Microsoft on Monday shared a new television commercial which the company first showed off at its annual conference back in April to rally up developers who were concerned that the software giant was losing its mojo.
The 30-second video depicts a showdown between Cortana, Microsoft's own digital personal assistant baked into Windows Phone 8.1, and Apple's Siri.
Microsoft's assistant is shown completing a number of contextually-aware tasks using a plethora of services and data sources...
Last night, the online retail giant Amazon has begun airing the first television commercial for its Fire smartphone ahead of its debut next Friday in the United States.
Rather than take jabs at competitors as Amazon did with its launch ads for the Fire tablets, the Fire Phone commercial instead zeroes in on the fact that it comes with a full year of Prime membership, bundled free of charge.
It's a major selling point which cleverly takes advantage of Amazon's diverse interests in digital media and its continuos focus on undercutting the value proposition of its rivals...
Amazon today said that its mobile ad network is now available on iOS. Makers of iPhone and iPad apps can now take advantage of Amazon's Mobile Ads API to make money by inject into their apps banner and interstitial ads from premium advertisers participating in the Amazon Mobile Ad Network.
Moreover, the online retailer will add support for its own Fire smartphone beginning July 25, when it's scheduled to launch...
Gossip along Madison Avenue is growing more fluent about Apple tiring of its longtime ad agency TBWA Media Labs over a series of disappointing ads. The client-agency relationship is said to have deteriorated to the point where the iPhone maker ostensibly appears on the brink of putting its ad account up for a formal review and firing the ad agency after 30 years of fruitful collaboration.
The rumor arrives just as Apple has found itself under fire from Samsung, which aired the snarky 'Wall Huggers' ad last week to paint the iPhone users as mindless zombies who huddle around power outlets trying to charge up their devices.
The New York Post asserted Monday, without mentioning sources, that Apple and TBWA are at the break-up point. TBWA is a unit of Omnicom Group, the world's largest advertising agency holding company. Apple, the story goes, also appears ready to look to music mogul Jimmy Iovine, now an Apple employee following the $3 billion Beats buy, to help it "regain its marketing mojo"...
The Internet giant Google is among the most prolific app publishers on Apple's mobile platform - the company has dozens of apps available on the App Store. You can now safely add a new entrant to the list of Google's iOS apps - AdWords Express.
Available free of charge for the iPhone and iPad, it lets you manage your AdWords Express for small businesses.
The software makes it easy to edit your ads, choose where to show advertisements, see how many calls, clicks and vies your ad is getting, access detailed ad stats and analytics and more...
Samsung's marketing department is no stranger to Apple-bashing and its most recent advertisement for the Galaxy S5 flagship proves the point.
Titled 'Wall Huggers', it depicts iPhone users in a series of everyday situations with a recurring theme being them chained to a wall socket. "There they are," the voiceover opens the 60-second commercial.
"Clustered around power outlets, recycling bins and bathrooms, tethered to the wall." The ad is embedded for your viewing pleasure right after the break...
Ace Metrix's ad-watching data compiled by Bloomberg has revealed that Apple's in-house advertisements are scoring lower than those created by its long-time ad agency, TBWA\Media Arts Labs. This includes Apple's TBWA-produced iPhone 5s television campaigns such as 'Gigantic' and 'From the Heart'.
Small wonder, then, that Apple has decided to use various motifs from these successful commercials inside its retail stores, starting with the installation of the brand new backlit wall graphics at select locations...
After posting a five-minute World Cup commercial - basically an ode to soccer, its headphones and the iPhone 5s - Beats on Monday released a shorter version of the "The Game Before The Game" ad.
Titled "Jay Z + Beats by Dre Jungle Remix", it features a remix of "Jungle", a song born out of the collaboration between Jay Z, X Ambassadaros and Jamie N Commons. Check it out after the break and tell us what you think in the comments...
Looks like Tim Cook wasn't joking when he told The Financial Times Apple would keep alive Beats Music apps for Android and Windows Phone platforms. Keep in mind that Cook made that promise after Apple snapped up Beats' streaming-music service, headphones, brand and talent in a $3 billion transaction.
Indeed, Beats has now issued an update to its Android client, the first refresh post-acquisition. But that's not all: it seems Beats will continue to feature Samsung endorser and Miami Heat cager LeBron James in future advertising...
Following a report last week claiming that Apple is shifting more of its TV advertising in house, Ad Age has taken an extensive look at the company's new marketing strategies. To regain its edge amid tough competition, Apple has been working hard on assembling an in-house creative team that will eventually number 1000 employees. The company is going after some of the top advertising talent, even poaching executives from its longtime partner TBWA/Media Arts Lab.
Apple now employs the controversial tactic of pitting TBWA against its internal team, siding with whoever comes up with the best creative ideas and running with it. The in-house team has already won at least a few campaigns, including an ad for the iPad Air last year showing off the thinness of the tablet. The internal team was also behind another iPad Air called Your Verse, featuring American actor Robin Williams…
Yesterday evening, Apple began airing a new iPhone 5s television commercial under the now familiar 'You're More Powerful Than You Think' tagline. The nicely done upbeat commercial focuses on seven popular fitness apps and accessories to suggest that "hey, we’ve already got wearables!"
Like the previous 'Powerful' spot which came with a special webpage highlighting all of the featured apps, Apple has now listed the apps used in the 'Strength' commercial...
According to The Information, a technology blog run by the former Wall Street Journal star reporter Jessica Lessin, Apple is about to bring broadcast radio stations to its iTunes Radio service and permit advertisers to target listeners with greater granularity than before.
These latest strides, said to materialize later this year, are believed to be aimed squarely at the likes of Pandora as Apple moves to make its service more competitive versus established Internet radio offerings...