This Is Surely the Most Strangely Beautiful iPhone Parody Ad Ever Made

What is the future of smartphones? Well, for one thing, they will reside inside your skull, not in your hand. And when they malfunction, your whole body will hiccup and crash—and you’ll need to head to the doctor for an upgrade.

At least, that’s the reality in this parody iPhone 7 ad from Noka Films.

“Upgrade is a story of a young woman who is experiencing an embarrassing malfunction with her older model of the iPhone and is desperately seeking an upgrade,” the filmmakers say. “iPhones and similar smartphones are now an integral part of our modern life, and in a way, beginning to alter who we are. To ridicule our addiction to our smartphones, we played out a world where this technological evolution may one day take over us.”

The idea of an iPhone implanted directly in your mind is “not so far from the truth,” they add, considering the “underlying strangeness of today’s world of marketing, innovation, and increasingly virtual reality.”



Ben & Jerry's Has Brought Back Apple's '1984' as a Burrito Anthem for Stoners

Parodies of Apple’s “1984” continue to surface at the oddest of times—such as 4/20, America’s unofficial day of marijuana appreciation.

Ben & Jerry’s has created the spot below to celebrate the Brrr-ito’s bold assault on the despotic repression of … ice cream sandwiches. It’s admittedly a rather odd metaphor and cultural callback, but somehow it still works.

So check out the spot, then get ready to “have one rolled for you” on Monday. 



This Watch Maker Does Not Care If You Pre-order a Damn Thing From Apple Today

Traditional watch makers are in a bit of a bind with the launch of the Apple Watch. Do they just ignore it, or do they make fun of it—and in so doing, admit its buzzworthiness and give it that much extra attention?

Shinola is going with the latter approach, launching ads from Partners & Spade in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal (suitably old-school placements, naturally) that rib the wondrous new Apple device, which is finally available for pre-order today.

The ads promote the brand’s Runwell watch, which at $550 is almost identical in price to the lower-end Apple Watch, which goes for $549. The tagline is, “The Runwell. It’s just smart enough,” and the copy riffs on that theme:

Smart enough that you don’t need to charge it at night. Smart enough that it will never need a software upgrade. Smart enough that version 1.0 won’t need to be replaced next year, or in the many decades that follow. Built by the watchmakers of Detroit to last a lifetime or longer under the terms and conditions of the Shinola guarantee.

Yes, the watch might be old-school, but the snark is very modern-day. Full ad below.

CREDITS
Client: Shinola
Agency: Partners & Spade
Creative Director: Anthony Sperduti
Creative Director: Griffin Creech
Art Director: Danny Demers



Apple Watch Gets a Series of 'Guided Tour' Videos Showing You Exactly How It Works

Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump…

Will your heart beat faster for the Apple Watch after you’ve previewed its hotness in four “guided tour” videos the company posted on Friday?

Probably. Especially if, like me, you’re counting the seconds until April 24, when the high-tech timepiece goes on sale, and you can finally use it to send a pulse signal—that’s your heartbeat—to other wearers of the device.

That feature is among many explored in the “Digital Touch” and “Messages” tutorials. “Faces,” meanwhile, is all about customizing the home screen. (Add the current temperature or a calendar—go nuts!)

In addition to these clips, each running less than two minutes, there’s a nearly five-minute “Welcome” overview. It’s chock full of information, including details on how to use various interactions—like swiping up or down on the screen—to access apps and control content. Apple even explains why some technologies that work for its iPhones, such as pinching to zoom, are impractical on a watch display—hence the need for a “digital crown” dial, which you can use to manipulate magnification, among other things. (More Apple Watch videos are on the way. Topic include “Phone Calls,” “Maps,” “Music” and “Siri.”)

Of course, the company discussed a lot of this stuff during its March product announcement, and the watch has been widely profiled in the press, so there are no stunning revelations. Even so, the guided tours concisely cover a great deal of material and serve as both practical how-tos and effective advertising.

In fact, given the nature of the product in question, such detailed demonstrations seem especially on point. The company bills the watch as its “most personal device yet,” designed to engage the tactile senses in novel ways and function almost as an extension of our physical selves. That sounds grandiose, but consider: Along with heartbeat messaging, it monitors your pulse rate, “taps” you when messages arrive and springs to life when you raise your wrist (going dark when you reverse the gesture).

That’s a fairly high level of casual intimacy—of human/machine rapport. Fittingly, these videos transcend product specs and glossy style pitches to give users a feel for the technology and explain how it can touch their lives.



Apple Watch May Be the Future, but Its First TV Ad Borrows From the Past

For a product Apple hopes will be revolutionary, the first TV commercial for the Apple Watch, unveiled today, had an instantly recognizable style. And no wonder—it’s a style that’s gained no small measure of equity since the advent of the iPhone in 2007. And the ads continue to look and sound great.

The formula is simple: Device against white background, turning in space to show the physical design, cycling through apps on screen to show functionality, all set to an energetic, catchy tune—in this case, the Holychild track “Running Behind.” (It’s like doing a super-fancy product demo, and understandably so—products that haven’t existed before need fairly basic marketing to explain them.)

This spot gets to do a few more things—show off the bands as jewelry, for example. And it’s quite clever that, thanks to some handclaps, the device gets a round of applause right out of the gate. “The watch is coming,” says the copy at the end, quickly dissing all rivals.

But otherwise it’s business as usual, if gorgeously so.



Apple Is Putting Users' Beautiful iPhone 6 Photos on Billboards and Print Ads

Photos taken on iPhone 6 are so good, you can blow them up and put them on a billboard.

That’s the message of Apple’s new “Shot on iPhone 6” print and outdoor campaign, which features real photos—taken by real iPhone 6 users—that Apple found online and loved. The company tells AdFreak that the campaign will feature shots from 77 individuals in 70 cities and 24 countries across the globe.

All of the photos were non-commissioned, found images. Apple combed through tens of thousands of photos to choose the ones for the campaign. The overall message is that iPhone is the world’s most popular camera, and is even better with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus thanks to improved software and hardware.

Check out a sampling of the photos below (with blurbs by Apple), and many more at apple.com/worldgallery.
 

• Shot by Gabby K. in Snoqualmie Pass, WA
Soft lighting and a focus on reflections can add a dreamy, ethereal quality to a photo — here, they create the illusion that the subject is almost floating.
 

• Shot by David K. in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Centering a large object in a panorama can be used to dramatic effect. This towering spire makes the other buildings look tiny by comparison.
 

• Shot by Cielo D. in Alameda, CA
Shooting your subject in a reflection — like the one on this wet street — can make a simple scene seem surreal and surprising.
 

• Shot by Paul O. in Chicago, IL
By capturing a hint of rainbow in this otherwise monochrome scene, the photographer offsets the earth tones and brings the image to life.
 

• Shot by Cole R. in Star Valley Ranch, WY
Establishing a central focal point can have dramatic impact. Here, wispy clouds lead the eye to the hut and create a stronger sense of focus.
 

• Shot by Cory S. in Lake Cushman, WA
The presence of human subjects in a natural setting like this forest creates a more relatable sense of scale and emphasizes the height of other elements in the photo.
 

• Shot by Robyn W. in Corvallis, OR
Finding interesting lines in a scene, like the vertical pattern the trees make here, can create a more captivating composition.
 

• Shot by Shan L. in San Francisco, CA
Sometimes the best shots aren’t planned. The bird flying through this photo adds a sense of scale and surprise to an iconic view, making the whole composition more interesting.
 

• Shot by Ahmed A. in Albuquerque, NM
When photographing a flat landscape, focusing on foreground elements — like the partially inflated balloons in this photo — helps create greater depth of field.
 

• Shot by Jun I. in Tokyo, Japan
Capturing opposing subjects together, like the manmade overpass and the natural element provided by the trees in this photo, helps create a compelling contrast.
 

• Shot by Alastair B. in The Cairngorms, Scotland
Filling the frame with the subject can help the viewer focus on its details — like the texture of the reindeer’s fur and antlers.
 

• Shot by Jirasak P. in Mae Hong Sorn, Thailand
Convergent lines, like those created by the trees and shoreline, can provide a more interesting perspective in a composition.
 

• Shot by Jeremiah C. in Atlanta, GA
Using reflection is a great way to capture two perspectives in the same image. Here, the puddle shows the photographer’s top-down perspective as well as the ground-up perspective of the building and sky.
 

• Shot by Garrett C. in Joshua Tree, CA
An out-of-place subject, like this boat in a desert, can make for a more interesting composition.



Apple Watch Gets Its First Advertising With a Stylish 12-Page Spread in Vogue

Apple Watch gets a 12-page spread in the March issue of Vogue, part of the run-up to the wearable device’s launch in April. Rate-card value: north of $2.2 million.

All three versions of the watch—the luxe 18-karat gold model, a sports watch and the leather-bound standard edition—are featured in the magazine’s “Spring Fashion Blockbuster,” and the images we’ve seen so far look appropriately stylish. (Scroll down to see for a sample of pages from the ad section.)

The sleek, angular devices are tastefully displayed in classic Apple style against plain white backgrounds. In one shot, the watch’s face appears to rise from a milky mist, the muted hues of its app icons signaling its time has arrived. Another shows a rising segment of the band in stark relief, suggesting a silvery stairway to heaven (by which I mean the nearest Apple Store, naturally).

More than anything, these arty abstractions resemble jewelry advertising, with the Apple Watch cast as the latest shiny bauble for the tech-crazed masses. Tres chic! Tres Apple!

Observers have generally lauded the strategy of positioning the watch as a fashion accessory, though some point out that Google Glass went the Vogue route with a spread two years ago and failed to catch on with the masses.

In my view, that’s an unfair comparison. The failure of Google Glass has been analyzed to death, but ultimately, its lack of “cool”—perched on users’ faces, for everyone to see—was perhaps a fatal, if unavoidable, flaw.

Apple Watch, a far more discreet wearable, won’t provide such a sorry spectacle. Like fine timepieces of old, it’s designed to be admired while remaining unobtrusive. Folks who catch a glimpse of the gadget won’t confer Glasshole-type scorn on wearers. Instead, the device will inspire curiosity and a desire to buy.

It will be in vogue in for years. Just watch.



Apple Caters to Filmmakers in Scorsese Oscars Campaign

Apple continued its ongoing relationship with director Martin Scorsese in this year’s Oscars campaign. (We don’t have credits at the moment, so we cannot properly attribute the work to TBWA/MAL.)

The central :60 spot caters to aspiring filmmakers and includes narration by Mr. Scorsese recorded during his commencement speech to the 2014 graduating class of NYU’s Tisch School.

The campaign went beyond that spot, working under the tagline “Shaping the future of filmmaking” and casting the iPad as “the ultimate tool for independent filmmakers.”

The ad includes footage from projects created by three students at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, who produced their short films over three days using only an iPad. To watch those pieces in full, you’ll have to check out the campaign site.

The campaign facilitated some interesting work while forcing us to ask the obvious question: how many of these aspiring auteurs will NOT go into advertising?

Microsoft's Valentine's Advice: Break Up With Siri and Start Seeing Cortana

Ever since Microsoft introduced Cortana, its personal assistant for the Windows Phone, it’s been slamming Siri for her vanity and uselessness. Now, for Valentine’s Day, it’s proposing that you give Siri the old heave-ho for good—and begin a torrid affair with her archrival.

Check out the two new spots below, from m:united. The second one has a particularly cute subtext, although Siri would tell you to watch out—that this is one suitor with a menacing agenda under all the sweetness.

CREDITS
Client: Microsoft
Agency: m:united
Co-Chief Creative Officers: Andy Azula John Mescall
Executive Creative Director: Yo Umeda
Senior Copy Writer: Thom Woodley
Senior Art Director: Trinh Pham
Director of Creative Technology: David Cliff
Head of Integrated Production: Aaron Kovan
Executive Producer: Carolyn Johnson
Junior Producer: Monique Fitzpatrick
Managing Director: Kevin Nelson
EVP Group Account Director: Tina Galley
SVP Group Account Directors: Darla Price, Jason Kolinsky
Account Director: Melissa Trought
Account Supervisor: Greg Masiakos
Assistant Account Executive: Emily Glaser
Project Management: Stella Warkman
Production & Post-Production: CRAFT
Director of Photography: Larry Kapit
Editors: Nate Troester Carlos Hernandez
Music: “Big Top Polka” Erin Gemsa
Media Agency: EMT



TBWA/MAL Celebrates Music for Apple

TBWA/Media Arts Lab worked with musicians Elliphant, Riton and The Gaslamp Killer in its latest spot for Apple’s iPad, which debuted during the Grammy’s yesterday.

The 60-second spot, entitled “Make Music with iPad” highlights the tablet’s music-making capabilities by following the musicians as they write, record, perform, and re-mix a song called “All or Nothing.” According to Billboard, Apple and TBWA chose the musicians involved because they already use the iPad in their creative process. “I’ve been using an iPad in every single performance I’ve done since 2009,” said Will Bensussen, the producer and DJ who goes by The Gaslamp Killer. “You can only have so many big giant keyboards in your house, and it’s an extremely dynamic tool for creating music from scratch as well as spicing up music that I’ve already made.”

Apple’s iPad push comes shortly after a quarterly earnings report which saw a decrease in iPad sales compared to last year. The decision to promote the tablet’s musical capabilities recognizes core strengths of both the brand and the device, and (regardless of how you may feel about them musically) utilizing artists who already employ the iPad lends the ad a feeling of authenticity. And of course there couldn’t be a more appropriate place for the spot to debut than during NBC’s Grammy Award broadcast, even with the hefty price tag (reportedly over $2 million).

Apple's New China Store Has One Hell of a Beautiful Facade and a Great Story to Tell

The new Apple Store in China unites ancient and contemporary design elements to striking effect—its modern steel-and-glass exterior draped by a simple yet elegant mural that contains the text, rendered in traditional Chinese characters, of a 2,000-year-old poem.

“The lines in calligraphy need to have life in them,” artist Wang Dongling says of his creation in the new two-minute Apple video below. “They need to have aesthetic feeling. They need to have a kind of magical energy endowed by nature.”

Sounds like something Steve Jobs or Jony Ive might have said about the look and feel of Apple’s products. So, Wang’s vision seems well suited to the iconic brand, which opens its newest store tomorrow in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China, situated on West Lake.

Despite its vintage, the poem, “Praising West Lake in the Rain,” has a distinctly modern flavor: “Shimmering water on sunny days/Blurred mountains through rainy haze/West Lake is like the beauty, Xizi/With light or heavy makeup, always beautiful.”

Indeed, our fascination with beauty, whether it exists naturally or created by our own hand, has endured for thousands of years, and to a large extent informs developments in present-day technology. The West Lake Apple Store motif spans the ages, embracing our infatuation with the constantly evolving forms and functions of beautiful things.



This Apple Store in London Looks Just Like a Regular Apple Store, Except It Sells Real Apples

Don’t come looking for free Wi-Fi. This Apple Store doesn’t have it.

That’s because it sells real apples—the nontechnological kind.

London’s Borough Market, one of the oldest markets in the U.K., is marking its 1,000th anniversary this year. (Yes, it’s been around for a millennium.) As part of the celebrations, it treated shoppers to a delightful concept—creating a “Real Apple Store” for the weekend that was a clever copy of Apple’s iconic retail establishments.

Actual apples were displayed on lucite pedestals just like an iPhone or iPad would be, but instead of technical specs, the signs showed each apple’s unique flavor notes and history.

Take a look below at some more photos of this great little shop. It remains unclear whether the apples themselves were marked up tp 500 percent of their actual value.

Via Design Taxi.



Samsung Has a Robotic Butt Sit on the Galaxy Note 4 in Comical #Bendgate Video

Once again, Apple is the butt of Samsung’s jokes. This time literally.

Does the iPhone 6 have a tendency to bend in your back pocket when you sit down? Would the Internet lie about such a thing? Samsung gleefully embraces the “Bendgate” scandal in this two-minute video, “Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Endures the Gluteus Maximus,” which delivers exactly what the title says. You’ll marvel, or not, as the Samsung phone survives stress tests set to a techno beat. Robotic buttocks, sporting blue jeans (of course!) and equal to the weight of a 200-pound human being, pose the biggest challenge, smooshing the handset repeatedly.

One day, when the machines rise up against their masters, this denim-clad butt-bot will crush us all!

The clip has more than 2 million views on YouTube, and its entertainment factor is awfully high. Though, as other commenters have noted, the only thing this demonstration proves is that Samsung continues to define itself largely in relation to Apple, slinging mud and hoping it’ll stick to the rival brand.

I’m pretty flexible, but after a while, that strategy gets to be a bummer.



KitKat Has the Best Response So Far to Apple's #Bendgate Scandal

The Internet is getting bent out of shape today over news that Apple’s iPhone 6 can get bent out of shape when it’s in your pocket. A few brands have latched on to so-called #bendgate with some halfhearted tweets. But so far, it appears KitKat is leading the way with the least objectionable brand tie-in.

It remains to be seen how damaging this issue could be for Apple, but as one observer rightly points out: “You know you’re in trouble when you get trolled by KitKat.”



Apple's New Ads Won't Sell You on an iPhone 6, Which Is Fine Since Everyone Already Bought One

Remember when Apple’s ads were more about witty repartee than about how its devices could alter the fate of humanity for the better?

With its newest ads, heralding the phone’s newest iteration and its jumbo sibling, the iPhone6 Plus, the brand seems to be calling back to the Get a Mac days of good-natured ribbing by showing owners of each phone bickering about what makes them great.

Unlike the era of John Hodgman and Justin Long, we don’t see the people behind the voices this time around. Instead, we gaze in wonder upon the phones while they do iPhone-y stuff like editing photos, playing videos and firing up apps you’ll soon forget to keep using.

The ads aren’t quite as charming as Get a Mac, nor as cinematic as the Your Verse spots. And the visuals aren’t quite as memorable as the equally minimalist by stylistically superior “Stickers” ad for the MacBook Air. 

Luckily, with iPhone 6 sales already shattering records, these ads probably exist less to sell hardware than to keep Samsung from dominating the entirety of YouTube.



Oops! One of the First People in the World With an iPhone 6 Drops It on Live TV

Unless you’re living under a rock, you know the iPhone 6 hits stores today. And if you’re one of the souls brave enough to endure insane lines to get your new bleeding-edge item—congratulations on your achievement!

Since Australians literally live in the future, they were the first to get a crack at Apple’s new device, which has amazing new features like a free U2 album no one wants.

Well, as Australian Jack Cooksey was being interviewed by a Perth television station to get a first look at his new prized possession, well—take a look below at the dramatic conclusion.

Via Daily Dot.

 
And here it is from another angle:

Here's How Samsung Gloatingly Responded to Apple's Larger iPhone Screens

This Samsung ad, which debuted over the weekend, teases the October release of its Galaxy Note 4—and also, more mercilessly, teases Apple for being late to the phablet game at its iPhone 6 event last week. 

Called “Then and Now,” the minute-long clip reminds viewers that Samsung was the first company to popularize larger-size handsets. To make its point, it presents snippets of dismissive reviews that followed the Galaxy Note’s introduction nearly three years ago.

Being first is all well and good, and perhaps the spot amuses/energizes die-hard Samsung geeks. Still, I doubt its gloating vibe resonates with a broader audience. Coming after last week’s “It Doesn’t Take a Genius” spots (ribbing Apple about its smartwatch and even the ragged quality of its live-event streaming), this spot feels like overkill.

Auch crowing makes Samsung look, well, small. And kind of silly, given that the iPhone 6 Plus sold out on the first day Apple started taking orders.

Don’t expect a counterpunch, though. Apple, of course, is bigger than that.



Is Apple's 'Perspective' Film a Bit Too Much Like OK Go's Recent Viral Video?

Does the three-minute “Perspective” film that kicked off Apple’s product event on Tuesday borrow ideas from a popular music video by OK Go? The band seems to think so and is weighing its legal options, its manager, Andy Gershon, tells Bloomberg Businessweek.

Both “Perspective” and OK Go’s “The Writing’s on the Wall” video take place inside large white rooms and rely on optical illusions. In Apple’s mainly black-and-white video, tricks of perspective make inspirational slogans like “See things differently” and “Follow a vision” appear as the camera pans around.

OK Go’s more colorful film sees band members interacting with various objects in different ways to create a series of hypnotic visuals. That video has been viewed more than 10 million times since June and won an MTV Video Music Award for optical effects.

Perhaps most damningly, Gershon says OK Go pitched its visual concept to Apple in April, hoping for a collaboration with the brand, but the company declined. After OK Go made its own video, Apple hired the same production company, 1stAveMachine, to create “Perspective.”

Apple did not immediately respond to AdFreak’s requests for comment.

In advertising and other creative fields, it’s not unusual for similar concepts to crop up in work from different sources. Tricks of perspective have been used in several notable campaigns lately, including this trippy Honda CR-V spot from 2013, which some found derivative of an earlier ad by Audi.

For Apple, it’s a particularly thorny issue, though, because appearing to borrow concepts from others repudiates the brand’s core message of being original and innovative. Simply put, Gershon believes Apple didn’t think differently enough when creating its film. “The videos speak for themselves,” he says, “and you can draw your own conclusions.”



Here Is Apple's Ad Celebrating the Surprise Release of U2's New Album

Apple wrapped up its iPhone 6/Apple Watch event today with quick the kicker: a performance by U2 followed by a remarkable offer: Everyone can get the band’s new album, “Songs of Innocence,” for free on iTunes through Oct. 13.

Below is the new spot celebrating the partnership, and it’s a throwback in more ways than one. It’s reminiscent, of course, of Apple’s old “Silhouettes” iPod commercials. (You’ll remember that U2 did an Apple ad, plus a longer video, around “Vertigo” in 2004.)

And then, in the new spot, you’ve also got glimpses of the Ramones and the Clash, to whom U2 is apparently paying tribute with the new record.

U2 and Apple have had a fruitful partnership for years, as Bono and Jonathan Ive discussed this summer at Cannes. One eagle-eyed observer suggested Tuesday that U2 might even be broadcasting hidden Apple messages. After all, “Songs of Innocence” appreviated is S.O.I., which backwards is iOS. And U2 S.O.I. backwards is iOS2U.

As for iPhone 6 and Apple Watch ads—we’re still waiting.



Siri is an Insecure Diva in Microsoft's Latest Windows Phone Ad

Microsoft is making a habit out of mocking Siri.

Apple’s personal assistant faces her Windows Phone rival, Cortana, in a new ad from M:United hawking the HTC One M8 smartphone. Cortana also sized up against the iPhone’s voice concierge in a commercial earlier this summer. That spot focused on how Siri was comparatively inept. Now, she is cast as a diva.

That probably rings true for anyone who’s ever wrestled with that functionality on an iOS device. Cortana, though, is at the disadvantage here of having to explain why she’s better, and what hardware she occupies. Everyone recognizes an iPhone and Siri—the whole concept stands on the competition’s shoulders.

At the same time, Apple bashing is a quick and easy way to get millions of YouTube views, as Samsung proved. So, it’s not surprising to see Microsoft try a similar strategy. Plus, it’s paying Apple back, in a small way, for all the knocks in the old “Get A Mac” campaign.

Though it is perhaps telling that this approach frames the battle primarily in terms of miniature faceless robots, instead of humans.

Credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Microsoft
Product: Windows Phones
Spot: HTC “Mirror/Sitting” M8
Agency: M:United
Global ECDs: Andy Azula, Con Williamson
Creative Director: Mike Lear
Copywriter: Cedric Giese
Art Director: Ron Villacarillo
Director of Creative Technology: David Cliff
TV Producer: Mel Senecal, Emilie Talermo
Strategy Team: Kevin Nelson, Michelle Kiely, Jeremy Davis, Lauren Curtis
Account Team: John Dunleavy, Darla Price, Melissa Trought, Reena Factor, Liam Mulcahy
Video Production: No6
Music:
“You Always Make Me Smile” – Kyle Andrews
“I Feel Pretty” – written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, performed by Stingray Music
Media Agency: EMT
VFX: Method