Apple touts genius potential of Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro in new video spot

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware
Apple on Thursday premiered a new video ad for the Touch Bar-enhanced MacBook Pro, marketing the computer as a "tool for all the ideas to come."




Called "Bulbs," the commercial intermixes footage of a trail of exploding lightbulbs with scenes of various inventions. These range from things like fire and the wheel through to robots, drones, and rockets.

Self-referentially, some shots include things like an iPhone, and Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity -- alluded to by an apple falling from a tree. Apple's original logo from 1976 depicted Newton's famous eureka moment.

The Pro itself doesn't appear until the last few seconds of the ad, when someone is shown using the Touch Bar to scrub through a video of an exploding bulb.



The first shipments of the new MacBook Pro began reaching the public earlier this week. Readers should check out the official AppleInsider review to see how the laptop fares in the real world.
vahancouvercali
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 32
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    I like how they acknowledge ideas from everywhere including the mouse and iPhone. 
    magman1979
  • Reply 2 of 32
    I think they missed sliced bread.
    neo-techSolipulseimagesjony0
  • Reply 3 of 32
    Really good commercial, the end didn't totally connect to the laptop though, thought that could have been more seamless.

  • Reply 4 of 32
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    I like it, but I'm sure people will criticise it for comparing the TouchBar with some of the great inventions and/or discoveries.

    And possibly some will complain about the shot of a wind farm. People seem to hate them for some reason. Like our former treasurer who complained they were ugly, unlike the starkly beautiful coal-fired power stations dotted around the country.
    neo-techlolliverlorin schultz
  • Reply 5 of 32
    mr omr o Posts: 1,046member
    Hmm, I don't like it because:

    1. It is a bit long, don't you think? This could easily be a 30 seconds ad.
    2. The music is a bit of a mismatch. It makes it sound comical.
    3. The exploding light bulbs are a bit grotesque, like the Microsoft Surface Studio. Quite the opposite of the subtleness of the touchbar.

    Here's an idea of how the ever changing nature of the touchbar could be communicated. A bit like Apple's first tv ad for iTunes promoting the creation of personal playlists:


    https://youtu.be/4ECN4ZE9-Mo


    >:x
    edited November 2016 bloggerblogslprescottpatchythepiratetycho24
  • Reply 6 of 32
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    I'm not in love with this.
    bloggerblogpatchythepirateduervo
  • Reply 7 of 32
    I liked it a lot.  I'm sure they have the 30 second version for TV but I like some of the drawn out commercials and especially this one with what I consider to be a great piece of music.  It represents to me the Lone Ranger ridding the land of oppression.  The content itself representing the millions of ideas over time, a lightbulb exploding with each one, and the finale not being that the touch bar is necessarily one of those ideas but that you can use the new MacBook Pro to help you create your latest and greatest idea.  At least that's what I got out of it.
    magman1979jansabai
  • Reply 8 of 32
    Not a great commercial, and quite frankly not really an invention. That said, very usable addition to the computer IMO.
  • Reply 9 of 32
    velcro
    pulseimages
  • Reply 10 of 32
    love it.
    ai46
  • Reply 11 of 32
    ditto..loved it!
    ai46
  • Reply 12 of 32
    dr. xdr. x Posts: 282member
    I liked it but felt it was a little long.
    edited November 2016 jansabaipulseimages
  • Reply 13 of 32
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    mr o said:
    Hmm, I don't like it because:
    1. It is a bit long, don't you think? This could easily be a 30 seconds ad.
    2. The music is a bit of a mismatch. It makes it sound comical.
    3. The exploding light bulbs are a bit grotesque, like the Microsoft Surface Studio. Quite the opposite of the subtleness of the touchbar.
    Here's an idea of how the ever changing nature of the touchbar could be communicated. A bit like Apple's first tv ad for iTunes promoting the creation of personal playlists:

    https://youtu.be/4ECN4ZE9-Mo
    I have no opinion to share regarding the ad, but I do some counterpoints to make:

    1) It's long, like many well produced ads that then get shortened to 30 seconds for commercial breaks. Only with special events on TV, like the Academy Awards or Super Bowl, or before a cinema movie, or online do we typically get to see the fuller vision.

    2) The music is the famous William Tell Overture. It's not what I consider comical, but it was used on the "Lone Ranger" TV show. When I hear it I think of passion, drive, and urgency. I'm guessing that's the inspiration between the video that shows a small subset of what human ingenuity and innovation has achieved.

    3) I'm not sure I follow what is grotesque by it, or if you're comparing the ad to MS Surface Studio (how?) or to an MS Surface Studio ad (which I'd like to compare with this ad). The exploding bulbs in a a row are showing ideas being realized which lead to other ideas. I think that's a good metaphor for what the Touch Bar is. In typical Apple fashion they've taken a bunch of things that already existed in some form and made something entirely new and useful from it.

    4) I like that old ad showing off iTunes, but I'm not seeing how a bunch of musicians would communicate this new era for the Mac. Please explain.
    jansabai
  • Reply 14 of 32
    Soli said:
    mr o said:
    Hmm, I don't like it because:
    1. It is a bit long, don't you think? This could easily be a 30 seconds ad.
    2. The music is a bit of a mismatch. It makes it sound comical.
    3. The exploding light bulbs are a bit grotesque, like the Microsoft Surface Studio. Quite the opposite of the subtleness of the touchbar.
    Here's an idea of how the ever changing nature of the touchbar could be communicated. A bit like Apple's first tv ad for iTunes promoting the creation of personal playlists:

    https://youtu.be/4ECN4ZE9-Mo


    2) The music is the famous William Tell Overture. It's not what I consider comical, but it was used on the "Lone Ranger" TV show. When I hear it I think of passion, drive, and urgency. I'm guessing that's the inspiration between the video that shows a small subset of what human ingenuity and innovation has achieved.


    People generally tend to associate the William Tell Overture to Loony Tunes and Mickey Mouse. I associate it to A Clockwork Orange!

  • Reply 15 of 32
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    bestkeptsecret said:
    People generally tend to associate the William Tell Overture to Loony Tunes and Mickey Mouse. I associate it to A Clockwork Orange!
    Classical music was often used because it was royalty free. I'm sure it was used in Looney Tunes, but I can't recall off hand, but do recall many other classical music used in those cartoons I'd also not associate as comical.




    edited November 2016 jansabai
  • Reply 16 of 32
    mr omr o Posts: 1,046member
    Soli said:

    4) I like that old ad showing off iTunes, but I'm not seeing how a bunch of musicians would communicate this new era for the Mac. Please explain.
    I like the idea to explain technology with people, hence my reference to the original Rip. Mix. Burn. app from iTunes.

    What about someone walking from room to room? In each room you'd have different people with relevant tools showing up. The rooms would represent the apps, while the assistants represent the touch bar. Actually, a bit like Apple's intro video of WWDC 2015:

    https://youtu.be/H1C9BeyD_e0

    The key message would be the ever changing nature of the touchbar, making you feel like a boss, in total creative control.

    >:x
    edited November 2016 Soli
  • Reply 17 of 32
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    mr o said:
    Soli said:

    4) I like that old ad showing off iTunes, but I'm not seeing how a bunch of musicians would communicate this new era for the Mac. Please explain.
    I like the idea to explain technology with people, hence my reference to the original Rip. Mix. Burn. app from iTunes.

    What about someone walking from room to room? In each room you'd have different people with relevant tools showing up. The rooms would represent the apps, while the assistants represent the touch bar. Actually, a bit like Apple's intro video of WWDC 2015:

    https://youtu.be/H1C9BeyD_e0

    The key message would be the ever changing nature of the touchbar, making you feel like a boss, in total creative control.

    >:x
    I like that idea, but I wonder if demos of different apps would be better. This is really just a foundation ad for the new MBP, like with the original iPhone ad (below). I assume they will do more technical ads in the coming weeks.


    entropysireland
  • Reply 18 of 32
    Haha, awesome!!! Loved it!
    Soli
  • Reply 19 of 32
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    What I dislike about the ad is it oversells the Touch Bar while communicating little about it to the viewer. The ad isn't clear.
    edited November 2016
  • Reply 20 of 32
    The minute you have to tell your audience the idea your product contains is driving the world forward, you kind of know it isn't. With iPhone you just knew it was revolutionary. With this... it's like here is a spectacle and that little toggle at the end is equal to all those inventions. Okay... 
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