Apple Adds Two New Verses

Apple has added two new spots to its ongoing “Your Verse” campaign: “Jason’s Verse” and “Yaoband’s Verse.”

The “Your Verse” campaign, as you might remember, debuted in January with an anthem ad featuring the sadly recently deceased Robin Williams‘ recitation of Walt Whitman‘s “O Me! O Life!” (from which the campaign gets its title) from the film Dead Poets Society. It was also notable for being produced in-house, without the aid of Apple’s agency, TBWA/Media Arts Lab, as were the follow-up verses.

Apple’s latest additions to the campaign aim to continue the inspirational tone with two new stories. “Jason’s Verse” follows Detroit resident Jason Hall as he attempts to revitalize the Detroit community through his Slow Roll. What begins as a solitary bike ride turns into a weekly event drawing thousands, with Jason’s iPad Air helping him get word out to the community and build Slow Roll into a sort of institution.

“Yaoband’s Verse,” meanwhile, sees a Beijing electro-pop group’s using their iPad Air for everything from sound-sampling to communicating with fans. Both “Your Verse” stories can be examined in more depth at Apple’s site, where visitors can also access an exclusive concert from Yaoband. Stick around for “Yaoband’s Verse” after the jump. (more…)

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Snickers Drops Down the Celebrity Hierarchy with Kenny G

Betty White, Joe Pesci, Robin Williams, and… Kenny G. Aside from picking the most odds-and-sods group of entertainers out there, Snickers and BBDO New York have a knack for choosing celebrities with just enough relevance for the “You’re not you when you’re hungry” campaign. The title for best Snickers jokester is a toss-up between White’s roughhousing football player and Pesci’s whiny wingman. The latest spot, “Cards,” won’t top its predecessors, mainly because Kenny G doesn’t speak throughout the whole clip, but you can always lose yourself in his patented melancholy saxophoning.

It’s strange to think that the first ad with White came out over three years ago, but these spots seem to have enough social support to keep on kicking, even as the celebrities get less celebratory. Maybe for the next one, BBDO could get all four celebs in one room at the same time – a group of hungry people who all need to eat Snickers. That way, we could get Pesci to look at Kenny G and unleash a “Who is this fuckin’ guy?” tirade. Everybody wins, even Kenny G, since he’d be in two commercials in the past decade instead of one. Credits after the jump.

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