Apple shares HomePod ad directed by Spike Jonze, starring FKA twigs

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2018
In its latest advertising push for HomePod, Apple on Monday shared a new ad directed by acclaimed music video and film director Spike Jonze, and starring English performer FKA twigs, who uses the speaker to unwind after a hard day's work.





The four-minute short begins with Twigs making the commute home on a crowded train, through a bustling, rainy street and out of a stuffed elevator to her small apartment.

"Hey Siri, play me something I'd like," she says.

Siri complies, playing the dulcet tones of "Til It's Over" by Anderson .Paak as Twigs sits with a glass of water on her couch. As the song builds, she finds herself swept up in the tunes and begins dancing.

In true Jonze fashion, the video takes on a surreal feel as the room stretches, curves, bends and morphs to Twigs' movements. Walls elongate at her command, mirrors expand until, finally, the singer herself is duplicated. The two Twigs dance a duet in a dark room, with one retreating to her couch, where she wakes up, seemingly from a dream.




The idea, it seems, is HomePod can transport listeners to another dimension, one free of the worries of today.

Like other recent HomePod spots, Apple's latest ad places heavy emphasis on sound and music, not Siri smarts.

Apple revealed HomePod at WWDC 2017 as its first foray into the crowded smart speaker space. Powered by an A8 SoC and custom audio components like a multi-microphone, multi-tweeter array that assists in beamforming and adaptive noise cancellation, HomePod is a study in advanced acoustic engineering.

Reviews of the speaker, including AppleInsider's, found the hardware top-notch, with high-fidelity sound for such a diminutive device, but lacking in the virtual assistant department. For now, Siri is severely constrained to Apple's ecosystem of services which include Apple Music, iTunes, HomeKit and iCloud. Even then, Siri on HomePod has no Calendar access, nor can the device place phone calls.

Apple opened preorders for the speaker in January ahead of a Feb. 9 release date.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    racerhomie3racerhomie3 Posts: 1,264member
    Guys, the last 2-3 lines of the article are being cut off by the iOS app. Could you look into this?
  • Reply 2 of 17
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member
    AM-A-ZING!

    Wow, now that's a good ad! Because it focuses on the experience, in a super-creative way!
    racerhomie3radarthekatmejsricminicoffee
  • Reply 3 of 17
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    The idea, it seems, is HomePod can transport listeners to another dimension, one free of the worries of today. ”

    Yeah, well, maybe that too.  But the idea, it seemed to me, is that HomePod makes your small space seem more expensive.  The article author correctly reads the clues - a crowded train, stuffy elevator, small apartment - but didn’t quite nail the message.  
    fastasleepracerhomie3tdknox
  • Reply 4 of 17
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,301member
    Hey Siri, please get an update so I can share my Apple calendar with you.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    Does this make anyone want to run out and buy a HomePod?
  • Reply 6 of 17
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    Does this make anyone want to run out and buy a HomePod?
    You don't understand how marketing works. This is about product awareness through the vectors of three different contemporary artists. The correct question is, to someone who just enjoyed a really cool Spike Jonze/Anderson .Paak/FK twigs video, is "Are you now aware of HomePod and how it works?" If the answer is yes, then it achieved its goal. Hint: you are not the target audience.
    steveauminicoffee
  • Reply 7 of 17
    Trippy 
  • Reply 8 of 17
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Does this make anyone want to run out and buy a HomePod?
    You don't understand how marketing works. This is about product awareness through the vectors of three different contemporary artists. The correct question is, to someone who just enjoyed a really cool Spike Jonze/Anderson .Paak/FK twigs video, is "Are you now aware of HomePod and how it works?" If the answer is yes, then it achieved its goal. Hint: you are not the target audience.
    Also, marketing appeals to emotions, music as a way to sooth modern life is well worn and cuts directly to the core of what this thing sells : a great music experience.

    So, you're getting a better dose of something that already sooth you, everyone feels that, they want to have the same experience, that's what the Homepod is selling and yeah, they'll sell a lot of it.

    steveaufastasleep
  • Reply 9 of 17
    racerhomie3racerhomie3 Posts: 1,264member
    I like the ad. Simple & beautiful.
    fastasleep
  • Reply 10 of 17
    "Siri, call the suicide prevention hotline."

    Man, the first minute of that ad was rough.
    fastasleep
  • Reply 11 of 17
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    "Siri, call the suicide prevention hotline."

    Man, the first minute of that ad was rough.
    Yeah, life is rough, and
    it "moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." ;-).

    It was rough because that has been my life, the sucky 1m far too many days, though not lately, thank goodness.
    fastasleep
  • Reply 12 of 17
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,544member
    Does this make anyone want to run out and buy a HomePod?
    Me. 

    How weird to see FKA twigs dancing to somebody else's music…! 

    OTOH, Anderson.Paak is a pretty good match. 

    This is FKA twigs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFtMl-uipA8
  • Reply 13 of 17
    "Like other recent HomePod spots, Apple's latest ad places heavy emphasis on sound and music, not Siri smarts."

    I found the opposite - granted I've only watched the TV version ad which couldn't have been more than 30-40 seconds long? The main thing I got from it was her entering the room and saying "Siri, play something I would like". So it was definitely a nod towards it's smarts from my point of view anyway.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    adm1 said:
    "Like other recent HomePod spots, Apple's latest ad places heavy emphasis on sound and music, not Siri smarts."

    I found the opposite - granted I've only watched the TV version ad which couldn't have been more than 30-40 seconds long? The main thing I got from it was her entering the room and saying "Siri, play something I would like". So it was definitely a nod towards it's smarts from my point of view anyway.
    Yeah, was gonna say this is a long cut of something that probably got pruned down to 30s or less for TV/online. The long version out there for people who like the artists involved. 

    This just makes me want to watch all of Spike Jonze's movies again. Still one of the best visionary directors of our time.
  • Reply 15 of 17
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Does this make anyone want to run out and buy a HomePod?
    two so far and planning more :)
  • Reply 16 of 17
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member

    adm1 said:
    "Like other recent HomePod spots, Apple's latest ad places heavy emphasis on sound and music, not Siri smarts."

    I found the opposite - granted I've only watched the TV version ad which couldn't have been more than 30-40 seconds long? The main thing I got from it was her entering the room and saying "Siri, play something I would like". So it was definitely a nod towards it's smarts from my point of view anyway.
    I bought my two for the music sound quality  not to spying on me or for answering trivia questions.  
  • Reply 17 of 17
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,031member
    HomePod is beside the point. 

    Great artistry. 
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