 'iCrap' in your words. Your reaction to this is just as predictable and unreasonable as the rest of your posts. ie. you're a troll, even though yo claim or pretend to like Apple, you're obsessed with a single one of their niche products (Mac Pro) and spew hate and vitriol at everything else. It's old, lame, childish, and rather pathetic. Go and get some fresh air, and give some other company business instead of spending so much time on hate and anger. 

  • Reply 19 of 52

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by diddy View Post


    I think it’s more of a play on a generic joke about 2 <insert persons> walk into a bar.  It’s one of the oldest in the books.



     


    I think it's both. Apple saw the opportunity to use one of the oldest jokes around and it also happens to be something the "geeks" would get as well. As was mentioned, I highly doubt they missed it. I think it's intentional and brilliant.

  • Reply 20 of 52
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    Steve Jobs would never have agreed to these ads. I guess this is what a post-Jobs world looks like.
Sign In or Register to comment.