Apple has lost its bite

I'm a die-hard Apple fan. I'm addicted to the design, quality, branding. The overall image that they sell is just beautiful. But I rarely take a harsh look at their ads - why should I? I'm just going to buy the product anyway. I drool over the video footage and content of each piece, but I'm already sold on the product.

So it's a rude awakening for me to really look at how far their ads have come since "1984". Most recently, they've promoted two things that I'd like to point out more specifically: the iPhone4 and the Beatles.

Here's a promotional ad for the iPhone4 that does what 95% of their commercials do so well. It points out a feature at the beginning and relates a long line of apps to it. Great battery life? Well look how many cool things you can do with more time!



The problem is they can literally apply this tactic to ANY new feature on any new product that they offer. Great screen resolution? Look at these apps! Great speakers? Listen to these apps!

As consumers, it's nice to see a clean ad that delivers all the information that we need to hear. But Apple is known for handing us such great products and it would be nice to see some groundbreaking ads to match.

On a similar note, Apple recently announced the release of the entire Beetles collection on iTunes. So how do they publicize such an exciting event? As minimally as possible. They might as well have made these spots in iMovie because they come packed full of classic Ken Burns zoom effects and transitions. This series of ads really woke me up to the lack-luster nature of Apple ads today. Unfortunately, these aren't available to embed just yet, so you'll have to take a peak at them on Apple's site.

This lazy, Gap-nouveau style regression is present in nearly every ad Apple has out today and countless other commercials to date. Until the industry wakes up, I'll be reminiscing back to good old 1984.

Scary Fast

I'm in love with this series of ads for VolksWagon. They're youthful, funny... and a bit scary.

I was introduced to the "Make Friends With Your Fast" campaign while researching for a similar angle on my campaign in ad Studio class - but VW has used this angle perfectly.

Their personification of our "fast", how we relate to it, and the danger it brings is quintessentially cool:



Their use of situations we relate to day-to-day, mixed with the unreal experience of our "fast" talking to us in the car, creates great impact. What's also great about this ad is its ability to go from commercial, to ambient, to print really easily. It's recognizable, and just likable enough for the individual consumer to get excited about their favorite "fast" character appearing in a new ad.