Apple Releases New Privacy Ad

Apple released a new ad today regarding privacy. It's definitely one of their better ads in my opinion. It goes through a variety of scenarios of privacy in real life. It ends with the statement: "If privacy matters in your life, it should matter to the phone your life is on." Apple's strong point has been privacy for some time. When privacy is being questioned more than ever today, this is the kind of ad Apple needs to be promoting. Animoji won't get anyone to switch to an iPhone, but privacy values can be seen as fundamental to a company. Until Apple can get a new iPhone with features that knock the competition out of the park, we need more ads like this.

Advertising Icon Lee Clow Retires

Lee Clow, creator of iconic advertisements like the 1984 Macintosh ad, the "Get a Mac" campaign, and of course, "Yo Quiero Taco Bell." An unsung hero of culture, Clow has shaped how products and brands can communicate so much feeling and evoke emotions. Today, at 76 years old, Clow announced his retirement from the advertising industry. While his presence in the industry will be missed, it's good to see that he's ready to move on.

Apple's New Billboard Ad in Las Vegas

CES is next week in Las Vegas. And while Apple will not be making an appearance at the event, they will be there in some form. A new billboard advertisement has gone up for Apple. It states "What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone." It's a reference to "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" and is a great way to advertise the privacy features of the iPhone with so many technology companies in the area. It's a subtle presence that reminds people that no matter which way you slice it, users are not the product of Apple.

Apple never shows up at CES, so I can’t say I saw this coming. pic.twitter.com/8jjiBSEu7z

— Chris Velazco (@chrisvelazco) January 4, 2019

Apple's Holiday Ad 2018

Apple has had a rocky streak in recent years with their holiday ads. So, I'm glad they've turned that around this year with a pretty good ad. It's called "Share Your Gifts" and it does a good job connecting the "creativity" theme Apple has been promoting recently. Consistency is key here. This ad centers around a girl who keeps her artistic creations to herself, until her dog accidentally lets her papers fly out of her window for the world to see. This ad does a lot right that previous ads do not.

Samsung's 'iPhone 6' Ad

Samsung released an ad the other day mostly about the iPhone 6 of all things. The ad basically shows a woman going throughout her day and why her life is horrible because she still has an iPhone 6. Lag is the main issue that is shown, likely an homage to the whole "old iPhones lag to conserve battery" thing. It's typical Samsung mudslinging. It may be somewhat effective to the regular consumer, due to their potential lack of knowledge on the subject. They may not even realize it's an iPhone 6 and not a newer model. My take is there's nothing saying why I should pick Samsung. If I'm going to have to buy a new phone, why not stay in my ecosystem? Especially considering that the Samsung flagship phone equivalent of the iPhone 6 is the Samsung Galaxy Note5 (both released in late 2015) cannot run Android Oreo, Android's latest software, while the iPhone 6 is. In addition, iPhone 6 users can get their worn-out lithium-ion batteries replaced for just $30. Overall, the ad is very flawed when taking an analytical look at it, but that's expected of Samsung ads these days. I'm not saying all Apple ads are perfect either. In fact, I really don't like a lot of the recent Apple advertisements that I've seen lately, even if most of them don't bash other companies. All phones are very similar these days and I think it's more important to highlight your own features and capabilities rather than bash on others.

Apple and Advertising

I've voiced a lot of criticisms about HomePod. However, I think it's important to look at what makes HomePod different. While I do believe, to some extent, HomePod was a rushed product, HomePod does bring technologies that Google Home and Amazon Alexa can't touch. Having iMessage capabilities, sound quality, and the Apple ecosystem are huge wins for HomePod, but Apple never mentions it, at least in their marketing. I'm tired of seeing all these "hip and with the kids" iPhone X ads from Apple. They're too weird and off-putting to me knowing their long history with advertisements. Apple ads used to have wit, charm, emotion, and creativity put into them. Not some kid licking watermelon off an iPad because... education. I think if Apple made an ad showing how these devices worked together so well, instead of just focusing on one product, more people would be aware of what a HomePod is and why we want one. Apple has become known as the company with an ecosystem that works so well together over the past few years and they should definitely capitalize on it. Maybe make a series of advertisements for different lifestyles. Call them things like "iPhone + Apple Watch" and "iPad + Apple TV." Show how combinations of their products will bring a cohesive experience to everyday tasks. Make the consumer want to see more combinations and peak their interest. I would love a creative change in their marketing like this.

Processing Power in Exchange for Advertisements

Advertising revolutionized the digital web and led to the rise of more content creators across the internet. It seemed simple enough. People browsed the internet. Their habits tailored their ad experience. They might read an article and see an advertisement that peaks their interest. There may be one just to the right of this article (shameless plug). But the rise of ads have also led to the rise of ad blockers. News site Salon is taking an interesting approach to counter this. If it detects you're using an ad blocker, it will kindly ask you to disable it or it will ask that you lend some processing power to them. This processing power is helping them mine cryptocurrency. This isn't the first website to do this, but it's very interesting how is has sprung up.

Image Credit: SlashGear

McDonald's Uses iPhone 8 Roundup in Marketing

We've seen a lot of confidence put into rumors. People have waited outside Apple Fifth Avenue before an iPhone was announced. There have been cases made for iPhones before they were announced. And now, we have McDonalds using a render of an iPhone, before it has been announced.  The image below is an advertisement for mymacca's from McDonald's Australia. Needless to say, this is fake. The dots on top have been switched to bars in iOS 11. The creator of the render has tweeted on the subject as well. In the end, I'm talking about McDonald's on a tech blog, and in the end, isn't that all McDonald's wanted.

Image Credit: Amir T. via MacRumors

Siri: The Movie

When Apple is producing Carpool Karaoke for Apple Music, what can you expect at this point? Be advised, this is not a full movie, just an ad. It is quite humorous. It stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson asking an excessive amount of questions to Siri (You expect me to believe he uses Lyft to get around?). But it's hilarious to watch because of how off the top it is. You can watch the video in the embed below.

Apple Releases 'The Archives' Ad

Apple released a new ad called "The Archives." This ad demonstrates how the Memories feature in Photos can be a great way to look back on life. It follows an archivist looking at physical Live Photos and putting them together to create a movie for the user. The ad is trying to convey how Memories have a personal touch to them. The ad is available to watch below or on YouTube.

Apple's New Switch Campaign

Apple has decided to make another ad campaign and site tailored towards Android users, in hopes to switch them over to iPhone. It touches on speed, security, and iMessage. These three points are huge. iPhone is one of the few smartphones to have software and hardware designed together. iPhone is the industry leader of security. iPhone is the only smartphone to support iMessage. And we all know that one person who ruins a group chat because they don't have iMessage. Be sure to check out the new site.

"Ok, Burger King"

We've all heard the stories of commercials and TV setting off smart home devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home. But this was the breaking point. Today, Burger King released a new ad. An employee for Burger King is seen holding a Whopper, and notes how 15 seconds is too short to do an ad. He then has an idea and says, "Ok, Google. What is the Whopper burger?" Owners of a Google Home would hear their devices respond with "The Whopper is a burger, consisting of a flame-grilled patty made with 100 percent beef with no preservatives or fillers, topped with sliced tomatoes, onions, lettuce, pickles, ketchup, and mayonnaise, served on a sesame-seed bun." Google Home's source is Wikipedia. Now, for those who don't check up on the Whopper's Wikipedia page every 5 days, here's what the quote was for the past decade or so: "The Whopper sandwich is the signature hamburger product sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's." Doesn't have the same ring. Looking at the change log, it can be seen that Burger King's marketing chief changed the page himself. When consumers realized this, they also began to change it to more negative descriptions. The higher ups at Wikipedia eventually reverted the page and locked it down. Meanwhile, Google captured the advertisement's audio and restricted Google Home from responding to the commercial. This does beg the question: Can we trust products like Google Home if they're just going to use Wikipedia as their source most of the time?

Apple's Home Film

Apple's Home app is quickly becoming integral to Apple's vision of a smart home. To promote this, Apple has released a film on their Home site. This video shows a woman using the Home app throughout her day. It's cool to see Apple's vision for a smart home enabled lifestyle.

Apple Releases 'No More Printing' Ad

In line with their other Twitter-based iPad Pro ads, another ad has surfaced in the series. This one touches on how instead of printing, you can digitally annotate a document and send it. I'm sorry, this just isn't a selling point. I don't spend $99 on the Apple Pencil to sign documents. I would use it to draw, personally. Printing is going nowhere. Most people will only take signed documents printed. And, based off my school's printing system, printer queuing isn't the biggest issue. While the Twitter concept is clever, I'd like to see Apple tackle more creative aspects of the iPad Pro, especially considering the recent Windows 10: Creators Update.

iPad Pro Twitter Ad Campaign

There's a new iPad Pro ad campaign revolving around Twitter messages from real people. It's a bit funny to see how Apple interprets these tweets. It's also good to see that Apple knows iPad Pro isn't a computer. It's an enhanced tablet, but it does what it does well. Apple shouldn't try to advertise iPad Pro as something it's not, and these commercials seem to show that. The first commercial is embedded below.

Catch, Swim, Play Ad

Apple has debuted a new ad for Apple Watch, called "Catch, Swim, Play." The ad focuses on the three activity rings in watchOS: move, exercise, and stand. It's short, but it still gives a basic understanding of some of the fitness features Apple Watch has. It shows people doing ordinary normal tasks, instead of just hardcore exercise. These activities all contribute toward these rings.

Apple Debuts Balloon Ad

For their first iOS 10 ad, Apple based it around the Screen Effects available in Messages. This ad shows a red balloon go through different areas until it is joined by hundreds of other balloons. The ad ends with someone receiving a happy birthday message with the Balloons Screen Effect. The advertisement is embedded below.

App Store Will Add Advertisements to Search Results

According to The Verge, Apple will introduce advertisements to search results of the App Store. These advertisements will be clearly marked as ads and will have minimal infringement on other search results. It appears that on the iPhone 6 screen size, the ad will only have the icon and a short description. However, on the iPhone 6 Plus screen size, screenshots will also be shown. The advertisements will also be relevant to the search terms used. Part of the reason for this is to give smaller developers the chance to get their word out to a broader audience. Beta testing for this will begin next Monday. Ads will be available to the public within the coming months.

Apple Releases iPhone Ad Featuring Neil Patrick Harris

Apple released another iPhone ad showcasing Siri's features. This one shows Neil Patrick Harris practicing his thank you speech by asking Siri to read him a note. It's another pretty funny ad by Apple. The combination of watching Harris use a hairbrush as a microphone and mouth out his speech while Siri recites it is priceless. The video is embedded below.

Mother's Day 2016

Today is Mother's Day, and Apple is celebrating with a new website that puts a spin on one of their ads. Apple's Mother's Day ad shows pictures of mothers captured on an iPhone. The website allows anyone to upload a photo of their mom and the photo will be added to the array of photos from the original ad.

To end today's post, I wish my mom a happy Mother's Day. Thank you for everything you do!