September 3, 2019

“More Than a Phone”

Many things come to mind when considering what makes a commercial effective. A catchy jingle, a funny joke, or an attractive actress can sell just about anything. However, there is one aspect of advertising that is rarely achieved. This breakthrough has the power to tap deep into the emotions of viewers and guide the future decisions that they make. The ability to evoke this type of emotion resonates within one’s memory of past experiences and events. This mastery of memory and emotion can be found in Apple’s 2004 TV commercial “Every,” which showcased the release of their iPhone 4 in 2010. From start to finish Apple centers the advertisement around sentimental elements. It is within this commercial that Apple not only promoted their new product but also illustrated a memorable message with a lasting effect.

The commercial begins its take by introducing the iPhone 4’s newest high-resolution camera and retina display. The commercial includes various examples of the iPhone’s use until it finally concludes that the “memories will be more beautiful than ever before.” Apple uses pictures and videos of children, to movies and games to support the pull of pathos and emotion from the viewer. This wrench of emotion directly supports the overall purpose of the commercial, to sell more devices. By using nostalgic examples, Apple holds the emotions of each viewer captive throughout the commercial. While this angle of advertisement may be viewed as manipulative, it has proven effective in constructing a successful and memorable commercial. Images such as the ones included in the commercial aim to relate towards Apple’s target audience, which seems to be Millennials and Generation Z adults. Graphics such as the scene including the movie: Toy Story are applicable to many childhoods of the adults in the market for smartphones. There are three crucial elements used to achieve the overall persuasion of the audience’s memory in Apple’s commercial. These rhetorical building blocks consist of a strong purpose, style, and delivery. All three components were paramount to the ultimate success of the advertisement and its message.

The purpose of this commercial is fairly straightforward: to sell the newest iPhone. The dilemma that Apple faced is that the transparency of their objective is clearly seen by their audience. So how did they manage to hook TV viewers that were aware of the fact that they were watching another iPhone commercial? The key aspect of their purpose was generating an appeal for their product. Apple throughout the entire commercial makes every attempt to relate the product to the viewer. Apple is able to accomplish this by humanizing their commercial’s presentation. While each individual watcher is vastly different from others, Apple uses a generalized template in hopes of connecting with one aspect of their audience. With the one singular purpose of selling iPhones, Apple’s spoken purpose can only be but so creative. There are many ways to convey a message, however, Apple’s message and purpose remains the same. While Apple’s purpose may be to promote their devices, they also hold a keen interest in influencing the thoughts and action of their consumers.

This aspect of influence and persuasion is achieved through the style of Apple’s commercial. As mentioned earlier, with a purpose so strong and transparent it is hard to captivate the viewers mind from any other ad on TV. The concept of style however is the shiny wrapping paper that envelopes the message that Apple is trying to convey. Style is ultimately what separates a boring advertising into a gripping snapshot of another life; in this case, with the newest iPhone 4. Apple’s biggest goal throughout the commercial is to have every viewer think of themselves with their newest phone. The element of style does everything to support the best possible environment for this. As the commercial opens the first thing that grabs the attention of the audience is the vibrant color scheme of the ad. The bright movements of each shot combined with the smiling faces of each actor provide a light tone that is amusing to watch. Small details such as the subtle hum of happy music in the background adds to the overall excitement of this commercial. While some might think this commercial aimed at making people happy, the driven emotion is mostly envy. By watching people laugh, smile, and get excited, one tends to do the same. However, the underlying tone of this message is want. The want for not only a new device, but that of also higher status and attention that a new phone might bring. Similar to once watching another kid open a better toy on Christmas, this ad indirectly targets the desire for bigger and better things. The style of this commercial also targets the childhood memories of many adult consumers through the use of movie reference. One seen displays ‘Woody’ from “Toys Story” as he dances from the movie. Scenes such as this not only provide a familiar face to a childhood classic but also triggers the emotional tie that so many have associated with the movie. The style is effective in this advertisement as it successfully illustrated the vision that Apple wanted to display. This commercial not only promoted the newest iPhone 4 but also captured the minds and imaginations of the audience through the element of style.

Purpose and style are the elements that transformed a simple phone commercial into a dream-like vision for viewers. While the purpose and style were essential to the success of this ad, the element of delivery was ultimately what put this commercial above the rest. The delivery in this commercial is what tapped into each viewers mind to put aside doubt and listen to the message. The delivery is what truly influenced the audience. Delivery in the case of this commercial isn’t as flashy as the style and not as direct as the purpose. The main delivery for this advertisement can be found in the speech given during the commercial. The dialect and syntax of this speech is where the message was truly delivered. By using examples and references to common activities the commercial is drawing underlying connections to our personal lives. Like most commercials, there is a strategic standpoint to the delivery to promote the product. The strategy that Apple uses for the delivery of this commercial is a strong sense of envy. Dialogue and word choice such as “movies won’t look this beautiful, maps aren’t this clear, emails are this detailed, and memories aren’t this memorable” are purposefully designed to make the audience feel slightly inferior. Apple use of comments such as this aim to provoke the viewer’s sense of status that so many hold in their phone. Just as the previous three iPhones, the next device will always have something better and more up to date. Whether or not the technology on the latest iPhone can support the commercial’s claims to fame, a new device opens the door for people to move up. There are so many factors involved into people’s thrill over technology, regardless of the reason though, Apple has honed into this attraction. The delivery of this commercial not only exploits the audience’s itch for a new technology platform but it draws upon the daily routines and preferences that most viewers hold. Scenes from the commercial depict uses such as movies, emails, and pictures which are used frequently by most smart phone users. By promoting this generalized uses, Apple hopes that viewers will relate to their own uses, in turn creating another positive connection between the consumer and product. The delivery element in this commercial is what brought the ad together as a whole and ultimately what gave Apple a foot in the door of each viewer’s mind.

Memory is defined as the “faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information.” While the key word is ‘remembers,’ the iPhone commercial takes a two-pronged approach to this concept. Firstly, the ad plays into the sentiments of childhood and family love as the commercial depicts three generations of family members linked together as one. In this instance Apple used memory to draw emotion from each individual viewer’s past experiences. The flip side to memory’s role in this commercial is leaving a lasting impact on the audience. While the two are interconnected, they each serve a unique role in the effectiveness of the commercial. One pulls the strings of the heart while the other’s purpose is to brand the mind. In the end, they were both used to influence the decisions of the consumers. The three elements of style, purpose, and delivery are what separated this iPhone commercial into a message that goes beyond the television.