Posts Tagged: iphone

advertising / apple / creative / iPhone / observatory / technology — 3 Comments
1
Nov 11

Invasion of the iPhone 4S ads

I love the smell of fresh ads in the morning.

Apple has now added not one, not two, but three new ads to the iPhone 4S campaign. For we who like our entertainment in 30-second spurts, this is good news indeed.

As we have come to expect, each of these new ads is a clear, straightforward demo. But that’s okay, because what’s being demoed is mostly eye-opening stuff. Here are all three new spots with a mini-review of each.

Snow Today:

Of the three, this is the one that’s most similar to the 4S ad that debuted last week, right down to a cute kid interacting with Siri. But the range of Siri’s abilities is so wide, we see a whole new batch of interesting uses. One big difference between this ad and the first is that we actually hear a lot from Siri. So much for my theory that they’re downplaying the robotic voice. But it’s interesting how the synthetic voicing of Siri becomes almost charming thanks to the human responses programmed into her.

iCloud:

With this ad, Apple makes a very sneaky (in a good way) move to simplify its story. Technically, iCloud isn’t an iPhone thing. It’s an everything thing. It’s equally cool on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Change or add something to any one of these devices or computers, and it shows up on the others. But to make it even easier to appreciate, everything we see here ties back to iPhone. It all adds up to “iCloud — on the most amazing iPhone yet.” (Never mind that you can enjoy all this iCloud goodness on your old iPhone 4 as well.)

Camera:

This one strays a little from Apple’s standard, in that it actually starts by touting technical specs — “with 8 megapixels and advanced optics.” No doubt that’s because iPhone’s camera has been lagging behind its competitors. Since the camera is the least remarkable aspect of the 4S, a spot devoted to this feature can’t possibly be as compelling as a spot devoted to Siri. Still, people take tons of photos on their phones, and it needs to be part of the mix.

I’m sure that someone, somewhere, is still arguing that iPhone 4S offers only minor improvements over iPhone 4. Likewise, some analysts are no doubt sticking to their story that Apple’s most recent earnings report was a let-down. (Even though record sales of the 4S prove that many were simply waiting for the new model.)

These new spots should do a good job of erasing the doubts — while they stir up some good, old-fashioned iPhone lust.

iPhone / observatory — 6 Comments
13
Oct 11

The Apple critics’ endless loop

When it comes to assessing new products from Apple, there are two kinds of people in the world: critics and customers.

Seemingly, only a small number of critics have the skill to think like customers. Because collectively, the majority seems to make the mistake with each new Apple product launch.

When Apple unveiled iPhone 4S last week, it was widely greeted as a “modest” upgrade. These reactions gave birth to negative mainstream press, such as an MSNBC story that referred to the “tepid response” to iPhone 4S. Bear in mind, the hands-on reviews were yet to come and customers had yet to offer any response, tepid or otherwise.

Then, surprise surprise. iPhone 4S pre-orders begin, and the hands-on reviews get published. These reviews have been unanimously positive, some even using the “magic” word. AT&T reported the biggest first-day sales of any phone in its history. All told, Apple sold over a million of them.

That’s because there is nothing modest about iPhone 4S. As I mentioned the other day, functionally it contains three major improvements (dual-core processor, Siri, better camera), compared to the iPhone 4, which contained four (processor, better camera, Retina Display, FaceTime).

It may well be, as some have theorized, that Apple will now settle into a pattern of form-factor change every two years, since two-year contracts make it tough to upgrade annually. But this hardly means that the innards will suffer from neglect.

Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised at the 4S reviews. iPad, the great game changer, received not one but two batches of “underwhelmed” responses — one for the first iPad, the other for iPad 2. Judging by the enormity of the iPad revolution, it becomes even sillier to think about those initial responses. “Just a big iPod touch.” “No breakthrough technology.” Only a minority could see the revolution within. iPad 2 got the same “modest upgrade” treatment from the critics, followed by the same “I need one right now” response from the customers.

So history repeats with iPhone 4S. What many technology writers fail to consider is that real people aren’t technology writers. They just want a reliable phone that will dazzle them with the latest features — and iPhone 4S does a pretty good job of delivering.

advertising / creative / iPhone / observatory / technology / windows phone 7 — 8 Comments
28
Jun 11

Jony Ive’s long-lost brother

Meet Marko Ahtisaari, fraternal twin of Jony Ive.

Interestingly, though Marko and Jony were separated at birth, Marko ended up working in the same line of business. He’s Senior VP of Design at Nokia, responsible for that company’s new N9 smartphone. DNA is a powerful thing.

But it gets even more interesting.

It turns out that everyone in Apple’s creative department has a twin sibling — and they all work at Nokia. That would include the launch video writer, the director and the entire video production crew…

It is absolutely true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In the world of global commerce, however, it’s also a big, lazy ripoff.

It’s just not possible to create a video so uncannily similar to Apple’s unless you set out with the specific goal of duplicating their work. (With the obvious motive of trying to duplicate their success.)

We should keep in mind that this is the sad work of Nokia’s marketing department, not their engineering department. However, the guys who designed and built the N9 aren’t off the hook yet.

It was last April when Nokia announced their new partnership with Microsoft, which was to result in Windows Phone 7 replacing their Symbian and MeeGo OSes. Yet the N9 is a major new phone from Nokia — still running MeeGo.

A high-stakes double-cross? Playing both sides of the street? Or just a ploy to thoroughly confuse the investment community?

Whatever, all of the above shows that Nokia is one company who has much to learn about sending a simple message. Or an original one.

[Thanks, cbee, for the tip.]

advertising / apple / apple news / creative / iPad / observatory / strategy — 10 Comments
4
Apr 11

Finally! A different kind of iPad ad

Houston, we have liftoff. After more than three years of generally sticking to a formula for iPhone, iPod and iPad ads, Apple has given us a little surprise.

This new iPad 2 ad, which debuted on Saturday, is from a different world. Gone is the series of apps displayed on a device held by an inhumanly perfect hand.

Shot against black, this ad feels more elegant, more important. That’s because it’s not just a commercial for iPad 2 — it’s a brand ad wrapped in product ad.

Cleverly, it still manages to communicate a wide range of apps — but it does so only in service of the brand message. This ad is about how Apple’s unique philosophy leads to products that are “even more delightful” and yes, “magical.” (I’ll save the issue of Apple’s adjective addiction for another time.)

Personally, I’d been disappointed that Apple had allowed itself to wander into formula territory in the first place. I was genuinely surprised when the launch of iPad — a fresh, world-changing technology — was advertised in the style of ads that had been running for two years before.

To be fair, many marketing experts would totally support what Apple has done. If you’re revolutionizing the world, you’re the center of attention and you’re selling products faster than you can make them, why on earth would you ever change the formula?

My best answer: “Because it’s a formula.”

Apple doesn’t do formulas. It’s in Apple’s blood to relentlessly make things better, even when they’re pretty amazing already. This is what they do with their products (like killing iPod mini at the height of its popularity), and this is historically what they’ve done with their advertising.

So, in my opinion, this extended period of sameness on behalf of the world’s most revolutionary products was an aberration. Now, at long last, Apple is taking us someplace we haven’t been before.

The big question is: how do we like the new ad?

Judging by the comments I’ve seen on blogs so far, it’s safe to say this ad is going to be a big hit with the Apple crowd. That alone would make it a smart investment for Apple. It gives their customers a flag to rally behind, and a good argument to carry forth into the world.

I buy the message of this commercial 100%. Apple products are absolutely different from competitors’ products — and they are different precisely for the reasons described in the ad. That this can be conveyed in just 30 seconds is a good example of Apple’s ability to distill a message into its simplest, most understandable form.

Not to spoil the euphoria, but I feel duty-bound to point out that this ad is not without a downside. While the message may resonate with Apple customers, it is by no means a slam-dunk with the rest of the world.

This is the type of message that is ordinarily delivered by Steve Jobs personally, at such events as the iPad launch. It’s perfectly natural for Steve to get on stage and say things like, “We believe…”

It’s a very different thing when a TV commercial interrupts what we really want to be watching and starts telling us, “We believe…” Some will take that as pretentious and condescending.

While the believers cheer the message that ”magic” involves more than tech specs, those aware of competitors touting superior specs might roll their eyes and take it as Apple being defensive. “Oh, so that’s why you put crappy cameras in iPad 2. That’s part of the magic?”

But no commercial can please everyone, and Apple isn’t trying to convince the die-hard haters. They’re simply trying to get their message out to the vast number of potential iPad buyers, many of whom do not know Apple particularly well.

Personally, I love the fact that Apple is taking a risk by doing something unusual. By doing so, they reinforce the fact that they’re not like the other guys. They honestly believe this message, and they’re willing to spend major money to broadcast it. (And I can guarantee that they did not test this message with 20 focus groups first.)

Once the euphoria fades, though, it does make you wonder: what next?

If this is the “stake in the ground” commercial, where does the advertising go from here? Or is this just a breather, designed to take advantage of iPad’s “moment,” and then we go right back to what we had before?

Surely iPad deserves something better than a series of app shots on the screen. If iPod had the energetic silhouette campaign, and Macs had the endlessly entertaining Mac vs. PC campaign, what does iPad get? Or does Apple scrap tradition and create a “mobility” campaign that encompasses all of its i-products?

Apple and its agency TBWA\Chiat\Day have amazing creative resources, literally around the world. And most creative people would kill for the opportunity to work on such a project.

So I’m going to cross my fingers that the best is yet to come. I hope we can soon return to the days when morning conversations often started with, “Hey, did you see that Apple commercial last night?”

apple / iPad / iPhone / iPod / itunes / observatory — 9 Comments
24
Mar 11

iPod: Apple’s quiet monopoly

Remember the good old days when iPod was Apple’s most thrilling product?

Damn those iPhones and iPads, stealing iPod’s thunder like that.

Sure, iPods still get their buzz every September with the new holiday line. The crowds still show up. But clearly today’s iPod lives in the shadow of its more glamorous siblings.

Relatively speaking, iPod goes about its business quietly — if it’s possible to be quiet when your business is maintaining a massive, competition-crushing stranglehold on your category.

Shortly after its birth, iPod grabbed over 80% of the music player market. It was simple, elegant, and the combination of iPod/iTunes just couldn’t be matched.

But nothing’s forever, right? Every intelligent observer assumed that at some point, competitors would appear to bring iPod’s market share back down to earth.

That never happened. Later this year, iPod will celebrate its tenth anniversary — and its tenth year of dominance.

In technology terms, that makes iPod a senior citizen. Yet it still performs like a newborn.

I honestly can’t remember any one product line that’s held such a lopsided advantage for so long. The most recent numbers I can find (July 2010) show iPod owning 76% of the category. Holy hell.

Not that others haven’t tried. Zune was probably the most credible challenger, but could only sputter.

I once had an inside look at the iPod-killing business. I was invited to work with an agency making a pitch for a new Sony music player. Some assignments seem silly only in retrospect, but this one seemed silly even at the time. Our mission: “Bring down the iPod.”

It was an incredible delusion on Sony’s part. Not only was this particular music player a faint echo of an iPod, Sony was willing to invest only $15 million in the marketing effort — while Apple was pouring over $100 million into iPod. To light the fire under the agency, Sony also demanded to see “demonstrable results” in three months.

As long as companies are driven more by delusion and hope, iPod’s 75%+ market share is probably safe.

In fact, at this point one could reasonably argue that iPod will spend its entire life unthreatened by real competition. If anything, the category will simply fade as smartphones make standalone devices less necessary.

I suspect it will be a long, long time before another product dominates like iPod has.

(Yeah, I know. iPad now has 90% market share. But let’s meet back in a year on that one.)

advertising / app store / blackberry / creative / iPhone / observatory / strategy — 12 Comments
21
Jan 11

Adwatch: Intel soars, BlackBerry splats

These two ads have been around for a bit, but I’m sharing them anyway. Try and stop me. One proves that there’s always a creative way to say what’s been said before. The other proves that lame strategies lead to lame ads.

Starting on a positive note, here’s Intel’s effort:

In one of my first-ever posts 18 months ago, I raved about the new creative work from Intel via agency Venables & Partners. In following months, I gagged at their embarrassing Sad Robot and Penguins spots. These guys are giving me whiplash now, because this ad for their i5 processor is really, really good. (Correction 1/25 2:59pm: Venables did not create the Penguins spot, just the Robot spot.)

Not only is it fresh and mesmerizing, it’s a great job done under difficult circumstances.

Intel makes processors. Every new processor is faster than the one before. So, chip after chip, the creative guys are asked to come up with a new way to say the same thing. It’s one of the tougher challenges in this business. Then there’s the not-insignificant fact that working with Intel can make the veins in your head burst. So when someone makes a great ad, and Intel doesn’t peck it to death, this is big news.

Now brace yourself. Here comes the clunker:

Suppose for a minute that you’re BlackBerry. Your market share is in a well-documented free-fall. You’re watching as Apple and Google fight it out for new customers — a huge chunk of which happen to be your current customers. You get that apps are the big deal in mobile technology, but your own App World is a pathetic also-ran to Apple’s App Store and Google’s Apps Marketplace. (You’re only behind by a couple hundred thousand apps.)

But you’re feisty. There’s still some fight left in you. You bring in your top strategists and creative hotshots, and allocate a nice chunk of marketing money to the cause. And what do you get? An ad that basically says: With BlackBerry, you don’t just get apps — you get “super apps.”

It’s stunning, actually. You would think that grown adults with even a fleeting familiarity with the smartphone market would know better. Does anyone believe there’s anything about the BlackBerry OS that would allow it to run apps that are more “super” than Apple’s and Google’s apps? What the hero of this spot does seems to be easily accomplished via iPhone or Android. This is simply BlackBerry wishing things would be different — but the cold reality is there for all to see.

BlackBerry once had such a commanding share of the smartphone market, it’s hard to imagine them fading to nothing. But ads like this make you think that’s a distinct possibility.

apple / apple news / iPad / mac / observatory / steve jobs / technology — 12 Comments
21
Oct 10

Mac’s day in the spotlight

Well, it was interesting (and refreshing) to see a little love lavished on the Mac side of things yesterday. As is the tradition around these parts, some random observations on Wednesday’s event:

FaceTime for Mac. Cool — even though we could see this one coming for miles.

Mac OS X Lion. The philosophical direction of Lion is consistent with everything we’ve heard in recent months: Mac OS X meets iPad. Expect these meetings to intensify in the future.

Mac App Store. This one is beyond huge, and exactly what Apple should be doing. In fact, I rambled on about this one here back in 2009. Imagine being able to buy your Mac apps the same way you buy your iPhone apps. Instant purchase, auto-install, auto-update. Customer reviews too. This is another gold mine for Apple, although it won’t come without controversy. Apple is injecting itself into the developer/customer relationship and demanding a cut, and surely some are going to buck. There are many open questions about how this will work, but it will happen — and it will make our lives way better.

Launchpad. Wow, convenient. I currently use third-party utility Overflow to do something similar. We may have to move them from the Happy Developer Column to the Swearing Eternal Revenge Column.

Misson Control. My secret confession: I rarely used Exposé and Spaces. I now realize that I hesitated for all the same reasons that Apple just combined both of them — along with Dashboard — into one convenient location. Thank you!

iLife ’11. Some cool additions, but the ground beneath my feet wasn’t exactly trembling. Love Movie Trailers in iMovie. Great price at $49 — but that’s just Apple’s way of saying, “Don’t expect $79 worth of upgrade.” I appreciate the honesty.

The black sheep. Poor iDVD. Nary a mention during the festivities. However, this is hardly unexpected, given Apple’s passing-over of Blu-Ray in favor of Internet delivery for video. Prepare for iDVD to be moved to hospice within a year or two. [Update: In all the excitement I glossed over the absence of iWeb — which is truly a mystery. It's not like people are less interested in making personal websites and blogs these days. This is an unfortunate omission, as it makes a statement about what Apple thinks is important, and how it allocates its software engineering manpower.]

The missing app. I had a secret wish, but it didn’t materialize. I was dreaming of new iLife app called iMagazine. It would allow mere mortals to use their Macs to create personalized, Apple-designed iPad magazines. Imagine combining your vacation photos and movies from iLife into a standalone iPad app that presents your whole story in gorgeous magazine format, as a series of articles. This could be uploaded and shared with friends and family around the world. In business, iMagazine would utterly revolutionize the idea of the “leave-behind.” iLife already empowers ordinary people to create and present all of these elements separately. Why not put them all into a Wired-quality magazine?

MacBook Air. This was needed. MacBook Air was starting to feel a bit like a hobby — a breakthrough idea that’s gone almost three years without an eye-opening update. This is looking cool enough that I’m starting to get the itchy trigger finger that often results in unbudgeted charges on my credit card. Believe Steve when he says this is the future of notebooks.

MacBook Air video. This is where I start to get cranky. It is not in Apple’s DNA to be formulaic. Yet these product videos haven’t varied in years. Same look, same feel, same cast of characters. Understood that normal consumers are not nearly as close to these things as we are, but honestly, it wouldn’t hurt to try a new format once in a while. There’s no chance they’ll drive people away — but there’s every chance they’ll make more of a stir. The product videos need to be just as creative as the products.

Missing in action. ’Scuse me, but where’s the new iWork? For every year that both iLife and iWork have existed (the last four versions), both suites were updated at the same time. This year, iLife went to the ball while iWork stayed home to scrub the floors. Curious.

Shipping dates. Wow. Either I missed something, or pretty much every product introduced today (except Lion, of course) is available immediately. Nicely played.

Last, I will note that this event shined the spotlight on a legion of Apple leaders. Probably more than we’ve ever seen in any one event. Even more interesting was the lead role given to Tim Cook at the start. Those making guesses about the secret line of succession have some good fodder to work with here…

iPad / iPhone / observatory / technology — 2 Comments
16
Sep 10

Learning to read with Stephen Fry

Years ago, I was tied down and forced to watch several days’ worth of British comedies. Very quickly, the restraints became unnecessary and I began to eagerly devour it.

One of the biggest reasons for my transformation was Stephen Fry. Damn, he’s good. So it is with great affection that I have watched Stephen emerge as a personality in the technology world.

His tweeting skills are legendary, and he wrote a great piece for Time Magazine at the launch of iPad — in which he guides us through his adventure at Apple, including meetings with Steve Jobs and the executive team.

Now Stephen has dipped his toes into app territory with a neat little thing called MyFry. This is actually the app version of his autobiography, The Fry Chronicles. What’s interesting about it is that it isn’t just another book — it’s a whole new way of reading a book.

Stephen explains it all in this video, sounding suspiciously like the narrator for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe — which in fact he was (in the  2005 production).

The video is a sweet introduction to the idea. Stephen’s style of speech makes him hard to ignore, and there’s little time wasted  — except for that long, clicky opening that makes you wonder if your sound is working. And yes, it would have been nice to have a good zinger line at the end, as opposed to more clicking.

But my imaginary hat is off to Stephen for being (a) funny, and (b) creative. He’s just proven that writing a book is only half the fun.

apple / iPhone / observatory — 1 Comment
13
Sep 10

Do I detect a little sensationalism?

Journalism isn’t the usual topic here. But I’m stunned enough by what I saw over the weekend that I wanted to share it.

This is the photo and caption that ran on the front page of MSNBC.com on Sunday morning:

Good lord. By now most of us are familiar with the story of Foxconn, Chinese builder of iPhones, which reported 11 suicides in the first five months of the year. Most of us are also aware of one important fact: the suicide rate at Foxconn is actually lower than China’s overall suicide rate.

Then there’s this other little tidbit: the suicide rate at Foxconn is even lower than the rate in each of our own fifty states.

So of course MSNBC led with the idea that Terry Gou would be making history — if only his people weren’t killing themselves.

That’s too bad, because the article itself paints an interesting and thorough view of Terry Gou’s accomplishments. It only starts with the suicide story. But throughout many pages of detail, not once does it mention that Foxconn’s suicide rate is statistically irrelevant. It’s an astounding omission, considering that this fact was widely circulated when the news broke many months ago.

By no means do I diminish the importance of the Foxconn suicides. Every death is a tragedy, and if working conditions contributed, that needs to be corrected. However, when the facts provide important perspective, it’s the journalists’ professional duty to report them. Using sensationalistic lead-ins to suck readers in is more Enquirer style than MSNBC. At least it used to be.

This misleading image/caption disappeared from the MSNBC home page later in the day, and now does not appear in the main story either. So clearly somebody came to their senses. But for allowing it to happen on a front-page story in the first place, MSNBC — with its partners at Bloomberg Businessweek — get a well-deserved whack on their typing fingers. Watch it, fellas.

advertising / creative / google / iPhone / microsoft / observatory / strategy / technology — 16 Comments
9
Sep 10

Alert! The smartphone revolution is coming!

This just in: Microsoft is preparing a revolution in smartphones. It’s almost ready. Really.

I can only imagine the looks on their faces when they climb out of their news-proof bunker and discover that the revolution’s been going on for three years.

Does Microsoft honestly believe they can introduce Windows Phone 7 as a revolution? According to this video, yes — although (as reported by Kara Swisher at All Things Digital) it is unclear if this is their real marketing direction, or a one-time shot during a London event.

Let’s give Microsoft kudos for exuding confidence. Then let’s remind them that we’ve seen the Windows Phone 7 preview, and it isn’t exactly a revolution. It’s more like running after the train that left the station yesterday.

If they believe using the word revolution will somehow create Apple-like buzz, they’d better think twice. Everyone knows you have to use the word magic too.

If it weren’t for the laughable conclusion, I’d actually be crowing about the imagery and music in this spot. It has an elegant kind of power.

Senior citizens will recognize the desert image, soundtrack and typography from 1962′s Lawrence of Arabia. But most will probably just wonder Microsoft has been drinking — and what the heck that Arabian stuff is all about.

I’m anxious to see what happens when Windows Phone 7 actually does join the revolution-in-progress. Given the masses already in love with iPhone and Android, the market for a Windows phone may look eerily like that desert.

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