A good take by Harry Marks on the differences between Apple and Samsung ads. You know where I stand.
Towards the end, I especially liked this bit:
It’s been rumored that iOS 7 is going to bring a drastic overhaul to the UX, including a new home screen and enhanced features. This will inevitably bring a level of complication users haven’t had to deal with yet. Seeing as how this is Apple we’re talking about, I doubt these updated bells and whistles will be difficult to trigger, but there will most likely be a bit of a learning curve in the beginning. Every familiar paradigm starts out as something new and unknown.
I don’t know how much ads can be an effective teaching tool for users, but I agree: there will be a new learning curve, but some changes are necessary.
Just in time for Thanksgiving, Apple aired two new iPhone 5 commercials today. Both commercials feature voiceover by Jeff Daniels as in the first run of iPhone 5 commercials aired after the device’s launch.
The first ad, aptly named “Turkey” focuses on Photo Stream. Using Thanksgiving as a background theme for taking family photos with an iPhone, the ad explains how Photo Stream lets you share the photos you want, with just the people you want. Jeff Daniels also shows his appreciation for pie at the end of the ad.
Orchestra is a little more peculiar. Apple wants to explain the iPhone’s background noise cancellation, which is made possible by an improved microphone design and audio system. The voice asks the director of an orchestra to lower the volume, which is similar to what happens to background noise when you make a phone call with the iPhone 5. It’s a clever and funny comparison.
Excuse me maestro? Bring it down please. Better. That’s what happens to background noise when you’re making a call on this. This microphone here picks up the sounds around you and helps turn them down. So when the world gets noisy, calls sound better.
Following the “Piano” ad launched after the announcement of the iPad mini, today Apple aired two new commercials for the device. Named “Books” and “Photos”, both commercials focus on showing the size difference between the regular iPad and the iPad mini. More importantly, both ads want to communicate the simple message that the iPad mini is smaller in size, but also just as capable in terms of functionality: the iPad mini runs the same apps of the bigger iPad, therefore making it a “real” iPad, only smaller (and thus more portable). This follows the tagline on the product page: There’s less of it, but no less to it.
As noted by Jordan Golson at MacRumors, the commercials rely on clever pairings of books and photos to compare the two iPad models. For books, Apple uses The Sun Also Rises and The Valley of the Moon; East of Eden and How the West Was Won; Moby Dick and Gone Fishing.
The new commercials aren’t available on Apple’s YouTube channel yet, but they have been uploaded to Apple’s website. You can watch them here.
Apple doesn’t just make a handsome phone — the iPhone has plenty of unique features that separate it from the competition. A pair of new iPhone commercials are taking the stage tonight, putting AirPlay and FaceTime in the spotlight. The commercials, both featuring the same catchy background jingle we’ve become familiar in the “If you don’t have an iPhone” series, show off just how easy it is to use the iPhone for sharing photos, videos, and conversations across the Apple TV, Mac, and iPad. While the commercials do come off a bit bumptious as usual in this series, the AirPlay commercial does a great job of showing off just how easy it is to stream media to your television or play music wirelessly through your home stereo system. AirPlay is something I’ve come to love in iOS 4 on my iPad and iPod touch, and I’m glad to see it getting its own air time in Apple’s latest set of commercials. Past the break we’ve posted both videos for your viewing enjoyment.
