Apple airs new iPhone ad, continues brilliant 'quiet' TV campaign
Apple on Thursday released a new ad focusing on the iPhone as a music player, with its quiet, serene style following in the footsteps of the company's last spot, and paving the way for a new breed of commercial.
Titled "Music Every Day," Apple's latest iPhone promo continues "Photos Every Day" in being near-silent, with only a tamped down background track and a few giggles or foot taps breaking the stillness.
The ad starts out with a shot of a woman positioned at the far left of the screen. Hunched over a wall, she is seemingly lost in thought as she slowly touches at the air with her fingers, almost twirling the unseen strands of a rising sun's light. The tell-tale white wires and silhouette of Apple's EarPods standout in relief against an otherwise gray background daubed with out of focus browns and blacks.
Next, a man just finishing an workout is shown, again at left of center, overlooking a city after what appears to be the end of a daily exercise routine. This is where the viewer catches their first glimpse of a product, a black iPhone 5, but the device is largely hidden in the hands of the runner.
In fact, throughout the entire commercial, viewers see very little of the iPhone itself and, except for two brief "slices of life" ? one in which a DJ at a club scans a playlist, and another where the passenger in a car is holding the handset as his friends rock out in the back seat ? the screen isn't shown at all. The device remains hidden in almost every frame, nestled in someone's pocket, obscured by a jar of jelly as someone eats. It never becomes the focus of attention.
The ad moves quickly from one scene to the next, the common physical thread being the iPhone and EarPods, but a more important underlying theme is the music the characters are listening to. This music goes unheard by the audience.
As the background piano track swells, a narrator says, "Everyday, more people enjoy music on the iPhone than any other phone." The iPhone and Apple logos are displayed, and the commercial ends. So calm is the ad that the branding and dubbed voice are somewhat jarring, and feel out of place.
Surrounded by other ads, which are usually loud and attention-grabbing, Apple's latest attempts stand out from crowd. The company is obviously crafting their latest commercials with expert care, focusing much more on subtleties like camera work and scene composition than in-your-face product placement.
Contemplative, simple and consistent, Apple's latest spot manages to convey feeling through voiceless, nameless, almost generic characters. Nothing extraordinary happens, no explosions or humorous juxtapositions are shown. But that's the point.
Like the first character dancing her fingers with the sun's rays, Apple is toying with the ethereal nature of everyday life, and showing how the iPhone can be a part of that reality.
Titled "Music Every Day," Apple's latest iPhone promo continues "Photos Every Day" in being near-silent, with only a tamped down background track and a few giggles or foot taps breaking the stillness.
The ad starts out with a shot of a woman positioned at the far left of the screen. Hunched over a wall, she is seemingly lost in thought as she slowly touches at the air with her fingers, almost twirling the unseen strands of a rising sun's light. The tell-tale white wires and silhouette of Apple's EarPods standout in relief against an otherwise gray background daubed with out of focus browns and blacks.
Next, a man just finishing an workout is shown, again at left of center, overlooking a city after what appears to be the end of a daily exercise routine. This is where the viewer catches their first glimpse of a product, a black iPhone 5, but the device is largely hidden in the hands of the runner.
In fact, throughout the entire commercial, viewers see very little of the iPhone itself and, except for two brief "slices of life" ? one in which a DJ at a club scans a playlist, and another where the passenger in a car is holding the handset as his friends rock out in the back seat ? the screen isn't shown at all. The device remains hidden in almost every frame, nestled in someone's pocket, obscured by a jar of jelly as someone eats. It never becomes the focus of attention.
The ad moves quickly from one scene to the next, the common physical thread being the iPhone and EarPods, but a more important underlying theme is the music the characters are listening to. This music goes unheard by the audience.
As the background piano track swells, a narrator says, "Everyday, more people enjoy music on the iPhone than any other phone." The iPhone and Apple logos are displayed, and the commercial ends. So calm is the ad that the branding and dubbed voice are somewhat jarring, and feel out of place.
Surrounded by other ads, which are usually loud and attention-grabbing, Apple's latest attempts stand out from crowd. The company is obviously crafting their latest commercials with expert care, focusing much more on subtleties like camera work and scene composition than in-your-face product placement.
Contemplative, simple and consistent, Apple's latest spot manages to convey feeling through voiceless, nameless, almost generic characters. Nothing extraordinary happens, no explosions or humorous juxtapositions are shown. But that's the point.
Like the first character dancing her fingers with the sun's rays, Apple is toying with the ethereal nature of everyday life, and showing how the iPhone can be a part of that reality.
Comments
iWatch at 0:30.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chriscaskey
iWatch at 0:30.
Quite an astute observation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scotia73
I never see Galaxy users listen to music via their device. Not really sure what they do with them.
I hear the Task Manager is pretty fun to play with.
I'm finding it hard that many people don't grasp the recents campaigns POINT is to marry the product to LIFESTYLE... Integrated marketing -- brilliant move on their agencies part... Reinforces the brand and what Apple has always been to people.. Pretty straightforward -- great ad..
Quote:
Originally Posted by scotia73
I never see Galaxy users listen to music via their device. Not really sure what they do with them.
They are too busy gazing lovingly at their "fresh" home screens.
Classy ad Apple, well done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Digital_Guy
During most of this commercial, I had difficulty in identifying what product it was for, or with whom it was associated. It was only at the end that I was able to tell. I am not sure if I can put a finger on exactly what it is, whether it is the message itself, or the tone, but their advertising has changed.
By the tenor that Apple has set, this ad would be very unlikely from a competitor. These ads point to just how crass the ads of its (major) competitors have become.
These ads tell stories. They are real. Human. Very documentary in genre. I love em! What's brilliant about these ads, in addition to how real they are, you can have your computer or television set on mute and you will still get the point of the ad. Brilliance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Digital_Guy
During most of this commercial, I had difficulty in identifying what product it was for, or with whom it was associated. It was only at the end that I was able to tell. I am not sure if I can put a finger on exactly what it is, whether it is the message itself, or the tone, but their advertising has changed.
The point is to show experience and then bind the same with the product. You DON'T need to know which product it is until the end. That is tho whole essence of this ad.
Insert at 0:17 is failure. It clearly shows situation that Siri can't handle and would be very useful at, whether it was possible or not.
That said, emotional, people ads are hardly new. Telecom NZ had series of them recently, for example, with or without voiceover narration.
But I guess it is really hard to make completely original ad today, everything being covered multiple times.
What, counting a beat?
Quote:
Originally Posted by hill60
What, counting a beat?
operating device with wet hand while showering.
Competitor ads are currently attacking the iPhone and iPhone users. These ads made iPhone users look like nice people which in turn makes the creators of attack ads look like d*cks.
Sat at my desk listening to music on my iPhone 5 right at this very moment...
Classy ad which much like the photo one possibly didn't even need the voice over at the end to get it's message across nicely.
For a company pushing music listening on their devices Apple do still need to do something about their supplied earphones... the old earbuds were terrible and the new earpods while better still don't fit my ears at all well and fall out whenever I move my head which is why I opted for some nice Sennheiser in ear buds as a replacement - much better bass, they stay in my ears and they cost the same as Apple want for a replacement pair of earpods. They lack the inline mic but I've never used that anyway.