The Ipod And Advertising

A Case Study In It’s Evolution

Advertising Campaign
 Advertising Campaign
• An advertising campaign is a series of
advertisement messages that share a
single idea and theme which make up an
integrated marketing communication
(IMC).
• Advertising campaigns appear in different
media across a specific time frame.
 Campaign Theme
• The critical part of making an advertising
• campaign is determining a campaign theme,
as it sets the tone for the individual
advertisements and other forms of marketing
communications that will be used. The
campaign theme is the central message that
will be communicated in the promotional
activities.
 Campaign Theme
• The campaign themes are usually
developed with the intention of being used
for a substantial period but many of them
are short lived due to factors such as being
ineffective or market conditions and/or
competition in the marketplace.
 Campaign Themes
• The Apple iPod silhouette commercials are a
family of commercials in a similar style that form
part of the advertising campaign to promote the
iPod.
 Campaign Strategy
• The commercials include
television commercials, print ads, posters
in public places and wrap advertising
campaigns, and are unified by a
distinctive, consistent style.
 Task
• Watch The Following Set Of Adverts.

• Identify The Key Themes In Each Of Them ?

• Are Their Any Differences/Similarities ?

• Who Do You Think Is The Target Audience In Each

Advert ?

• What Techniques Have Been Used To Attract The

Audience ?
 Ipod Ads
• The Original Ipod
Advert
• The Ipod Nano
• BMW Ipod Ad
• Album Cover Ad
• Wild Posters
• Jerk It Out
• Ipod Ad Collection
 Style Of The Ads
• Every silhouette commercial features dark
silhouetted characters against bright-
colored backgrounds. The silhouettes are
usually dancing, and in television
commercials are backed by up-beat music
 Style Of The Ads
• The silhouettes are also usually holding iPods and
listening to them with Apple's supplied earphones.
These distinctively appear in white, so that they
stand out against the colored background and black
silhouettes.
 Evolution
• The original television commercials and
posters featured solid black silhouettes
against a solid bright color, which usually
changed every time the camera angle
changed.
 Evolution: Some Examples
• Some of the television adverts also
depicted highlights on the silhouettes using
darkened shades of the background color,
and shadows on the floor. Since then,
various commercials in the campaign have
changed the format further:
 Evolution: Some Examples
• One live action TV commercial made
reference to the silhouette theme to
emphasize its icon status. It involved a
man walking past a set of silhouette
posters, which came to life and danced
when his iPod was playing, but froze
when he paused it.
• Silhouette Ad
 Evolution: Some Examples

In October 2004, an advert featured U2
performing their single Vertigo

as opposed to people dancing, to promote the
release of the iPod U2 Special Edition. Because
this edition was not white, iPods did not feature in
the advert, but the microphone and guitar leads
appeared in white instead. The band and the rest
of their equipment were in silhouette, but with
particularly clear highlights.
 Evolution: Some Examples
• Following the release of the fifth-generation
iPod, two TV commercials, one featuring
Eminem Ad
• The other Wynton Marsalis, made radical
changes to the style, by exchanging the solid
changing backgrounds for abstract composite
backgrounds based around a main color (orange
and blue respectively). The camera shots
alternate between the artists performing their
songs (Eminem sporting a white microphone,
Marsalis' drummer sporting white drumsticks)
and traditional silhouette dancers listening to
iPods
 Evolution: Some Examples

In early 2006 a new type of iPod commercial was
released. It was thirty seconds, and it spotlighted
album art. The album art was constructed into a
city, and then dismantled and it flowed into an
iPod nano and said "1,000 songs in your pocket",
the slogan for the 1st Generation iPod.
 Evolution: Some Examples
• In August 2006, another reimagining of the iPod
commercial was introduced through an ad for Bob Dylan's
album available in the music store, Modern Times. In this
new style, the only silhouette facet of it was that it seemed
lighting was reduced on the figure of Bob Dylan and the
female dancer, while the iPod was brightened.

• Color variation, as well as reflection on the face of the

guitar, is evident. The ad is much more realistic and the
people, as well as details, are much more visible. This ad
was an almost complete departure from the traditional,
and even the Eminem-styled adverts of the past
 Cultural Impact
• As the Ipod adverts have became quite
distinguished through their style, other
advertisers have used this Brand Recognition
to promote their own products.
 Cultural Impact
• Some have been for more serious issues
such as drug/alcohol awareness as these
adverts from Germany show.
 Ipod Spoofs
• Others have been
spoofed for more
comedic purposes.
• Ipod Nano Spoof
• Ipod Adverts
 Ipod and The Underground
• Apple have become somewhat of a pioneer in
devising different approaches to location
advertising.

• The following series of images were taken

from a Tube station in Toronto Canada.
Ipod Tube Advertising
• In this ad, the
supports have
been painted in
color's which
match the
web/tv
campaign. The
logo features
prominently on
the side.
Ipod Tube Advertising
• The stairs have
been painted blue
with a black
silhouette and the
ipod and
earphones are
represented in the
traditional white.
Ipod Tube Advertising
• Even rubbish bins
can’t escape from
Apples marketing
campaigns.
Ipod Tube Advertising
• An illuminated
sign again in the
traditional style
of the Ipod ads.
Ipod Tube Advertising
• And finally some
posters. Notice how
the blue and pink
poster have been
replicated in other
locations. The
stairs, bin and
illuminated sign.
 The 1 Ad From Space
st

Continuing to push the boundaries, Apple

hope that this will become the 1st ad to be
seen from space.
• The Ipod Ad From Space
 Web Links
• Comprehensive collection of Ipod Adverts:
http://www.veoh.com/seriesDetails.html?s=s58206

• Combination of real and home made Ipod Ads:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?
q=ipod+ad&page=4&so=0
 Advertising Videos
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Olbermann - "Advertising terrorism"
Analysis of American TV Ads On Terrorism
How To Get Ahead In Advertising
4 Min extract in which Dennis Dimbelby-Bagley vows to
bring consumerism to the masses
Direct Advertising Report
3 Min report on online marketing and new techniques
Thats A Shame-Comedic Look At Advertising Techniques