i[can has]Virals: 25 years of Apple ads
Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 14:59 Apple has long exercised a powerful hold over viral culture. You only have to look at its game-changing 1984 ad, which introduced the Apple Mac to the general public during Superbowl XVIII, to recognize the extent to which Apple has benefited from the marketing power of the viral loop in building a brand that stands for innovation, creativity and "future freedom.” Despite being released over a quarter of a century ago,"1984" remains the third most shared Apple video of all time, according to the Viral Video Chart’s Apple Ads Chart, which you can see below.
Suspense, high drama, and self-promotional spectacle are at the core of official Apple unveilings, with the sense of anticipation and historical significance heightened by Steve Jobs' compelling on-stage presence. He scarpes into the top 10 of the Apple Virals Chart, unveiling the iPad. Significantly, though, the mash up of his iPad keynote speech, satirizing Apple’s insane levels of self-promotion, has been re-posted over 2,300 times and has generated far more buzz than the original. A grainy video recording of Steve Jobs officially unveiling the Apple Macintosh in 1984 may have garnered over 1 million views, but Mad TV's fake Steve Jobs has had over 7 million hits for the political parody, Apple Presents the iRack. Mad TV has long led the field when it comes to producing spoof ads for non-existent iProducts - their predicted launch of the iPad back in 2007 is at #2 in the chart, though they never did explain how the vaginal firewall worked...
It is precisely Apple's susceptibilty to spoof and satire that holds the key to the brand's viral success. Because their ads are as iconic and as polarising as the products they promote, they lend themselves to imitation and derivation, with fans and detractors alike re-working and re-imagining Apple's unique iconography and distinctive tone, usually for comic or satirical purposes, as they create their own subversions of iconic Apple moments: the spoof iPhone ad for stalkers and the Mac vs PC spoof, Sony PS3 vs Wii are just two of the better known examples. Apple’s notoriously tight-lipped approach when it comes to talking to the media also helps to explain the fascination that the brand holds within online viral culture: Apple’s official silence provides a vacuum which video makers are all too happy to fill with rumours and speculation. And the easy self-assurance of official ads such as There’s An App for That is an open invitation to puncture a brand ego that borders on the arrogant.
Constructing a typology of iVirals is one way to begin exploring how the brand capitalises on the viral loop and is in turn co-opted and re-branded by an innovative, creative, future-facing community of viral producers and agents who delight in consuming Apple ads and then re-packaging them for their peers - not for cash, but for kudos and for kicks. So what types of iviral tend get produced and passed around? Before launch, expect to see fake unveilings and leaks, and a resurgence in viewing and sharing of previous iVirals. Following the video of the official unveiling (which will trend fast, then fall way as quickly), expect to see a TV spot that moves online and prepares the ground for a raft of parodies, including re-contextualisations and animated versions of the original ad. There's another category, which could be described as Apple Fetish Virals, where the video trades on the passion that Apple products inspire in their users. Will It Blend - iPhone, How to Charge an iPod Using an Onion, and Best iPhone Costume Ever are the classic clips in this category.
The #1 Apple viral, measured by pass on, is Hitler Responds to the iPad, part of the video deluge that flooded the internets in the wake of the iPad launch. What’s interesting about the iPad launch, though, is not the sheer volume of viral activity that it triggered; it’s the change in tone that marks so many of the viral responses to the launch. Where once there was awe, there’s an Ack for that now. The prevailing mood is one of admonition rather than sly admiration, derision rather than the usual grudging deification that Steve Jobs and the Apple brand evoke. Take the Hitler clip: in one sense, this is a fairly predictable viral hit, mashing up two well-worn and widely-recognised viral grooves - the Downfall parody and the iSpoof - to create a 4 min nugget of viral gold. What’s new, though, is the disappointment in the brand that the video conveys. “Stupid iPad” says Hitler in the subtitles, a sentiment that echoes round the other iPad virals and marks a watershed moment in the relationship between Apple and its online audience: the moment when the halo slipped and the hero brand began to seem a little, dare I say it, lame.
1. Hitler Responds to the iPad 10,136 tweets and posts
2. Apple iPad Mad TV Spoof 3,927 tweets and posts
3. 1984 Superbowl Commercial 3,453 tweets and posts
4. Will it Blend? iPhone 3,005 tweets and posts
5. iGun Road Rage 2,607 tweets and posts
6. iPad keynote in 180 Seconds 2,436 tweets and posts
7. iPhone Ad for Stalkers 2,058 tweets and posts
8. Official iPad Unveiling 1,986 tweets and posts
9. Apple iRack Parody 1,951 tweets and posts
10. Official iPad Promo Video 1,945 tweets and posts
Data correct as of 18 February 2010
Sarah Wood
Interesting TechCrunch post on Apple's "Draconian PR tactics" for the iPad, whereby only the friendliest media organisations have access to the iPad. The author talks about the "haughty" "personality" of the Apple brand, while a commenter describes the "legendary secrecy" of the brand as "one step away from pathological paranoia." It's precisely this perceived haughtiness & manupulation of the media that makes the brand such an appealing target for satirists such as Fake Steve Jobs.
Reader Comments