“Steve Jobs changed industries. But he also had [has] an eye for great ad campaigns. As the world looks towards a new era at Apple, we wanted to take a look at the most-watched ads under Jobs’ leadership at Apple,” Visible Measures reports.
“We looked at the ads that audiences actually choose to watch, not interruptive pre-roll or auto-play ads,” Visible Measures reports. “An actual person needs to press the play button for the view to count. Each ad is measured on a True Reach basis, which combines the brand-driven and audience-driven clips from across the Web.”
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“If you had to guess which Apple ad is the most-watched of all time, you’d probably guess the famous 1984 spot,” Visible Measures reports. “It’s be called one of the best ads of all time, so you’d be in good company. But you’d be wrong.”
Visible Measures reports, “1984 is Apple’s second most-watched ad of all time. The first? The iPhone 4 FaceTime campaign, featuring a six-minute introduction to Apple’s video calling feature, FaceTime.”
Top 10 Apple Viral Video Ads of All Time
Rank. Campaign, Product – True Reach™
1. iPhone 4 FaceTime, iPhone – 17,369,058
2. 1984, Macintosh – 10,268,252
3. Get A Mac, Mac – 8,069,049
4. Introducing iPad 2, iPad – 6,505,428
5. Meet iPad, iPad – 3,598,966
6. iPad Apps, iPad – 3,363,178
7. Think Different, Mac – 2,957,372
8. iPad is, iPad – 2,796,038
9. iPhone 4 FaceTime See it, iPhone – 2,385,744
10. We Believe, iPad – 2,345,477
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: You can probably guess which ad we love the most (#7). Which is your favorite?
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “JES42” for the heads up.]
Theyve had some great ads. That FaceTime one with Louis Armstrong’s amazing voice is such a beautiful expression of our incredible technology; brings a tear to the eye every time.
#7 should be #1; #2 is right at #2. These two are far above the rest.
Agreed
Yup.
They forgot the Ellen Feiss ad.
So any ad now is considered a viral ad if it’s good or popular?
Not only that but the 1984 ad was from 27 years ago and was only broadcast once.
How does it even apply to this list?
It applies to this list because it was only broadcast once 27 years ago, and people are STILL talking about it. It’s an understatement to say it made a lasting impression. It belongs in this list.
A LOT of college marketing students read about and watch the 1984 commercial.
My favorite of all of them has to be the “trust me” Mac vs. PC ad…. classic!
#7 and #10 are the two best. They espouse the Apple philosophy.
Agreed, #7 is the best and #10 is a new classic. The next 8 spots could be occupied by any combination of the I’m a Mac/I’m a PC ads.
I like them all…
And none of them say “do no harm”
Notice, Steve is in none of these ads. Apple is greater than the person who started it. We need to never forget that WE are all Apple. WE will make sure it stays great.
Great list. Surprising to see 1984 at #2. Might want a proofread or two on the write-up (“…ads of under Steve…”, “…it’s be called one of the…”)
My favorite is John Hodgman singing the Vista Blues on the “Sad Song” commercial.
Oh, and also the one with all the naked chicks.
My all-time favourite is the “Security” ad, “Cancel or allow”. Beautifully scripted and timed. I still have a copy.
You are coming to a sad realization. Cancel or allow?
Nice.
Of those commercials, #3 may not be “best” but it is my favorite.
Also, not on the list… the “Get a Mac” commercial with the security agent asking “Cancel or Allow?”
Yep- number 7
I love 1984 if only because my old mate Paul is in the video – he’s the bald dude at 0.08.
=:~)
My pet favorite isn’t on the list — the Smart Cover ad. I must have accounted for a few thousand hits on that one. It’s watchable, surprising, funny, and has great music, all pluses. But that’s it, really. 1984 was great not just as art, but also as a statement of purpose. That’s what makes 7 and 10 so great. They are like bookends of the Apple resurgence.
I loved “Think Different” when it came out, but always felt a tinge of desperation to it, coming as it did around the end of Apple’s nadir. I watched the introduction if the iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone, each time filled with hope but also trepidation. (I was a veteran of the sugar water era, remember.) At the time of “Think Different,” there was no reason to think Apple would survive long enough to think differently except hope. It was a statement of purpose from the bottom of the valley.
Looking back, it was the beginning. And looking at it in that perspective, I think “We Believe” is a signpost saying it’s time to change roads again. “We Believe” is a bookmark to the end of the Apple comeback not because Apple’s resurgence is ending, but because the desperation of the ’90s is gone and thinking differently has made Apple the most powerful company on earth. “Think Different” was Apple saying it was setting out on a new road, and “We Believe” is another statement of purpose, this time from the top of the mountain.
Some companies would stop and rest on their laurels, bringing out upgrades and relying on marketing to mass market their products like McDonalds or Samsung. Not Apple. They came out with “We Believe,” which basically says that climbing from the valley to the top of the mountain was “just the beginning.”
“We Believe” is Apple saying that from the top of the mountain, they don’t see a road going down, but rather have a clear view of the stars.