“I try not to get all emotional about these things, so please forgive this outburst: I think this is one of the greatest commercials Apple has ever made,” Ken Segall writes for Observatory. “This spot is so artfully constructed, and so intensely energetic from the start, it literally embodies the ad’s concept. That being: ideas have tremendous power.”
“The montage is built upon the foundation of the recurring visual: a line of exploding light bulbs that seemingly goes on forever. I love that the images representing civilization’s greatest ideas are not the “usual suspects.” Depicting a range of great ideas allows the ad to weave in a sense of humor — thus toilet paper can share the stage with space exploration,” Segall writes. “This is the intelligent wit I’ve always loved to see in Apple ads.”
“If I had to whine about something — and of course I must! — it would be the payoff. This artful buildup of sound and images all leads to … the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro,” Segall writes. “Not to diminish that cool bit of technology, but the concept of this commercial is so enormous that the ending lets some air out of the balloon. How perfect it would have been for the ad to simply end after the line: ‘Ideas push the world forward.’ A quick fade to the Apple and the bigness of the ad would remain intact. (Of course, it would then be a brand ad, and not a MacBook Pro ad.) But you know what? A great spot is a great spot. The strengths of an ad can far, far outshine its flaws. This is the new-century version of Think different, and I very much love it.”
Segall discusses four more recent Apple ads – three more hits and one “cringe” – in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, the payoff is the issue. As we wrote of “Bulbs” the first time we saw it: Fire. The wheel. Flight. Touch Bar. Alrighty then.
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Apple debuts new ‘Bulbs’ TV commercial for MacBook Pro – November 17, 2016