Marketing

Apple Watch wins 2015 iF Gold Award, snags another fashion mag cover

Apple's Watch has just won an aptly named iF Gold Award from the International Forum in its annual industrial design competition, and it's not started shipping yet!

According to the award organizers, the meticulously designed wrist-worn gizmo is “already an icon” even though it's slated to ship in April.

Also, the device's tour of the world's fashion and lifestyle magazines continues with another Watch appearance, this one on the cover of the Chinese magazine Yoho.

Apple extends ‘Shot on iPhone 6’ campaign to billboards, newspapers, magazines and more

Apple’s latest ‘Shot on iPhone 6’ advertising campaign featuring crowdsourced iPhone photography from around the world is bound to reach massive audiences as the Cupertino firm started showcasing users' best photos found online out in the real world. Specifically, Apple is hanging billboards on skyscrapers around the world, plastering them on bus stops and train stations.

In addition, the company is using the photos in minimalistic ads run in major magazines and newspapers. All told, the ad campaign features 77 photographers in 70 cities across 24 countries around the world.

Apple Watch lifestyle photoshoots appear in Hong Kong and UK fashion mags

Multi-page editorial coverage of the Apple Watch in the world’s top fashion magazines continues with a new cover appearance and multi-page spread in Hong Kong street fashion and lifestyle magazine East Touch this month, Hype Beast reported Monday.

In addition, the wrist-worn device has appeared on the cover and a two-page spread inside the Big Spring issue of London-based fashion mag Style.

Check out cool Apple Watch print and video ad in Vogue’s March issue

Looks like Apple's marketing department has chalked up another win as the widely respected Vogue just gave the Apple Watch serious exposure.

The March issue of the magazine features a multi-spread feature containing actual-size photographs of Apple's wrist-clad device.

As MacRumors noted, the clean ads simply showcase different Watch casings and band designs.

Because the device is depicted in actual size, the magazine's fashion conscious readers can get a feel of how big the Watch is in real life.

Apple airing new commercial ahead of the Oscars which showcases iPad use in filmmaking

Ahead of the annual Academy Awards ceremony tonight, Apple has started airing a new television commercial which highlights iPad use in filmmaking.

Titled ‘Make a film with iPad,’ the 30-second spot is narrated by director Martin Scorsese, widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers in cinema history.

Unsurprisingly, the Oscars ad has been shot entirely on the iPad Air 2. The video closes with the ‘Everything changes with iPad’ tagline that was also used in Apple's previous iPad commercial, aired on the day of the Grammy Awards, which highlights how tablet can be used as a music-creation tool.

Apple Watch makes its US magazine cover debut ahead of April launch

In line with Apple's promise of a functional yet fashionable device, its forthcoming Watch has already graced the cover of Vogue China. And now, as reported by AppleInsider, the wrist-worn gizmo has just made its magazine cover debut over in the United States.

Featured in the March issue of ‘Self’ magazine, the Apple Watch Sport and its stock Activity app can be seen prominently shown on the wrist of supermodel and Victoria's Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel as Apple appears to have extended device advertising to fitness enthusiasts in a need of a comprehensive activity tracking accessory.

Watch AmEx’s Apple Pay ad with Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Henson, Tina Fey and others

Last evening, American Express began airing its inaugural television commercial for Apple Pay.

Conceived as the evolution of AmEx, the commercial, called “Retrospective,” uses some of AmEx's best-known ads featuring celebrities such as Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Henson, Tina Fey, Jackie Chan and Martin Scorsese (who also starred in Apple's Sir ad).

“American Express’ timeless safety and security are now available on Apple Pay,” the ad proclaims. “The next evolution of membership is here.”

HTC rap anthem takes ad wars to the next level, disses Apple and Samsung

Somebody thought a rap music video about HTC would be a nice excuse to blast Samsung and Apple. In what could quite possibly mark the worst Apple ad attack ever, the cringeworthy hip hop anthem titled “Hold the Crown” sings praise to the HTC M8 handset while dissing competition.

“Your phone was all glass, why you changed your tune now?,” hip hop artists Greg Carr aka “Doc G” of the musical group P.M. Dawn raps in the video.

“Your chip is slower, but you'll never touch our BoomSound,” the lyrics continue. Accusing “more than a few clowns” who stole “what we originated”, the music video goes on to proclaim HTC as the master of the universe and paint “your Galaxy” as “overrated”.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere lambasts competition in holiday ad

You've seen Apple's moving Christmas ad so how about some Un-carrier holiday greeting? T-Mobile, America's only Un-carrier, did just that with its new holiday ad posted to YouTube on Monday.

Featuring its outspoken boss John Legere, the tongue-in-cheek video depicts the CEO sitting cozily in a chair and grinning mischievously as he reads us a magical story from the land of the Un-carrier.

Need I say more?

As you might imagine, he couldn't refrain himself from dissing competitors and firing potshots at Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. And if you for one second thought a holiday greeting from Legere should be profanity-free, think again!

New Apple video goes behind the scenes of ‘The Song’ holiday ad

Earlier this week, Apple begun airing its new holiday ad titled 'The Song' which features a woman using her Apple hardware and software to record herself singing along with a recording of her grandmother from several years ago. The 30-second commercial wraps up with a scene depicting her grandmother enjoying the resulting song on an iPad.

Today, the iPhone maker via its YouTube channel released a behind-the-scenes video titled 'The story behind “The Song”' featuring the ad's musician Dana Williams and vocalist Rhiannon Giddens who explain basic concepts behind the commercial and lay out a creative workflow which involves most of Apple’s current product lineup.

Apple launches star-studded Beats #SoloSelfie campaign

In addition to a new iPhone 6 television commercial featuring Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake and voice messaging in iOS 8's Messages app, Apple and Beats (which got snapped up by the iPhone maker for $3 billion earlier this year) kicked off a new #SoloSelfie thingy.

In a nutshell, it's a campaign that promotes the Solo2, ”the world’s best-selling headphone.” Like other Beats campaigns, #SoloSelfie includes more than a dozen celebrities including Kendall, Kylie Jenner, Nicki Minaj, Kenan Thompson and a bunch more who can be seen snapping selfies while wearing the high-end headphones.

Watch Chase’s first Apple Pay TV ad featuring Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers band

As reported by Ad Age this morning, Chase, one of early launch parters for Apple Pay, will begin airing its very first television commercial highlighting Apple's mobile payment service later today. The ad depicts Fun lead guitarist Jack Antonoff and his indie band the Bleachers relying on Apple Pay to make purchases at several locations while making preparations for a rooftop concert.

The commercial is meant to boost Apple Pay's appeal in small business environments. Businesses using the Chase Paymentech service for payment processing can now tap the bank's Future Proof Terminal to accept Apple Pay payments at the register. Moreover, Chase has released updated SDK tools for developers to implement paying for goods and services in apps with Apple Pay.