AppleInsider Staff
Just in time for the holidays, Apple on Friday debuted four short television commercials touting the benefits of its new Apple Watch Series 2, from longstanding features like Apple Pay integration to new functions like GPS tracking.
Each of the four 10- to 15-second spots are shot from a first-person perspective and start out with the unwrapping of an Apple Watch Series 2 as the tagline "The Gift of Go" scrolls across the screen. Apple's own trademark holiday gift wrapping can be seen for a short second in the ad "Go Out."
Seen below, the spot runs to the backing track "Informal Sector Parade (Thornato Remix)" by Filastine and immediately showcases the Apple Watch Series 2's water resistance and messaging capabilities as the actor attempts — and fails — to hail a cab in the rain.
Apparently on the way to a hot date, we follow the man as he makes a frantic run through downtown, stopping only to buy a bouquet of flowers with Apple Pay. The ad cuts to an quiet elevator, where Apple Watch reminds its wearer to breathe — via the Breathe app — before he runs down a hall to pick up his girlfriend.
In "Go Play," set to "Realligator" by Magnus the Magnus, a woman unwraps her Apple Watch and what appears to be a Product (RED) band before heading out to play a game of street footy. During the session she gets juked fairly hard and falls to the ground, which is apparently a perfect time to check out her Activity app progress (she's lacking in Stand department).
Convinced she's met her movement and exercise goals for the day, the woman get back up, charges the goal and scores. She lets out a primal scream to punctuate the victory.
The shortest of Apple's latest ads, "Go Dance," runs only ten seconds long, just enough time to show a user unwrap their new device, press play on "Backwardz" by Junglebae and proceed to jam out with friends at a local dance studio.
Apple's final ad focuses on Apple Watch Nike+, a special athletes-only edition device that features a unique breathable Sport Band, exclusive watch faces and the Nike+ Run Club app. That very app starts the commercial, asking, "Are we running today?" The answer, of course, is yes.
Throughout the 15-second commercial, aptly titled "Go Run" and featuring the track "Tennies" by Tkay Maidza, we follow the new Apple Watch owner on a city tour that takes him through downtown, down back alleys, near an airport and into the woods. He's covered just over five kilometers at the end of his run, the path of which was tracked using onboard GPS and displayed on the Nike+ app's run summary page.
Apple's latest ad series comes as part of a push to garner consumer attention amid the lucrative holiday shopping season. Earlier this week, the company released a new installation of its "Practically Magic" iPhone commercial series, focusing on the handset's image capture capabilities.
Christine McKee
Stephen Silver
Charles Martin
Amber Neely
32 Comments
I have the Series 2, I love it and use it daily.
I must be getting old, I can't see the relevance in such quick advertising. You barely get a taste of the theme.
this wouldn't entice me! But I hope it does inspire other would be buyers.
I think I was a little harsh on Apple. It is after all December, they have probably run thru their 2016 advertising budget. :D
The days of Watch being a classy fashion statement are over. It is now a gadget for suburban dwellers in jogging suits. It took Apple 1 year to give up the idea of being premium or even being in the watch business.
Angela Ahrendts was selected due to her experience in fashion. I don't believe she will stay on to sell LG Monitors and fitness accessories.
If Apple is heading in that direction then Tim Cook has to set a team by picking up people from Nike or Adidas.
These short spots will probably be shown more than once during a show. Maybe two or three different spots will run during a show.
Note that these don't seem to be aimed at the market that wants to kick back, but at people who have an active, even hectic lifestyle. I think these people can appreciate the style and can find their way to a website to get detailed information regarding what sets the Apple Watches apart from others.
The Watch is more popular now than it ever was. I'm seeing more and more people with one. The need for a 60sec or 30sec commercial is far from critical. So let all the other watches fill up the airwaves with their 60 or 90sec commercial spots.