Marketing

Apple pushes intrusive iPhone 6s ad to some users inside the App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 11, 2015

Twitter is on fire with reports from disgruntled users who were taken aback after witnessing a full-screen iPhone 6s ad taking over the App Store on their devices. The ad is, of course, from Apple itself and was conceived to persuade owners of pre-iPhone 6s models to upgrade to the ”ridiculously powerful” iPhone 6s.

The pop-up ad is full-screen and asks users to “Learn More,” which takes them to the iPhone 6s webpage on Apple's website, or “Upgrade Now.”

The latter option redirects users to the the Buy iPhone 6s page inside the official Apple Store app, if installed. Want to get back to what your were doing? That'll require tapping a dedicated button to dismiss the ad.

So, what's going on here?

Microsoft Store employees make a peace offering to their Apple Store peers in holiday video

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 5, 2016

Following Apple's holiday ad featuring Stevie Wonder and Andra Day, rival Microsoft today released its own holiday-themed commercial in which employees of its retail store on New York City's Fifth Avenue are shown spreading the message of peace outside of Apple's iconic glass cube store.

As reported by AdAge, Microsoft flew store employees from around the country to New York City to film this commercial on November 16.

Ex Top Gear presenter shows off Amazon’s drone delivery system

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 30, 2015

Jeremy Clarkson, the former host and presenter of BBC's Top Gear show, has been hired by Amazon to promote its products. In addition to a recent commercials aired in the United Kingdom which promotes Amazon's Fire devices, Clarkson can be seen in the most recent Amazon video showing off the Prime Air, the online retail giant's drone delivery system first announced back in December of 2013.

Apple releases ‘Someday at Christmas’ ad with Stevie Wonder and Andra Day

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 4, 2017

Apple today posted a nicely done television commercial featuring blind musician Stevie Wonder and soul, R&B, jazz and blues singer Andra Day. The holiday-themed ad cleverly promotes the Mac and VoiceOver and Accessibility features.

Instagram testing interactive shopping ads with Force Touch, In-App Purchases and Apple Pay

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 6, 2015

The leading photo sharing service Instagram, owned by Facebook, is testing various new ad formats—among them interactive ads with In-App Purchases and built-in support for Force Touch and Apple Pay.

As reported last evening by Digiday, citing an ad agency source familiar with the test, the company is hoping that new ad formats will help drive sales by selling items right from the Instagram feed, without the need to click off the app.

HTC’s One A9 ad takes cues from Apple’s famous ‘1984’ commercial

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

HTC and its latest One A9 flagship smartphone have been accused of copying the iPhone 6 design and its much criticized antenna bands on the back (HTC, needless to say, begs to differ).

But now, the ailing Taiwanese handset maker has taken things to the next level with a brand new advertising campaign that revolves around the tagline 'Be Different'.

In a 90-second commercial posted to HTC's YouTube channel, a young and hip runner is portrayed in a dystopian-like world where everything is white and clean, unified and supposedly Apple-like. To make it perfectly clear who the Big Brother is this time around, HTC's hero can be seen kicking a bunch of white apples, apparently to stand up to the Man and make a point.

Apple’s marketing honcho discusses pursuit of perfection, intense team collaboration and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 28, 2015

Phil Schiller, 55, is a man of many superlatives, not least of which is the famous 'can't innovate anymore, my ass' message to Apple haters during the unveiling of the radically revamped Mac Pro workstation.

And as a guy who oversees Apple's marketing initiatives across the globe and acts as the steward of the company's relationship with developers, it's his nature and his job to promote collaboration between engineers, designers and executives.

In a rare and interesting interview with Mashable editor-at-large Lance Ulanoff (Mashable? This is the new Apple, get used to it), Schiller talks in detail about internal collaboration that makes radical products like the new 12-inch MacBook possible.

He and John Terns, who is Vice President of Mac and iPad engineering, also touch on a bunch of topics that are dear to the hearts of Apple's many fans, including an upcoming flying saucer-shaped campus, hybrid computing devices, Apple's design processes and much more.

New television commercials highlight iPhone 6s camera upgrades and hands-free Siri

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 25, 2015

Less than two weeks following its iPhone 6s commercial that focused on 3D Touch, Apple's begun rolling some new ads for the handset.

Adopting the dynamic and to-the-point format inaugurated by the previous ad, a trio of new commercials—titled “Crush,” “The Camera” and “Flip a Coin” and all starring actor and singer Jamie Foxx—showcase other iPhone 6s capabilities, like hands-free 'Hey Siri' and a variety of camera features.

Samsung finds a new angle to attack iPhone: lack of customization

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 18, 2015

Say what you will, but there's no denying that Samsung's marketing department has more or less successfully exploited the iPhone's perceived weaknesses in their anti-Apple ads.

As you know, ads for the Galaxy phones typically focus on stuff like the iPhone's non-replaceable batteries, battery life in general, non-curved screens, lack of wireless charging and what not.

But the latest Samsung commercials appears to have found a new anti-iPhone angle: the lack of customization.

New Apple Music commercial debuts during 2015 MTV Video Music Award

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 31, 2015

Continuing its strong marketing push of Apple Music, a brand new Apple Music commercial debuted during last evening's 2015 MTV Music Video Award ceremony. Consisting of a pair of videos running sixty seconds each, the ad features The Weeknd, a Canadian PBR&B singer, songwriter and record producer who is one of the most played artists on Beats 1 Radio.

Popular YouTubers are ‘doing some stuff with Apple’

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2015

According to a new report Monday, Apple has enlisted help of popular YouTubers such as Louis Cole and sketch comedy channel Wong Fu Productions who appear to be working in unknown capacity on future Apple promotions.

MacRumors, which first reported on the news, thinks a variant of Apple's 'Shot on iPhone' advertising campaign could be in the works in time for the 'iPhone 6s' and 'iPhone 6s Plus' launch next month.

Gorgeous floral installation comes to life in London to promote Apple Watch

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 20, 2015

Apple Watch advertising has been amped up quite a bit with news of a remarkable eye-candy floral display which promotes the wearable device at Selfridges, a chain of high end department stores in the UK founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge.

According to design outlet Wallpaper, two dozen floral displays that wrap around Selfridges’ flagship store in London sport blooming flowers and other floral motifs directly inspired by the Motion face on the Apple Watch.