Below the Line

Apple's advertising focus: is it a waist?

It might be too early to call it a trend, but I've noticed a lot of ads lately that are lacking a certain something...heads.

It makes sense for products like Levi's where the key benefit is below the waist:

...and maybe even for a company like Coach, selling handbags:

But why is Apple focusing on their users' torsos? Their latest 30-second TV spot features 6 torsos and not one head:

...and their outdoor campaign is a series of billboards with more headless bodies cradling their iPads in their crotches.

Is this supposed to leave the viewer with the subliminal message "your head here"?

Maybe that's why Apple felt so comfortable telling users that the recent issue with their iPhone 4 "is all in your head".

I just hope they don't use their headless body concept in ambient media, like this Resident Evil campaign in Madrid.

 

Related posts:
The same ideas keep popping up  (ref: iPhone speech bubbles)
Built to last - a recession marketing trend? (iPods are only built to last for 3 years)

 

The same ideas keep popping up

Speech bubbles are popping up everywhere. I feel like I'm in a live-action version of VH1's pop-up video.

Charles Schwab is using speech bubbles in their multi-media "Talk to Chuck" campaign. I've seen this used on TV ads, billboards and even this digital display outside their San Francisco office: 

 

Meanwhile, Bravo is using speech bubbles to encourage users to "join the conversation" on their website. They have even incorporated a speech bubble into their logo. 

The new Bloomberg Business Week is using a speech bubble throughout their pages, but strangely with no clear link to conversation or communication.

I can only guess that the art directors for these brands have spent a lot of time text messaging each other on their iPhones.

I would not be surprised to find another agency trying to replicate The Bubble Project in the near future.

iPhone image credit: LeggoMyCraigo.com

Built to last -- a recession marketing trend?

iPods don’t take a licking. A few months back, my iPod stopped working. I got the dreaded “sad iPod” icon. I tried the suggested solutions on the Apple support page to no avail and was ready to try the controversial “6th” solution: ramming it on a pad of paper. I asked some people about how long their iPods lasted and no one seemed to mind that these things crap out regularly. (A sign of greenetically incorrect eliteness, if you ask me.) Although iPods, according to their own report, and other electronic items, according to The New York Times, are supposedly built to last for three years, the reality is that many break down before this.

I hate having to replace something that should have lasted a lot longer. It’s a waste of money and generates needless landfill. Can you imagine if Sony Walkmans broke down so easily 25 years ago? Why are we so permissive of non-durability? While in recent years, brands have been focusing on the “fluffy” stuff like inspiration, now that we’re in a recession, I predict durability will again become a selling point.

Which brands will deliver campaigns like The Energizer Bunny, Timex’s “Takes a licking but keeps on ticking” or Built Ford Tough? (The former two are on Ad Age’s list of the Top 100 Advertising Campaigns of the Century.)

Sites like eBay, Gumtree and Craigslist are establishing a re-sale value for every imaginable item. Will any brands follow the lead of the auto industry and promote a high re-sale value in their marketing communications?  

Certainly, luxury brands with high-quality craftsmanship are in a prime position to respond to the current economic climate by positioning their product as an investment, something Patek Phillipe has done for awhile now with their ad campaign focusing on buying “for the next generation”.

A much smaller (and more affordable) example is our client ShopCurious which sells unique and designer vintage items. They have been encouraging customers to eschew a slavish addiction to high street trends and disposable fashion in favor of quality items which will last. The value in buying quality is that if you buy something classic that you really like, you can keep it for a long time and it will always look good and function well, i.e. they are “built to last”. 

If this company selling trash cans can use "built to last" as their key selling point, any brand with a quality product can.

Kate Stendahl contributed to this blog post.