Motorola Xoom featured in ad packed with Apple references
After posting an ad teaser and a series of web banner ads promoting its new tablet, Motorola presented its entire full length Super Bowl spot for the Xoom tablet, packed with references to Apple in a bid to court iPad users.
The new ad mixes imagery from Apple's iconic "1984" ad, which first introduced the Macintosh as liberating technology breakthrough, as well as "Lemmings," a more pointedly competitive spot Apple aired in 1985, which portrayed non-Mac users as blind followers who needed to remove their blindfolds to avoid catastrophic consequences.
While Apple's "1984" is universally regarded as one of the best ads ever produced, "Lemmings" was immediately criticized as a failure for being perceived as negatively depicting the company's would-be customers as ignorant and misguided.
Motorola's new spot for the Xoom tablet works to balance the two ideas together, portraying Apple's customers as ubiquitous clones wearing the same white earbuds and blank uniforms, but injecting a sympathetic storyline where a Xoom-using man flirts with a girl using images presented on his tablet. The girl then responds to his advances by removing her white iPod earbuds.
Drones in white portrayed in the ad are depicted listening to small handheld iPods, but none are shown using an iPad. To a casual observer, the man using Motorola's Xoom might be mistaken for being an iPad, as all that's shown of the new tablet is its virtual page-turning in a nondescript ebook reader app (reading George Orwell's "1984"), Google Maps (featuring Android-only 3D building views that most viewers are unlikely to catch), and the camera app new to Android 3.0 Honeycomb.
A brief animated cartoon depicting a stick figure man giving flowers to a stick figure girl, and published to the man's own tablet via YouTube, perhaps using the Android-only Adobe Flash, is shown (as opposed to just giving her the flowers, something that doesn't require an $800 tablet), but it is not explained how the photo of the flowers the man takes was converted into the animation.
Apple's own iPad ads have focused on more obvious and practical applications of the device via its library of as Apple claims, more than 60,000 unique apps.
Recognizing the shots of the new tablet as being distinct from an iPad would require a technophile enthusiast's understanding of the differences of the two, which is never presented in the spot. Instead, the new tablet is only identified briefly by name at the end of the clip, "Motorola Zoom with Google, the world's first Android 3.0 tablet," with none of its unique features ever been expressly noted.
Xoom details
Motorola's new tablet boasts a slightly larger screen and resolution (10.1 inches, 1280x800) than Apple's existing iPad. It also uses a cinematic 16:9 display ratio aimed at watching movies, contrasted with the more computer-like 1024x768 resolution of the iPad's 9.7 inch screen and its portrait-oriented dock, aimed more at productivity apps like Apple's own Pages, Numbers and Keynote.
Internally, Motorola's Xoom tablet uses a faster dual core Nvidia Tegra 2 SoC, roughly similar to the new Texas Instruments chip used by RIM's PlayBook; both are a full generation ahead of the Apple A4 SoC used in last year's iPad and the similar Samsung Hummingbird chip used in the Galaxy Tab. Xoom also includes 1GB of RAM, four times as much as the existing iPad.
The Xoom also includes dual cameras; a 2 megapixel front facing camera for video chat and a 5 megapixel rear-facing unit with 4× digital zoom and auto focus, capable of 720p video capture. Apple's existing iPad has no cameras, while the coming iPad 2 refresh is expected to add a much simpler VGA FaceTime camera and basic 1 megapixel rear camera identical to that being used in the iPod touch, rather than the significantly better 5 megapixel camera used by iPhone 4.
Xoom is, according to an Engadget report, expected to become available February 24, in a CDMA/EVDO 3G-only version sold by Verizon for $800. The unit will be accompanied by optional data plans that start at $20 32GB per month for 1GB, but an ad from BestBuy also notes that "to activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of 1 month data subscription is required." Unlike the iPad, there are no cheaper WiFi-only versions of the Xoom.
Update:BestBuy is currently running a sale on 3G iPads, which takes $30 off each model, resulting in the equivalent 32GB 3G iPad costing $700, or $100 less than the new Xoom. The 16GB 3G iPad is $600, while the 64GB 3G iPad is $800. WiFi only iPads are not on sale, so they cost $100 less than each of the the 3G versions. Users do no need to buy 3G service in order to use WiFi.
Toshiba is expected to release its own Honeycomb tablet with hardware very similar to Motorola's. Toshiba launched a product site for its new tablet using Flash, which blocked visitors using an iPhone or iPad, displaying a teaser message indicating that site required Flash, something iOS doesn't support.
However, the company also created a plain HTML mobile version of the site that works fine on iPhones and iPads, and simply made it impossible to accidentally discover.
The new ad mixes imagery from Apple's iconic "1984" ad, which first introduced the Macintosh as liberating technology breakthrough, as well as "Lemmings," a more pointedly competitive spot Apple aired in 1985, which portrayed non-Mac users as blind followers who needed to remove their blindfolds to avoid catastrophic consequences.
While Apple's "1984" is universally regarded as one of the best ads ever produced, "Lemmings" was immediately criticized as a failure for being perceived as negatively depicting the company's would-be customers as ignorant and misguided.
Motorola's new spot for the Xoom tablet works to balance the two ideas together, portraying Apple's customers as ubiquitous clones wearing the same white earbuds and blank uniforms, but injecting a sympathetic storyline where a Xoom-using man flirts with a girl using images presented on his tablet. The girl then responds to his advances by removing her white iPod earbuds.
Drones in white portrayed in the ad are depicted listening to small handheld iPods, but none are shown using an iPad. To a casual observer, the man using Motorola's Xoom might be mistaken for being an iPad, as all that's shown of the new tablet is its virtual page-turning in a nondescript ebook reader app (reading George Orwell's "1984"), Google Maps (featuring Android-only 3D building views that most viewers are unlikely to catch), and the camera app new to Android 3.0 Honeycomb.
A brief animated cartoon depicting a stick figure man giving flowers to a stick figure girl, and published to the man's own tablet via YouTube, perhaps using the Android-only Adobe Flash, is shown (as opposed to just giving her the flowers, something that doesn't require an $800 tablet), but it is not explained how the photo of the flowers the man takes was converted into the animation.
Apple's own iPad ads have focused on more obvious and practical applications of the device via its library of as Apple claims, more than 60,000 unique apps.
Recognizing the shots of the new tablet as being distinct from an iPad would require a technophile enthusiast's understanding of the differences of the two, which is never presented in the spot. Instead, the new tablet is only identified briefly by name at the end of the clip, "Motorola Zoom with Google, the world's first Android 3.0 tablet," with none of its unique features ever been expressly noted.
Xoom details
Motorola's new tablet boasts a slightly larger screen and resolution (10.1 inches, 1280x800) than Apple's existing iPad. It also uses a cinematic 16:9 display ratio aimed at watching movies, contrasted with the more computer-like 1024x768 resolution of the iPad's 9.7 inch screen and its portrait-oriented dock, aimed more at productivity apps like Apple's own Pages, Numbers and Keynote.
Internally, Motorola's Xoom tablet uses a faster dual core Nvidia Tegra 2 SoC, roughly similar to the new Texas Instruments chip used by RIM's PlayBook; both are a full generation ahead of the Apple A4 SoC used in last year's iPad and the similar Samsung Hummingbird chip used in the Galaxy Tab. Xoom also includes 1GB of RAM, four times as much as the existing iPad.
The Xoom also includes dual cameras; a 2 megapixel front facing camera for video chat and a 5 megapixel rear-facing unit with 4× digital zoom and auto focus, capable of 720p video capture. Apple's existing iPad has no cameras, while the coming iPad 2 refresh is expected to add a much simpler VGA FaceTime camera and basic 1 megapixel rear camera identical to that being used in the iPod touch, rather than the significantly better 5 megapixel camera used by iPhone 4.
Xoom is, according to an Engadget report, expected to become available February 24, in a CDMA/EVDO 3G-only version sold by Verizon for $800. The unit will be accompanied by optional data plans that start at $20 32GB per month for 1GB, but an ad from BestBuy also notes that "to activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of 1 month data subscription is required." Unlike the iPad, there are no cheaper WiFi-only versions of the Xoom.
Update:BestBuy is currently running a sale on 3G iPads, which takes $30 off each model, resulting in the equivalent 32GB 3G iPad costing $700, or $100 less than the new Xoom. The 16GB 3G iPad is $600, while the 64GB 3G iPad is $800. WiFi only iPads are not on sale, so they cost $100 less than each of the the 3G versions. Users do no need to buy 3G service in order to use WiFi.
Toshiba is expected to release its own Honeycomb tablet with hardware very similar to Motorola's. Toshiba launched a product site for its new tablet using Flash, which blocked visitors using an iPhone or iPad, displaying a teaser message indicating that site required Flash, something iOS doesn't support.
However, the company also created a plain HTML mobile version of the site that works fine on iPhones and iPads, and simply made it impossible to accidentally discover.
Comments
So Apple users are attractive mindless drones? What?
Apple users are hot girls and insane old men, apparently.
The unit will be accompanied by optional data plans that start at $20 per month for 1GB, but an ad from BestBuy also notes that "to activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of 1 month data subscription is required." Unlike the iPad, there are no cheaper WiFi-only versions of the Xoom.
Yeah Motorola.. You are selling a tablet that won't connect to the internet without paying a carrier at least one month for data he might not even need. You should have just priced it $20 higher (Verizon cut) and get it over with.
Yeah Motorola.. You are selling a tablet that won't connect to the internet without paying a carrier at least one month for data he might not even need. You should have just priced it $20 higher (Verizon cut) and get it over with.
Yeah, I just noticed that too. That's just baffling to me.
P.S. Anyone else hear a bit of a resemblance between Xoom and Zune?
They were too busy "trying" to mock Apple they failed to feature their own tablet more. Everyone I was with watching the Super Bowl who saw the commercial thought it was an iPad.
Same thing will happen to Xoom. It will fail to dislodge iPad.
These copycats will have to learn to innovate by not taking a page off Apple's book.
Apple users are hot girls and insane old men, apparently.
I can vouch for the second group.
Anyone have something that says that the Verizon service is a month-to-month contract? Also, the Tab had a $35 activation fee so the minimum to enable the WiFi is probably going to be $55.
You would seriously have to be someone of my age or better to remember the 1984 Apple ad and make the connection. Most people won't. It was a lame commercial.
... and that doesn't even address the issue of everyone thinking they just saw an advertisement for an iPad ... but I do have to give props to whoever physically produced the advertisement, a beautiful piece of work
People criticize the iPad because it's mainly going to be used for consumption of media. But at least you can if you want. But something like that? Seems like it's useless for anything other than consumption of media, and not even all forms of that.
I can't blame Moto because it's very difficult to compete against the iPad. The bar is set so very high.
To me the Xoom ad just says The Xoom exists and it desperately wants a piece of Apple's pie.
The Xoom will need more than Google map to be competitive.
Time will tell.
The Apple ad didn't dislodge IBM PC in the marketplace, did it?
Same thing will happen to Xoom. It will fail to dislodge iPad.
These copycats will have to learn to innovate by not taking a page off Apple's book.
There is a certain irony that they copy an Apple ad concept to advertise a copied Apple product. Are there truly no original concepts or innovations coming from anyone but Apple these days? It is amazing.
I don't think this ad will be very effective for Motorola.
I can't blame Moto because it's very difficult to compete against the iPad. The bar is set so very high.
To me the Xoom ad just says The Xoom exists and it desperately wants a piece of Apple's pie.
The Xoom will need more Google map to be competitive.
Time will tell.
You should call them, I think you have the perfect ad for them, honest, gritty and to the point ....
"Hi, we are Motorola we want to tell you the Xoom exists and we desperately want a piece of Apple's pie"