James Corden Is Full of Ideas, and Costumes, in Translation’s Push for Apple Music

Translation’s new spot for the Apple Music streaming service sees James Corden pitching all kinds of (mostly awful) ideas to Apple Music execs, who remained unimpressed with the comedian’s over-the-top suggestions.

His first suggestion, “What if I’m giving birth to Justin Bieber, who’s giving birth to Anthony Kiedis, who’s giving birth to a phone?” is immediately rejected. While Corden would like to dress up as David Bowie and the Spice Girls, they just want to let people know about Apple Music’s hand-picked playlists, offline functionality and 40 million songs.

As Adweek points out, this kind of meta approach is hardly new and we’re sure our readers can point to at least a half dozen examples of similar ideas. That said, actually seeing Corden act out some of the ridiculous ideas and do his best Bowie and Spice Girls impressions is fairly entertaining. And the obvious benefit in the format is getting both the over-the-top comedy from Corden and the straightforward explanations of what Apple Music has to offer. So while there it may not be the most original idea, there’s certainly a method to the madness.

James Corden Pitches Delightfully Terrible Ad Ideas to Apple Music in This Meta Spot

There’s a certain kind of advertising that you know is vying for a Cannes Lion, the kind of prestige work that will really make you think about the state of humanity—and if you’re lucky, the brand behind the spot. 

Apple Music’s new spot, which broke on Sunday night’s Emmy Award telecast and pointed to the extended online version version below (brilliant timing, A+ media team), has James Corden pitching ad ideas for Apple Music—goofy and, later, overly ambitious ideas—much to the chagrin of Apple’s execs, who’d rather just tell people about the app’s functionality. 

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Air New Zealand Created a Video Asking James Corden to Come Do a 'Cockpit Karaoke'

If you love yourself some Carpool Karaoke, Air New Zealand’s hoping you’ll be willing to watch celebrities hit new decibel levels in an airplane cockpit.

The below video is a public pitch aimed straight for late-night talk show host James Corden, who has created viral hit after viral hit with the popular segment, featuring musicians and other stars singing along with him to popular tracks while driving around Los Angeles. Corden notably even convinced Michelle Obama to jam to Beyoncé last month).

“Mate, we’ve got a pitch for you,” the Air New Zealand video begins. “Picture this: You. Us.” 

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David Beckham Finds a Somewhat Less Chiseled Partner for Latest Underwear Ads

The earnest, staid tone of underwear advertisements easily lends itself to parody. And while that tactic has been on trend, new Late Late Show host James Corden has taken it a step further with David Beckham, a man who is famous for stripping down to his skivvies.

Hawking a fake new line of underwear, D&J briefs, Corden and Beckham tout the support of the right pair of briefs, noting that D&J can help quash existential anxieties, like, “Is there a reason to life? Is there a meaning to my days?”

It makes sense that Beckham would be game to mock his spots, given that the star revealed he had to leave the room when his Super Bowl spot for H&M ran last year. (It seems he didn’t want to watch peoples’ reactions to him running around in his underwear.)

While the spoof isn’t perfect—leaning on Corden’s weight for a punch line can be a bit much—it is fun to watch Beckham smolder while Corden goofs off.