Amnesty ad for iPad not easily swiped away

Here's an interesting Amnesty International ad for the iPad that takes good advantage of the device's navigation ritual. The ad, placed inside the iPad edition of German newspaper Die Welt, shows the scene of a human-rights violation—and can't be swiped away by the user. How frustrating! After several attempts, a message reads: "Torture disappears only when one is doing something about it." By TBWA Berlin.

Filed under Amnesty International, Apple, iPad, Nudd, TBWA
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Apple is anti-technology in TV ad for iPad 2

The iPad 2 was introduced a month ago today. At the time we wondered when we'd see the first TV spot. Finally, it's here. And it offers a grand statement. Over images of apps in action that are personal, literary, musical and scientific, the voiceover says: "This is what we believe: Technology alone is not enough. Faster. Thinner. Lighter. Those are all good things. But when technology gets out of the way, everything becomes more delightful. Even magical. That's when you leap forward. That's when you end up with something like this"—an iPad 2 sitting regally in the darkness. It's a little hokey and self-congratulatory, but the messaging is clever. It implies at once omnipotence and approachability—a technology powerful enough to transcend itself, yet simple enough to enable life moments, not just computer moments.

Filed under Apple, iPad, Nudd, TBWA, Technology
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This iPad 2 case will set you back $8 million

Chances are, if you have an iPad 2, you're already kind of a dick. So, you might as well protect your gadget with the Stuart Hughes Gold History Edition iPad case. The case, which can be had for a piddling $8 million, is a hedonistic medley of 24-carat gold alloy, diamonds, Ammolite and T. Rex thigh bone (no, seriously). It's the sort of thing that, once bought, forbids you from ever feigning concern about the Third World ever again. Only two have been made so far, and we wouldn't be shocked to find one in the living room of DirecTV's opulent Russian guy. After the jump, check out a video with Hughes himself, who doesn't seem exactly like Mr. Luxury, particularly given his choice of fonts. Via PSFK.

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Filed under Apple, iPad, Kiefaber
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First spot for iPad 2 highlights 'smart cover'

Apple unveiled the iPad 2 yesterday during a frenzied event at which Steve Jobs reportedly turned audience members literally into sheep. It's now the next morning, and we still don't have a 30- or 60-second spot summarizing the new and improved gadget. The only new short-form video at all is for what's essentially an accessory—the "smart cover." For more about the iPad itself, you have to watch a six-minute video, posted after the jump. Or the whole 72-minute event video, also after the jump (along with another six-minute clip recapping year one of the iPad). There is surely a proper iPad 2 commercial on the way. Shame they can't time these things a bit better.

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Filed under Apple, iPad, Nudd
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At least this ad for 'The Daily' doesn't crash

It was a rough first week for The Daily, the new iPad newspaper from News Corp. The software has already been updated twice following widespread complaints about bugs and crashes, and many readers might not be convinced they want to pay for this thing when their two-week free trial ends. The performance certainly hasn't matched the optimism of the larger-than-life commercial that News Corp. rolled out in local markets (including New York) during the Super Bowl, showing The Daily standing tall in New York harbor, on Capitol Hill and next to the Hollywood sign—a shimmering monolith for media monkeys to drool over. It's hasn't quite worked out that way. They may wish they funneled a bit more money into software development, and a bit less into special effects and media buys.

Filed under Apple, iPad, News Corp., Newspapers, Nudd, The Daily
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Apple wants all its iPhones to just get along

It's inevitable that older and younger siblings will fight for affection, as is now the case with the AT&T and Verizon iPhones. And like any good parent, Apple is professing to love them equally in the peacemaking new ad below. While I think they miss the mark a bit with the "Two is better than one" tagline (doesn't that imply you should buy both?), it's nice to see a neutral perspective. Because for all the frothing at the mouth by tech bloggers about the telecom wars, I have a feeling that most consumers don't really care about parsing the fine print or picking sides and are just happy to have more options.

Filed under Apple, AT&T, Griner, iPhone, Verizon
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The story behind the Apple logo's evolution

One obvious reason why Steve Jobs's latest medical leave is so troubling to Apple fans and investors is that Jobs, unlike most CEOs, has proven as adept at design and R&D as he has at corner-office despotism. But among the long list of Apple products to debut under Jobs, one invention has gone largely without remark: the Apple logo itself.
  In its 35-year history, Apple has had only three corporate badges. Two of them—variations on the iconic apple with the single leaf and bite mark—wouldn't have existed were it not for Jobs.
  When Apple Computer debuted in 1976, co-founder Ronald Wayne designed the first logo (larger version here), which resembled a Jethro Tull album cover—a woodcut of Sir Isaac Newton, with an apple dangling over his head and the tagline: "A mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought … alone." (Sound like freshman poetry? It's actually Wordsworth.) Jobs reportedly thought the logo was too arcane—the man was undoubtedly right—and he scrapped the medieval oddity in 1977.
  The logo job then fell to designer Rob Janoff, who would give the House of Jobs its prettiest present: the famous "rainbow apple." While the bite mark was supposedly a reflection of Apple's tagline at the time ("Byte into an Apple"), Janoff would say in a later interview that his primary aim was to "prevent the apple from looking like a cherry tomato." But it was Jobs, at least according to Apple-fan lore, who jiggered with the logo's chromatic order so that green would be at the top—which made sense, because that's where the leaf was.
  The rainbow apple stuck around for 22 years—until Jobs's return to the company in 1997. Part of his overhaul included sending the logo back to the shop in 1998. (A rainbow badge on the sleek new iMacs, as tech geeks aplenty have pointed out, would have looked preposterous.) But Jobs had the sense to keep the apple silhouette. It had become almost as recognizable as McDonald's Golden Arches. The millennial apple logo has since been rolled out in a variety of sizes and colors—most effectively, as a glowing shield on the Macbook laptops.
  The jury might be out on whether Tim Cook is CEO material, but here's one good bet: Designer Jonathan Ive—the man responsible for the sleek, industrial look of the company's products—probably won't be messing with Mr. Jobs's apple.

Filed under Apple, Klara, Logos
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Tick, tock goes the first Verizon iPhone spot

Here is Verizon's first commercial for the iPhone 4, available on the carrier's network on Feb. 10. They go the obvious route, with ticking clocks counting down to the release date—which has been a long time coming for Verizon users. "To our millions of customers who never stopped believing this day would come," the voiceover says, "thank you."

Filed under Apple, iPhone, Nudd, Telecom, Verizon
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Cats love iPads as much as the next person

When I opened the e-mail and saw a picture of cats staring at an iPad, I pinched myself. It didn't work. Cats playing games on iPads is a reality. The iPad App Store features a whole host of cat games. There's a wide variety, too. One is called Cat Game; another is called Game for Cat. One is even called Cat Toy! The New England Consulting Group has been studying this curious trend for months, and offers this actual quote: "The success in the app world proves that there truly is a market for pet gaming. If pet owners can be convinced that their pets will stay entertained, and maybe get some exercise, for hours at a time, it will be worth the cost." Seriously? How about just giving the cat a non-virtual toy mouse? That's good exercise. I also hope the creators of these apps are aware that many cats still have their claws. I'd enjoy scratch marks on the screen of my $500 iPad just as much as I'm currently enjoying them on my leather chair. Just a thought from a cat owner.

Filed under Animals, Apple, iPad, Malykhina
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iPhone 4 great for video-chatting with Santa

Apple's iPhone 4 spots continue to focus on the FaceTime video-chat feature, and remain as sentimental as ever. Here's the new holiday spot, in which a boy chats with Santa Claus—who looks disturbingly thin, though that's because it's the kid's father, broadcasting from an elaborate North-Pole-like workshop he's set up in the garage. It's hardly a surprise that Santa would now be an Apple user, in the wake of the notorious artificial-intelligence Santa bot operated by Microsoft back in 2007 that malfunctioned and started talking about oral sex.

Filed under Apple, Holidays, iPhone, Nudd, TBWA
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Kaplan Thaler gives every employee an iPad

The Kaplan Thaler Group had an Oprah-style surprise for its workers at its holiday party last night: Every employee—all 200 or so, down to administrative staff—went home with an Apple iPad. Good times. It's nice to hear of an agency doing something nice for its employees when we usually just hear about layoffs and other indignities. I think every agency (and trade publication) should follow its lead.

Filed under Apple, Holidays, iPad, Kaplan Thaler, Morrissey
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Steve Jobs (once again) cast as Big Brother

Steve Jobs as Big Brother? At this point, it's typecasting. And spoofing Apple's famous "1984" ad introducing the Macintosh never goes out of style. So, the National Organization for Marriage has launched a video portraying Jobs as an über-villain following Apple's rejection of the group's anti-gay-marriage app. "Jobs has made billions taking on 'Big Brother,' yet the irony is that in refusing to allow citizens to support pro-life and traditional marriage positions, he's become the very 'Big Brother' he has decried," says NOM president Brian Brown. The group plans a mass e-mailing of the clip this holiday season. I know it's the thought that counts, but I'd really prefer a tie or some socks instead.

Filed under Apple, Gianatasio, Parody, Politics
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Microsoft taunts Apple over Blu-ray support

Now that Apple's Mac vs. PC ads have run their course, it's only fitting that Microsoft makes one. Way to keep up, guys.This video, touting the built-in Blu-ray player on Windows 7 (something even the latest Macs lack), was posted to Windows' YouTube page, and as you'll see, it's not a bad piece of stop-motion by any means. But given the timing, the sentiment is kind of ridiculous. It's almost like watching Mallard Fillmore respond to America (The Book).

Filed under Apple, Blu-ray, Kiefaber, Microsoft, Technology
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T-Mobile needles iPhone with Apple parody

T-Mobile skewers the iPhone with this cheeky send-up of the "Get a Mac" campaign. It touts the myTouch 4G device as better and faster and blah blah blah ... but mostly makes me wish Apple would revive its classic spots. They'd better not put Justin Long in a skirt, though. That idea makes me want to skip lunch today. But John Hodgman in drag? Ooh la la!

Filed under Apple, Gianatasio, Parody, T-Mobile, Telecom
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Eight years later, another Ellen Feiss parody

Ellen Feiss was 14 when she did her Apple "Switchers" ad in 2002. Now, she's a college graduate. But her famous spot—in which she laconically (a bit too laconically, some said) mourned the loss of an essay eaten by a PC—still reverberates with the tech crowd. Like the people at Bantam Networks, which have just rolled out the spoof above. Feiss herself has not been heard from publicly since this 2007 interview, in which she spoke of the creepiness of fame. "I was famous but not that famous," she said. "It's not like I had to get a bodyguard, but my parents stopped letting me go out alone for a while. … Plus, a lot of my fame seemed to me to be based on the fact that I seemed to be a vulnerable (stoned) young girl. That is never who I was or am. I don't want that kind of gendered fame, and I was never proud of the fact that a bunch of dudes on the Internet thought I was hot or ugly or stoned or stupid or any of the other things people talked about. That being said, a lot of my fans have turned out to be nice, intelligent, Mac-using people. Mostly men, but a few women, too." Ellen's old spot is posted below. Via Adrants.

Filed under Apple, Bantam, Nudd, Parody
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OK, since you mentioned the iTunes 10 logo

If the whole Gap fiasco taught us anything, it's that everyone has an opinion about logo design. Our gallery of 30 redesigned corporate logos got a strong response—but we apparently left one of the most notable recent rebrandings off the list. That would be the iTunes icon. Apple made the switch for iTunes 10, according to Steve Jobs, because iTunes digital music is poised to outpace sales of CDs next year—so it made sense to lose the CD from the image. Lots of people were angry as hell about this. So, yes, we're late to the game on this, but what do you think of the new iTunes logo? If you hate it, what do you hate about it? As a side note, the iTunes 10 logo—like every other maligned corporate symbol—has its very own Twitter account. Six weeks after its debut, @itunes10icon continues to vigorously defend itself. As it said to one detractor the other day: "Steve Jobs loves me. Your opinion is irrelevant."

Filed under Apple, Logos, Nudd
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'Newsday' ad with smashed iPad riles Apple

Apple recently took the next step in becoming a cult by overreacting to fake mistreatment of its precious iPad. Specifically, they took exception to the Newsday ad below, by the Brooklyn Brothers, in which a guy mistakes his iPad for a newspaper and goes after a fly with it, smashing it to pieces. Oddly, the ad promotes Newsday's iPad app, but an anonymous Newsday employee tells the press that Apple freaked out and threatened to yank the app if the paper didn't kibosh the ad. How ridiculous is that? Next they'll be demanding that people stop making iPad smoothies in their Blendtec blenders. Via Geek.com.

Filed under Apple, Brooklyn Brothers, iPad, Kiefaber, Newsday, Newspapers
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Dentsu London uses iPad for 3-D animation

Just as the iPad was starting to seem less sexy and more hum-drum practical, Dentsu London has used the device to create a hypnotic new form of stop-motion animation. Partnering with design consultancy BERG, the Dentsu team created a video called "Making Future Magic," which is the agency's current communications strategy. I'd hate to butcher the explanation of the 3-D animation, so just watch the video below to see both how it's done and what the finished product looked like. If you're really into the music, check out BERG's exhaustive blog post about the soundtrack, which includes a chance to hear the "Chris Isaak meets Twin Peaks" track that didn't make the cut.

Filed under Apple, Dentsu, Europe, Griner, iPad
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Kindle's ice queen makes iPad seem likable

Lord knows the Apple iPad has plenty of weak spots competitors could target—no USB, no widescreen, no Flash, no John Hodgman ads, etc. But in the ad below, Amazon focuses on a pretty specific shortcoming: that the iPad isn't a great poolside e-book reader on a sunny day. (On the upside, it can help frumpy guys start conversations with women out of their league. But we all knew that.) As expected, the ad has provoked a flamewar between Apple geeks and Kindle fanatics in the YouTube comments, with the occasional luddite suggesting that a used paperback is still the wisest investment when water and potential thieves are nearby. Apple fans point out one flaw: that the ad tacitly highlights the fact that you can't read a Kindle in the dark. But the bigger problem is that the spot is simply unlikable. In a polar opposite to the "Mac vs. PC" spots, Apple here comes off as the genial everyman, while the Kindle is represented by a snooty ice queen who brags about her frugality and flaunts her wasteful consumerism. I can't say it makes me want an iPad, but it sure doesn't leave me wanting to be seen with a Kindle. Via Engadget.

Filed under Amazon, Apple, Griner, iPad, Kindle, Technology
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Apple spots celebrate new iPod touch, nano

As you may have heard, Apple had a little event today where it unveiled a revamped line of iPods and a new version of AppleTV. Here are two brand-new ads from TBWA—one for the iPod nano below, and one for the iPod touch after the jump. The iPod shuffle got hosed, as usual, getting a makeover but not a new commercial. UPDATE: The featured songs are "Short Skirt, Long Jacket" by Cake and "Come Home" by Chappo.

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Justin Long puzzled about point of Mac ads

Time magazine's Techland blog has posted a new interview with Justin Long in which the actor talks about working with John Hogdman on Apple and TBWA's famed "Get a Mac" campaign. The two big takeaways:
  1) Long preferred the PC character to the Mac, and therefore, he didn't really get the point of the campaign. "I revere John Hodgman. He's far smarter and funnier than I could ever hope to be. That's why the point of those commercials was a little lost on me. I'm actually jealous of things he got to do. I preferred the role of the PC guy because he got to do all the fun underdog stuff. The big choice I had to make was when do I take my hands out of my pockets and how do I gesture or roll my eyes."
  2) There are a crapload of unseen spots floating around out there. "They have them. I keep trying to get my hands on them. We would shoot four to six a day. So, we would do a lot at a time. So, most of them we didn't air. They probably aired about 15 percent of them. There were tons we shot. I remember we shot one with Zach Galifianakis where he played a drunk Santa Claus. And we did one with Paul F. Tompkins that was similar. … I hope they use outtakes. Because when you're standing in front of a white abyss like that for 12 hours at a time you start getting a little punchy."
  Long also says he wasn't told officially that the campaign was over. "I personally haven't heard anything. I could get a call next week," he says.
  As we've mentioned previously, you can see all 66 TV spots from the campaign here. Going by Long's estimation, they filmed several hundred spots that never aired.

Filed under Apple, Nudd, TBWA
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Apple rolls out more iPhone 4/FaceTime ads

Here are four new spots from TBWA\Media Arts Lab for the iPhone 4, focusing on the FaceTime video-calling feature, which Apple clearly sees as a very big deal going forward. While the recently deceased "Get a Mac" campaign was based around wry banter, this series is full-court schmaltzy, delving into tiny, emotional families stories—daughters showing fathers their new braces and haircuts, a wife telling her husband she's pregnant, a grandfather seeing his son's new baby. It's good simple storytelling, but so sentimental as to verge on cloying. Perhaps the older generation will disagree. Three more ads after the jump, along with the original FaceTime spot from a month ago.

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Filed under Apple, iPhone, Nudd, TBWA, Telecom
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'Half-Life 2' promo gets the '1984' treatment

Knock-offs of Apple's "1984" are nothing new, but I still enjoyed the teaser promo below for video game Half-Life 2, which you can now download for Macs via the Steam distribution service (at a limited-time, bargain-basement price of $6.99). While the game definitely lends itself to the oppressive-future vibe, the spot is also a nice metaphor for the fact that gamers can now enjoy multiplayer games across the great PC-Mac divide. Next up, I want to see a StarCraft Zerg Rush version of Carlton Draught's "Big Ad."

—Posted by David Griner

Filed under Apple, Griner, Parody, Video games
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Justin Long says 'Get a Mac' might be done

Justin Long is hinting that Apple's 4-year-old "Get a Mac" campaign from TBWA could be finished. He tells The A.V. Club: "You know, I think they might be done. In fact, I heard from John [Hodgman], I think they're going to move on. I can't say definitively, which is sad, because not only am I going to miss doing them, but also working with John. I've become very close with him, and he's one of my dearest, greatest friends. It was so much fun to go do that job, because there's not a lot to it for me. A lot of it is just keeping myself entertained between takes, and there's no one I'd rather do it with than John." We wondered if this might be the case. As we await further word, check out all 66 spots from the campaign here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Apple, Celebrity endorsements, Nudd, TBWA
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Microsoft Office icons spoon Apple fanboys

It must be awkward doing marketing for Microsoft at Macworld. Many of the attendees obviously have an abiding hatred of anything from Redmond. But Microsoft tries. Its Macintosh business unit is unleashing a touchy-feely Valentine's Day campaign at Macworld this week to show that Microsoft truly loves those who forsake Windows. The most terrifying aspect is a "love den" where attendees are invited to snuggle with people wearing Office-icon costumes. The mascots are also roaming the show offering candy and hugs. That's creepy, and the frisky PowerPoint guy with the orange pants and roaming hands is just asking for a lawsuit. Wexley School for Girls created the campaign.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Filed under Apple, Microsoft, Morrissey, Wexley School for Girls
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