Oh, they’re not all that bad. They’re kind of catchy, and they’re certainly an improvement over those abominations during the Olympics with the annoying genius dude, which were quickly killed.
And look, I know Apple can’t coast on Peter Coyote’s voice forever. But even if these ads are a big improvement over those Olympics ads, they still feel a little too frantic, maybe even with a slight whiff of desperation. And why? Apple doesn’t need to be frantic, and it’s certainly anything but desperate.
If you haven’t seen the new iPad ads, look at them here. To quickly summarize his point, he thinks that the two new iPad ads appear desperate and not make the product human. He thinks that the speed of the ads make it frantic and desperate. I completely disagree. First of all, he completely ignores the fact that Apple has had great iPhone 5 and iPad mini ads so far. He appears to think that these are the only ads that came after the ill-fated Olympics ads. He also claims the ads are ordinary. Sure, compared to most Apple ads, they are ordinary. All Apple ads are ordinary when compared to themselves because they also usually follow a precise formula. Product is the hero. The product is the most important thing. Make a great product and show it off. They don’t go down to Samsung’s level and attack another company’s users. And I am glad they haven’t. Yesterday, Rene Ritchie said this on Twitter:
New iPad ads are faster and funner, almost like the lower iPad mini price point of entry has brought some iPod vibe. imore.com/apple-airs-new…
— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) February 18, 2013
That was my first impression as well. These ads feel more like the old iPod ads with the more refined Apple mixed in there as well. The shouting emphasizes what iPad is. It makes it human through those words. In the article, Robert also mentions that good Apple ads have always been calm. He says that he doesn’t include the 1984 ad. What?? The 1984 was a statement about Apple. To not include that ad is idiotic. He also seems to be forgetting the iPod ads. Small detail. Anyway, I like the ads. They show off the big reason to get an iPad (which I mention here in my article from yesterday). They are smart, fun, quick, and memorable–just what ads should be.
