Apple's new ad campaign says, 'If it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone'

Posted:
in iPhone edited July 2015
Apple on Thursday released the first two installments of a new iPhone campaign that pleads to the brain rather than the heart, while vaguely alluding to the inferiority of competing products.




With its new "Hardware & Software" and "Loved" TV spots, Apple returns to a more practical form advertising, telling consumers about iPhone's merits rather than showing them through story-driven narratives. The first ad, "Hardware," also takes indirect aim at competing products, a tactic not often seen from a company who managed to stay above the fray.

Though not quite in the same wheelhouse as Samsung's A/B comparison style ads, both "Hardware" and "Loved" do something Apple and its PR partners evolved away from years ago: they talk at audiences without speaking to them. Unlike the clever "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" campaign, which ended in 2009, and a mountain of classy ads to follow, Apple's new iPhone campaign seems out of the norm.





In "Hardware," Apple explains the virtues of building both hardware and software in tandem, an obvious swing at OEMs like Samsung that create hardware around Google's fragmented Android operating system. "Loved" throws out feel-good statistics, telling the viewer that "99 percent of people who have an iPhone love their iPhone" while throwing colorful videos up on iPhone screens showing users having all the fun.

Apple does intercut with visuals showing off its strong offering of advanced and intuitive apps, as well as brief glimpses into how they work, but the pace is frenetic and unfocused.





Today's commercials could mark a new direction for Apple, one that is very much a divergence from humanized, artful spots like the holiday 2013 iPhone ad that tugged on heart strings. Those "quiet" commercials were made memorable by what they didn't show; iPhone as a device was second to how it affects your life. And that was the point.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 90
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Not bad. Reinforces the iPhone brand, emphasizes the marriage of software and hardware. Also reinforces the idea that "everyone" has an iPhone and you're losing out if you haven't got one. I think I'd hit it even a little harder and really slam Samsung without mentioning their name. Samsung and Google should come off looking like poison compared to the iPhone at the end of the campaign.

  • Reply 2 of 90
    undedunded Posts: 43member
    Duh! Of course it's not an iPhone if it's not an iPhone.
  • Reply 3 of 90
    red oakred oak Posts: 1,104member
    Nice. Apple is at the very beginning of inflicting major damage on Android. PE of 14. LMAO

    I hope Tim and team are loading up the share buyback truck
  • Reply 4 of 90
    rp2011rp2011 Posts: 159member
    Well the "humanized" ones were becoming cringe worthy clichés. The Watch ones in particular looked like antidepressants ads. Now THOSE were tone deaf in its over the top clichéd Applelyness. So much so that those came off across as schmaltzy to the nth degree.
  • Reply 5 of 90
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    What's with that slogan? Sounds like something Samsung would do. Shot on iPhone campaign is much better.
  • Reply 6 of 90
    rp2011rp2011 Posts: 159member
    rogifan wrote: »
    What's with that slogan? Sounds like something Samsung would do. Shot on iPhone campaign is much better.

    The slogan was first used for the iPhone 4 commercials
  • Reply 7 of 90
    mejsricmejsric Posts: 153member
    rogifan wrote: »
    What's with that slogan? Sounds like something Samsung would do. Shot on iPhone campaign is much better.

    If it is Samsung Galaxy, then It's not an iPhone.
  • Reply 8 of 90
    thewhitefalconthewhitefalcon Posts: 4,453member
    rogifan wrote: »
    What's with that slogan? Sounds like something Samsung would do. Shot on iPhone campaign is much better.

    Eh, what's a dominant company without a touch of corporate arrogance? After all, those at the top always stay there.
  • Reply 9 of 90
    rayzrayz Posts: 814member
    Interesting.

    A masterclass in rubbishing the competition without mentioning the competition.

    Nicely done.
  • Reply 10 of 90

    I have never met a person who owns one but doesn't like it.  But i did think the final frame of the second video was funny where they showed a grid of iphones face up with one facing down and it making a honking sound.

  • Reply 11 of 90
    leavingthebiggleavingthebigg Posts: 1,291member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post





    Eh, what's a dominant company without a touch of corporate arrogance? After all, those at the top always stay there.



    Remember, 9 times out of 10, she is complaining about something.

  • Reply 12 of 90
    xavier83xavier83 Posts: 63member
    Take that you bastards !! Yeah
  • Reply 13 of 90
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,301member
    Good adverts. It's sad the the hardware and software are crashing on me daily still. Sometimes twice a day.
  • Reply 14 of 90
    macvictamacvicta Posts: 346member
    Nevermind.
  • Reply 15 of 90
    I have never met a person who owns one but doesn't like it.  But i did think the final frame of the second video was funny where they showed a grid of iphones face up with one facing down and it making a honking sound.

    Never noticed until you mentioned it. Typical Apple and their attention to detail. I counted the last frame and sure enough there are 100 iPhones in 5 rows of 20. And the 1 out of 100 that didn't love their iPhone was turned down.
  • Reply 16 of 90
    kpomkpom Posts: 660member
    These aren't the best ads ever but they aren't the worst. Remember we're in the lull before the iPhone 6s, which will probably bring a new campaign altogether.
  • Reply 17 of 90
    vqrovqro Posts: 66member
    Love em! Great job Apple.
  • Reply 18 of 90
    It's like the nerd being cocky. It's trying to impress but there is design after Apple. They shouldn't become so impressed to the point of being depressed and complacent. Tear down the wall and make new.
  • Reply 19 of 90
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,391member
    Wow. Why the hell is this write up so skewed and so negative? Obviously he author hates the ads, but there's nothing objectively bad about them. I found them very well done, convincing, and effective. Apple needs to change up their ad campaigns every once in a while, they can't keep doing the abstract artsy narratives forever. These ads still have a thousand times more class and flair than any Samsung ad.

    Apple has realized that their competition is floundering, and they rightly plan to press their advantage and go in for the kill.
  • Reply 20 of 90
    chadmaticchadmatic Posts: 285member
    If it's not Tidal Music Service it's not Tidal Music Service!
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