Apple's "calling in the rain" ad sparks controversy, but is still a good one

Apple 12’s waterproof advertisement has become popular.

Many netizens saw the waterproof advertisement of Apple 12 on the opening screen of Weibo. This advertisement is about 3 seconds long. In the picture, a man is drenched from head to toe by heavy rain, but he still calmly holds an iPhone 12. Then, a line of words slowly appeared on the screen: "Splash and water resistant. Don't worry, we have iPhone."

Apparently, Apple's unique advertisement has successfully caught the attention of consumers, and there are many different opinions on the Internet:

• Some netizens believe that this is a false advertisement that exaggerates the product features and that Apple is once again testing the edge of breaking the law;
• Some netizens thought that the advertisement was unexpected and the effect was very funny.

Despite the mixed reviews, one thing is certain: Apple, which is jokingly called an "advertising company," is always able to empower its products with many outstanding advertisements.

1. Simple, crude and funny

After watching this advertisement, many netizens said that they "laughed so hard" and "it was very innovative and people remembered it immediately."

It has to be said that it is not easy to make consumers remember an advertisement in just a few seconds. After all, users have long been accustomed to seeing splash screen ads every time they open an app, and the length of splash screen ads is generally controlled within 5 seconds, and they are forgotten as soon as they see them.

In such a short period of time, in order to let consumers know what the brand is, what the product is, what the advertising content is, and what the focus of the promotion is, the brand must output key information with high density and selectively, while at the same time not letting the advertising fall into clichés.

And Apple output all the key information in just a few seconds with a nearly static animated picture and just a few words, and even achieved the effect of heated discussion on the Internet.

So, if we break down this short and powerful ad, what did Apple put into it?

First, the core message is simple and easy to understand.

Apple has created a scenario where people don’t have to worry about getting caught in the rain while using their phones. Just think about it, what other picture can convey the core message of "the phone is waterproof" more simply and directly than this one?

Anyone who knows nothing about the iPhone 12 will remember that the iPhone is waterproof after watching this ad.

Faced with a customer base with a wide range of ages, genders, occupations, regions, and educational levels, Apple chose an unpretentious way of expression that is universal and unaffected.

Secondly, the painting style is subversive and the form is novel.

Some netizens commented, "I thought it was some knockoff mobile phone brand at first, but after watching it I realized it was Apple" and " Apple ads are becoming more Thai." Although the style of the advertisement is completely different from the impression netizens have of Apple, the subsequent appearance of the Apple logo and Apple advertising font made consumers "recognize" Apple again.

In fact, because splash screen ads are exposed immediately after people open the App, they have the advantage of a "first impression effect". Apple cleverly uses this feature to allow users to receive "disruptive" information when they open the App, which will naturally be remembered by users.

In summary, under the shell of subversion and creativity, Apple has maintained a simple and focused core message, namely the waterproof performance of the product. In this way, the advertisement not only explains the product clearly, but also leaves a deep impression on people.

2. Closer to consumers’ lives

Of course, this ad is also controversial.

The iPhone 12 series of products was launched by Apple in October last year. It can be seen from its official product information that waterproof performance is one of its main features.

According to the official introduction, the iPhone 12 has achieved IP68 level water resistance and "can also withstand splashes of common liquids such as coffee, tea, soda and juice." However, since the waterproof parts will not be effective permanently, the official also stated on the product details page that "damage caused by immersion in liquid is not covered by the warranty."

This point became the target of attack by many netizens. Some consumers complained about Apple, "It advertises the waterproof function but does not provide warranty if it gets wet," and suggested that the advertisement was suspected of defrauding consumers.

In fact, Apple has long been fined for allegedly defrauding consumers with its "waterproof performance."

Last December, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) fined Apple €10 million for misleading advertising about its water resistance.

In April this year, some consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Apple in New York, also due to the exaggerated waterproof claims.

Therefore, when the video of a man making a phone call in the rain came out, many consumers questioned, "Isn't Apple afraid of getting fined again?"

In fact, Apple's IP68 waterproof performance can indeed achieve waterproofness for 30 minutes at a depth of 4 meters, but the premise is in still pure water.

For consumers' daily use, although the iPhone 12 meets some waterproof needs, within what range of water ingress can it be absolutely prevented? It is difficult to define at the moment.

Precisely because the boundaries are blurred, excessive promotion of this concept would be suspected of misleading consumers; but also because the boundaries are blurred, many Apple supporters believe that Apple’s no-warranty policy is only for self-protection to prevent consumers from malicious fraud.

For example, some people who support Apple said, "My iPhone X fell into a basin of water, I fished it out, shook it, wiped it dry and used it directly. It's still fine. Who would put their phone in water for no reason?"

At present, compared with the previous official promotional video of the purple iPhone 12 soaked in water, this "making phone calls in the rain" is still controversial, but it is a little closer to the user's usage scenario, and is more like what Apple officially said, "splash and water resistant." Objectively speaking, by shooting an advertisement about waterproof daily life, Apple is less likely to mislead consumers.

In any case, at a time when major mobile phone brands are promoting waterproof functions, the waterproof performance of mobile phones has become a battleground. But this does not mean that brands can ignore life scenarios and exaggerate when making advertisements.

On the contrary, the more blurred the boundaries are, the closer the brand should be to life and objectively and rigorously convey the true performance of the product to consumers.

3. Apple’s universal language

Back to Apple, the "well-known advertising company", before this rain advertisement, Apple had created many advertising works that people talked about.

For example, in contrast to the 3-second eye-catching opening screen ad, Apple also shot an ad that lasted 5 hours, 19 minutes and 28 seconds, which is equally unforgettable.

In March 2020, Apple released the iPhone 11 Pro, when the epidemic was raging. In this work, there are no product introductions, no dialogues, and no special effects. The photographer held an iPhone 11 Pro and took the audience around the Hermitage Museum, one of the four largest museums in the world, in one shot. After the shooting was completed, the phone’s battery level was still 19%.

During the epidemic, let’s not talk about the far-reaching significance of online museum visits. Just from the perspective of effectively using advertising to convey product information, as mentioned earlier, Apple has also chosen a concise and clear "language of all mankind": If you want to prove its waterproof performance, then I will show you in the rain; if you want to prove its battery life, then I will play with the power consumption of the phone and show you.

"The reason why Apple resonates with people is because there is a humanistic spirit deep in our innovations," said Jobs.

Caring about the most core issues and responding in the language of all mankind may be what Steve Jobs called the humanistic spirit, and innovation based on this will touch people's hearts. Putting aside the product controversy, there is much more we can learn from the philosophy behind Apple's ads.

Author: Claire Zhang

Source: Morketing