Bloomberg has published an interesting look at audience responses to Apple’s recent in-house advertising efforts compared to ads produced by the company’s long-time agency partner TBWA Media Arts Lab. As you can see from the graph above, Apple’s two most popular recent ads were both outsourced, though the in-house “Chicken Fat” (or “Strength,” as Apple called it) manages to come in at a close third. The data doesn’t include the company’s latest ad, “Parenthood…”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTjejvnBJfU]
“Strength” is Apple’s highest-rated in-house ad
Interestingly, while Apple’s in-house efforts seem to be mostly lower-rated than those from TBWA\Media Arts Labs, the lowest-rated ad of those examined was actually one of TBWA’s own: the “Intentions” video first played at WWDC 2013. While the video was never actually turned into a television ad, it was published online and displayed during multiple Apple keynotes:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZmIiIXuZ0]
Of the ads that actually hit the airwaves, the least favorite is Esa-Pekka Salonen’s entry in the “Your Verse” campaign, which follows the composer as he creates music using a variety of apps on his iPad. After that, the next-lowest in-house ad is the company’s 2013 holiday ad, followed by what looks like a near-tie between the second recent “Your Verse” ad and the Bryan Cranston-narrated “Pencil” iPad Air spot.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4msNKgRQDc]
Apple certainly has its work cut out for it if it plans to continue moving advertising in-house. While they’ve managed to nearly catch up to the popularity of TBWA-produced ads with the most recent iPhone spot, the rest of the lineup still points to a company in need of some serious advertising help.
