The ad that started it all

To me this ad has the simplicity of an effective print ad; it incorporates base, bright colors without shading, opting for bold, recognizable shapes and figures.  It is the perfect ad because at the same time it advertises its product in a memorable way, it also encompasses the beauty and accessible minimalism of the ipod.  This is the first ad campaign that I remember for the I-Pod and it was public's first access to the product goals of what Apple wanted to create in their product.

When I see this, I think cool and can relate to losing myself in music to the point where I get lost in the colors of a mood-- the kind of surrealistic colors used in this ad.  Having people dancing to their own tunes, by themselves shows the self-expression and freedom that we all desire and that I-Pods can bring to us.  Having the dark, stylistic silhouette sticking out against unique, imaginative colors creates a kind of universality that Apple brings; after all, this people in the ad could be any number of people I know, including myself.

At the same time that the ad captures this mood, it also has great product placement, especially at the given the climate in which they first introduced this ad campaign since there was nothing like this kind of portable music player on the market.  The white of the ear bud cords and the I-Pod itself stands out and is clearly memorable to the point that even today, when there are multiple different mp3 players that look similar, this streamlined, white look is still associated only with the I-Pod.

Not only was this a great ad campaign at the time, but it has allowed for various offshoots, in print ads, radio ads and, of course, more tv ads.  The fact is, this kind of feeling that Apple tapped into is exactly what Lovemarks are about-- creating an emotional response in the target audience.  I have a particular feeling about I-Pods outside of the actual details of the product; every other mp3 player has had to focus on their actual product differences rather than emotional musical relevance because Apple so beautifully cornered the market on the expression and escapism of music in personal music player.