Apple has debuted a new television advertisement now appearing on U.S. broadcast and cable networks.
Actually titled “Strength,” the ad features a dubious musical choice which makes copious references to “chicken fat.” Yes, it’s meant to be fun, we can manage to get the facile concept, but, among other issues (see another below), it comes off as incongruous with the imagery (not to mention with the target audience), as if the wrong music had been slapped on a decent-looking ad.
The “Chicken Fat” song in the ad was originally composed for John F. Kennedy’s physical fitness program and was performed by Robert Preston. Recordings of the song were sent to U.S. school officials to accompany the official US Physical Fitness program of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness back in the 1960s.
Anyone familiar with the song would be in their 50s or 60s now — or precisely the demographic alleged by Samsung’s ads showing Apple Retail Store lines full of moms and dads waiting for Apple iPhones. Great job subliminally reinforcing your competitor’s marketing message, Phil.
Clearly, Apple’s continues to feel and exhibit the loss of Steve Jobs when it comes to advertising.
Sigh.
Direct link to video here.
MacDailyNews Take: To put it diplomatically: Steve Jobs would have made better choices.
Less diplomatically: We have but one question, if Phil Schiller is worth millions of dollars as Apple VP of worldwide marketing, why can’t he recognize good TV ads vs. mediocre or worse?
To be a bit more blatant: Without Steve Jobs by their side – Eddy, we’re looking at you, too – some of these VPs at Apple don’t seem able to produce at levels previously attributed, perhaps wrongly, to them.
B.S.J., everything these guys touched turned to gold. A.S.J., well, they look a bit more mortal.
As we wrote in April: As Apple CEO, Steve Jobs focused on two things – product design and marketing. He was a genius at both. His talents cannot be replaced with one person. In fact, his talents in either discipline cannot be replaced by one person. Jony Ive and Phil Schiller without Jobs cannot be expected to perform as if Jobs was still working with them.
After witnessing Apple’s hit-and-miss post-Jobs advertising efforts, we await Apple’s next “new product category” with even more interest, and certainly more trepidation, than usual.
Related articles:
Apple shifts TV ads production in-house as rift widens with TBWA\Chiat\Day – June 5, 2014
Emails show Phil Schiller shocked over Apple’s ad agency suggestions – April 8, 2014
Apple’s advertising dilemma aired at $2 billion trial – April 4, 2014
Samsung again mocks Apple customers in iPhone 5 queue via new Galaxy S III ad (with video) – September 19, 2012
Apple pulls ‘Genius’ ad series from its website, YouTube channel – August 22, 2012
Samsung runs print ad attacking Apple’s iPhone 5 in major U.S. newspapers – September 16, 2012
Samsung Super Bowl ad mocks Apple iPhone users – February 6, 2012
Could the Apple-TBWA love affair, one of advertising’s most-storied matchups, survive without Jobs? – January 24, 2011
Not bad, Apple is clearly on the right track to show what all the apps allow you to do (already, even the HealthKit was just announced). I think we are going to see more of these with all kinds of neat accessories involved, and not necessarily by Apple. Every Apple ad I’ve seen lately has had me thinking “Wow, you can do that!”.
Ad is ok…the music is TERRIBLE! Kids don’t listen to music like that…and just what is Chicken Fat???
Just who did this appeal to at Apple? What ad agency would
be so ignoramus?
I understand being radical, but chicken fat aint radical and ain’t gonna cut it. Pull it! yank it! Change the music!
It took me a while to put my finger on it but I finally recognized the song. In my grade school years (too many decades ago) we used to exercise to this song.
I think it is great ad – it clearly shows how an iPhone and its accessories make your life better.. It Works!
You are so right! Someone needs to be fired! This ad is
embarrassing, pathetic, tasteless, stupid,…. A campy, frivolous, gutless, World War II tune—shocking!
Shoot the m—–f—– who chose this ridiculous tune and put the Beats guys in charge of ad soundtracks from now on. Shake things up a little and put the excitement back into Apple ads. (Remember the Steve iPod ad with the Hendrix guitar intro as the soundtrack—and the silhouette hip-hop dancer— wow— pure excitement).
. . . . Boy, I’m totally shocked at the digesting impression this ad leaves. I would not be surprised to learn that Samsung has paid someone in the ad agency a million or two to sabotage Apple’s image. Isn’t there a really brilliant ad guy somewhere in this wide world who wants to help a great company who has done so much to empower the creative community with incredible technology.
Sorry but this ad “just works” with a quick pace and a soundtrack catches you by surprise – it’s kind of humorous. The short clips or various people exercising and using different apps comes off as inspiring.
To paraphrase what someone else said, best not to over analyze everything to the point of destruction.
The ad should have some clips of chickens lifting little chicken weights or maybe some chickens doing aerobics with a Richard Simmons chicken…”cock a doodle doo y’all”.
WTF?!
Have we forgotten how to laugh?
I liked it. Tonally it fit the video and was a little bit quirky.
Wow. That song really sucks.
I vote to redo the ad with a different song….. its just ugly to listen……
It’s not Apple’s best effort.
BUT, it does something nothing no other company on earth would do or get away with doing . . . it mentions the word “fat” in a commercial about fitness and shows people struggling through their workouts and getting out of bed to do them.
In other words, it’s the first truly honest fitness commercial I’ve ever really seen. Instead of images of people dicing through what are truly grueling workouts like a hot knife through butter it goes for the human touch. In that sense, I think it will appeal to a lot of people who endeavor to be more fit but don’t exactly live the lifestyle to a “t.”
The people who buy fitness electronics already own them. This commercial is for the part of the population who knows they should be doing it but perhaps don’t yet — but it also shows some motivated people who fight through it and that, to me, is much more inspiring than watching someone already very toned smile their way through a workout.
It’s different.
Usually I like MDN’s take on things, but this is not one of those times. MDN comes across as pretentious and boorish in its reaction. That’s a pretty big stick up MDN’s butt. Pull it out and relax. Everything will be okay. Look at the reactions the ad is garnering here. People are talking about it with some passion, plenty of it positive and plenty of it whiny. That’s a win in any advertiser’s book.
It is a great commercial!
I think the problem is that some people are too hooked on Steve Jobs as a source of credibility and don’t have the capacity to recognize a good thing on their own.
If Steve had approved this very same add they would have said.. “wow its great”
Thanks for the comments Charles and MidWest.
I appreciate now what the ad is trying to do. The sexy ads were for the iPod way back then. This ad is Apple getting people to be healthier— what the government was doing originally with this song— that’s Apple doing a good public service making the world a better place with a humorous very personal ad— showcasing some of the exciting, amazing really, apps that their partners are creating thinking about the welfare of the millions of Americans who are struggling with their weight and health, trying to help them get moving. I kind of like it now for what it does. I tend to get paranoid that Apple is loosing it when there’s really no need to worry as they know what they are doing. Thank you.
I loved it!
🎵Go you Chicken fat🎵 Brilliant tune…
My gym teacher in grade school used to make us warm up with that song—running through a variety of aerobic exercises before taking dodge balls to the face.
go look at the Beats/Apple ad
The singer was Robert Preston of The Music Man fame. Would you rather have had him sing “You got trouble?”
Lighten up… Apple wants people to be smiling when they see the products in action, thereby linking the products to happiness.
The tune is zany enough to do just that. Apple want people to look at the products not listen to the tune but the tune draws them in.
Chicken Fat by Robert Preston was a huge hit at a time (1963) where the US was full of optimism. Almost every household had it.
I don’t find this the least bit offensive.
Besides, Apple isn’t advertising to you. In the words of the French knight, ” I already goer one”
WTF was that? Why would anyone think that was good?
S U C K S. Realy, it’s the music that’s sucks.
I loved the ad. Saw it last night during the Spurs playoff.
Honestly I can’t wait for Apple to give me a precise calculation of my fitness and workout summation
Apple, hang in there. There will ALWAYS be windows people. ( so sorry for them.) Critics, naysayers etc.
I love it. Carry on! Dismissed!!
Lol. I have been humming this song for 47 years. They played it at every assembly at my elementary school, and as a warm up in our gym classes. The emphasis on fitness has carried through my entire life. I love sports, physical fitness classes, and I love apple products. Loved this commercial! I got it.