iPhone "Hello"

on 2/28/07 4:13 PM, Marilyn Matty at mmattynyc.rr.com wrote:

I didn't watch the Oscars, but I've head a lot of praise in the
business press for the debut commercial for iPhone, which aired in a
prime spot during the broadcast. It's posted on Apple's website, and
I think it's great - probably more interesting than the Oscars, IMHO:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/hello/

Marilyn

I disagree about the ad.  

I just noticed that I had seen it, but switched channels when it got to Betty Rubble.  There’s no real continuity.  Now seeing the end, while I generally like ads leading to  an iconic image, this was too uninteresting and too brief to be good.  But I can imagine why it got good play among the ad business cognoscenti, but it doesn’t really seem that it works for the target market (unless its mostly the same cognoscenti).


I DO agree with you about being “more interesting than the Oscars.”

Jim

On Feb 28, 2007, at 1:13 PM, Marilyn Matty wrote:

> I wonder if next year's booty bag for the presenters will include and
> iPhone?

There was no booty bag this year because its value had grown so much
that the IRS threatened to tax presenters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/movies/awardsseason/23swag.html/
partner/rssnyt?pagewanted=all

Note: using Adam's NY Times tip with the single page option added

Alan Forkosh Oakland, CA
aforkoshmac.com

muckerheide said: <<But I can imagine why it got good play among the ad business cognoscenti, but it doesn’t really seem that it works for the target market (unless its mostly the same cognoscenti).>>

I don't know about that. My three kids (16 yr old son, 13 and 10 yr old daughters) all wateched the video, and all immediately caught on to the progression in the ad, through the decades (starting with the older b&w films, moving forward through time), and really related to the Incredibles closing. Oh, and they caught the inclusion of cell phones in later films as well. The ad was a big hit with my kids, who, btw, do _not_ watch tons of films. We are very picky what we watch, and so most of the films were unknown to my children, though a few actors were recognized. So, overall, I would say that the ad probably did hit the market. I know my family enjoyed watching it over and over (and yes, we only saw it on the net afterwards.) :-)

The truly wonderful thing is that the word "Hello" is such a part of Mac history. The very first demo of a 68k Mac including filling the screen with the word "hello" over and over in tiny type; early Mac ads showed a screen with the single word "hello" in a loopy script see photo here; and Steve Jobs sent MacWorld attendees into a frenzy when he debuted the first talking Mac, which said, "Hello, I am a Macintosh." (And then there's Scotty in Star Trek IV speaking into a Mac mouse: "Hello, computer!") Even the recent Mac/PC commercials begin: "Hello, I'm a Mac."

The simplicity and synchronicity of an iPhone commercial using only the word "Hello" is pure genius.