New iPad Ads: "Alive" And "Together"
Apple tonight posted two new television spots for the iPad and the iPad mini on its YouTube page. The two ads, titled ‘Alive’ and ‘Together’, highlight some of the 300,000 apps made specifically for the iPad, using a variety of words to describe them.
I can’t find a source for the music behind these ads, so I’m assuming it has been custom made for this campaign. Unfortunately, I think the flaw in these ads is the sound.
The visuals are great, and the pace is quicker and more engaging than Apple’s previous ads of this ilk, but the sound is very cheesy. The backing track is okay; it’s the voices, which have blatantly been synthesised to emulate a large crowd, that kill it for me. “DEEP!”. “LOUD!”.
In my view, the magic of Apple’s commercials originates from their subtlety. The incumbent strength of Apple’s brand means they can ignore the tacky ploys that most companies use. The faked cheering in these two ads go directly against this; there is an implied idea that Apple thinks people aren’t intelligent enough to read. It’s cheap marketing reminiscent of infomercials, albeit to a much lesser extent.
I think if you got rid of the voices, these ads would be a lot better.