Apple | iPhone X | 2017
No Need to Stir Up Desire / Apple "iPhone X"
Set to a song that sounds a bit like Buruzon Chiemi, it's just one beautiful shot of the product after another. You could call it very Apple, and leave it at that—but this ad isn't even trying to make you want to buy the thing.
The insight
Given the price point, this isn't aimed at people who'll want to buy after watching a commercial. It's not even trying to stir up desire in the first place. The premise is that the pull of the Apple brand itself is enough.
The idea
Over a flowing color animation, the words "Meet iPhone X" appear. We see the all-screen display with no home button, and the vertically stacked dual cameras on the back. The swipe-up-from-the-bottom gesture to return home is cut in at a quick pace too. Short phrases like "most durable glass ever in a smartphone" and "wireless charging" interrupt the flow, and the name "A11 Bionic" appears alongside circuit-board graphics. Face ID unlocks the phone when you look at it, and a payment screen changes to "Done." Animoji is also demonstrated, with an avatar moving its mouth as it tracks the user's face, and each sensor in the notch is labeled one by one. Numbers like 12MP and f/1.8 scroll by as text, and after an AR demo showing a T-Rex standing on a basketball court, "November 3" appears with the Apple logo. It closes with an alien Animoji saying "OK." Carrying the whole thing is Sofi Tukker's "Best Friend," as colorful liquid washes over the screen—it's all in on simply showing off how beautiful the product is.
Afterthought
Benefit-driven campaigns like "Shot on iPhone 6" strike a nice balance between emotion and function, and I think that's great. But this is a world where you don't even need to bother with that. The brand is so strong that beautiful footage alone is enough. Part of me wonders if that's really okay—but the fact that it actually works is amazing.
