Apple's new ad campaign says, 'If it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone'
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.
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.
Comments
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.
I hope Tim and team are loading up the share buyback truck
The slogan was first used for the iPhone 4 commercials
If it is Samsung Galaxy, then It's not an iPhone.
Eh, what's a dominant company without a touch of corporate arrogance? After all, those at the top always stay there.
A masterclass in rubbishing the competition without mentioning the competition.
Nicely done.
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.
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.
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.
Apple has realized that their competition is floundering, and they rightly plan to press their advantage and go in for the kill.