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Bounce

There’s a new iPod ad, and it’s a nice one. The ad’s efficient, structured, and cool.

Efficient

This is an ad that shows an entire line of products in all possible colorways. That’s 3 different models in 5 colors; 15 iPods in 30 seconds. Contrast this with Apple’s iPhone and iPad ads where there’s a single device. It’s a striking difference.

Structured

We’ve seen the iPod Touch get lumped in with the iPhone over the last couple of generations as it grew further and further away from its iPod siblings. With Bounce, Apple’s making it clear that the iPod is a family of products. We’ve got iPod Touches spawning iPod Nanos which in turn throw off iPod Shuffles. Then it all wraps up in reverse, with Shuffles forming Nanos combining into Touches. The iPods form a hierarchy, but they’re all iPods.

Cool

The ad’s fun to watch. There’s color, movement, and new music. In fact, Willy Moon is new enough as to have not released a full length album. The last time that I remember looking up the music in an iPod ad was in 2007 with The Ceaser’s Jerk It Out, but I was compelled to listen to all of the song. (Of course it’s on iTunes, and of course it’s $1.29.) In this ad we’ve got production values, catchy music, and a complete lack of advertised features. All that’s here is the iPod brand. Everyone’s known that the iPod is about music for years—the only news is that the iPod is cool again.

Published Oct 13, 2012

Coffee, technology, trees. Written in Vermont.