As much as I respect Apple, Unslow, one of their new iPhone 3G television ads, has me wondering how they kept a straight face when they put this on the air. Try to follow along with your own iPhone 3G:
Web pages load immediately. GPS picks up instantly. Files download about 3x faster than I’ve ever seen a file download — even over wi-fi. I don’t think standing on top of a 3G tower antenna would even deliver such an experience.
This ad borders on bait-and-switch and it’s disappointing to see Apple go there. If the ad wasn’t about speed it might be a different story. If they were just showing off as many features as they could in a 30 second spot it would be understandable. If they exercised poetic license and cut out a few frames to make a different point we’d understand.
But Unslow is about selling speed. Speed that isn’t for sale at any price. It sets the wrong expectations. It leads to a disconnect between the iPhone in the guy’s hand on TV and the iPhone in your hand. When they don’t deliver what they demonstrate people end up disappointed.
UPDATE: Someone compared the ad to the real-world performance (full 3G reception in Boston):
Richard Bird
on 08 Aug 08I get your drift, but I can’t judge, since I don’t have 3G yet. My only defense for Apple would be: They have a limited time on television to get a point across. In almost any case, it couldn’t be done in real time.
JF
on 08 Aug 08Richard: I think when they set the bar this high — by demonstrating and not just suggesting — they invite a reality check. And this doesn’t come anywhere close to passing.
They could have had a “Screen Simulated” notice at the bottom. Even if it was small and light grey. I know that would be ugly and un-Apple, but it feels even less Apple to me to sell something I can’t buy.
And you know I love Apple. But this particular ad feels slimy.
Rob H
on 08 Aug 08Jason, I agree with you on this, Apple is setting an expectation that 3G is really fast. I don’t have the 3G either, but even my first generation iPhone on wi-fi doesn’t load pages or fetch emails as quickly like they demonstrate in their commercials.
Richard Bird
on 08 Aug 08@JF: I’m surprised to see you use the word, “slimy,” in context with Apple.
The ad you refer to is not that much different than the hundreds and more purveyed across the globe every day for anything from ED remedies to hamburgers. They are all hyperboles used to convey ideas and, not necessarily, reality.
I have some issues with reality versus hyperbole as seen in advertising, I admit. It is a disconnect not easily resolved.
As long as the intent of the message is relative to the reality of delivery, most audiences will accept, engage and buy!
Tony
on 08 Aug 08Is there any chance that the 3G network in San Fran (or LA or where ever) is significantly better than in Chicago? I don’t have a 3G iPhone either (and my first-gen iPhone seems to be getting worse reception lately, but that’s another conversation), but as I understand from the numbers Apple has published, 3G is getting nearly wi-fi speed in their tests.
JF
on 08 Aug 08Richard: I’m surprised I used that word too!
GeeIWonder
on 08 Aug 08Hyperbole is one thing, false pretenses another altogether.
Sean Iams
on 08 Aug 08In this ad Apple is dramatically increasing the customers’ expectations for bandwidth capabilities of the AT&T network. Just as they have re-set the bar for the hardware in the user’s hand, they are now trying to set the bar for the data network. AT&T has a lot of catch-up work to do. Hopefully AT&T will be nagged by the ballooning population of iPhone customers who aren’t getting the speed they were expecting.
It is a bit unfair to AT&T as it will increase the number of complaints about coverage and speed, but it will force them to improve. Hopefully in a few years, this ad is seen as “nothing impressive” and that level of performance is taken for granted.
leethal
on 08 Aug 08Occasionaly, the GPS is as speedy as it is on that movie. The loading of the map bitmaps does not, though, but I guess that’s another story.
frank
on 08 Aug 08Apple should just stick with what they are good at which is creating an image that the end users want to be associated with. Instead, now they want to be about performance at a certain price. Indeed, Apple had always outperformed the likes of Microsoft, but the players in this market has changed dramatically. With more technically savvy companies like Google, RIM, etc., they will have a tough time holding onto a performance claim. But with respect to image, they still beat the pants off of their competitors. I would be much cooler being seen with an iPhone than a Blackberry or the future Android phones.
Stick with what you are good at, Steve.
Ben
on 08 Aug 08The impression I got from the ad is that the iPhone is fast, not that I can hold it up to the TV and get the same results. And the iPhone 3G is fast, damn fast. With the old iPhone I could barely get a signal inside my office, with 3G I don’t even bother connecting to the wifi. So it is fast, and that’s all the commercial is trying to convey.
It’s the same with anything, the PC vs Mac commercials make Mac’s seem like a worry free utopia. Don’t get me wrong, it’s much better, but when I got my first MBP it didn’t take long before I had to google “Ctrl Alt Del Mac equivalent”.
Matt
on 08 Aug 08Come on… this is Apple.
On their Mac v. PC commercials Apple pushes half-truths and common misconceptions all the time with little regard for factual evidence.
NatalieMac
on 08 Aug 08Wow. Is 3G supposed to be that fast? I’m in Los Angeles, where I’d compare the speed of 3G on my iPhone to dialup. Painfully slow at times. And the GPS takes more like 20 to 30 seconds to find my location. Once, it couldn’t even find me.
Aside from that, though, even the transitions between apps on the iPhone aren’t nearly as fast as shown in this commercial. Even with a web page already opened and loaded, Safari doesn’t pop up that fast.
John S.
on 08 Aug 08It’s annoying that they show data/GPS much faster than it really is. It’s downright aggravating that they show switching applications that fast. I’d kill for the Home button that is as responsive as it is in that commercial.
Pat
on 08 Aug 08I’m pretty sure there is a context where people are getting speeds this fast. I’ve read on forums where people report almost 1 megabit connections…
Berserk
on 08 Aug 08I understand what you mean, however I think the reason Jason is disappointed in Apple is because he sees them as better than McDonald’s. And the good guys must be above the bad guys.
Also, one can compare this to almost every car ad where the car zooms along on an empty (somewhat curvy, sunny) road. However, a majority of the public knows that is not real. Most people don’t have the same understanding of cellphone/internet capacities.
Scott Wintheiser
on 08 Aug 08@Matt: I agree.
As someone who uses a Mac and a PC everyday, I think I’ve just come to accept that Apple pushes the truth as much as they can. Windows isn’t nearly as bad a Apple would have you believe. Apple fanatics see the Mac vs PC commercials as the “truth”. PC users know it typical Apple marketing.
Anonymous Coward
on 08 Aug 08@GeeIWonder, Hello Kettle? It’s the pot calling. Wants you to know you’re black.
Will
on 08 Aug 08The original iPhone commercials showed a device that was way “faster” than the one I ended up buying eventually. I didn’t really feel cheated by that, I just assumed they took some liberties for the sake of the narrative. Heck, the original iPhone commercials show flash widgets on the NYTimes web page, which if you load NYTimes.com yourself on an iPhone will be big broken embed blocks. Again, ad wizards making it look cool rather than making it look real.
So when I see this new commercial touting the speed, I take it with a grain of salt. I don’t doubt that its faster. I never believed for a minute it was as fast as shown. I guess I’m just not that upset by it…
mistersquid
on 08 Aug 08I own an iPhone 3G but haven’t seen this spot until I came here from DF and I can say that the ad makes me-an Apple user since 1984 who stuck through the dark years, etc.-feel scorn. Seeing the ad, I feel angry and skeptical of the implied (and unfulfilled) claims for iPhone 3G performance. A part of me feels loathing for Apple and that loathing is exacerbated with each bug and blooper I experience in their other products.
Apple (may feel they) can afford to do this when they’re riding high on their technical advantage, but build up enough scorn in a user base and users will soon begin rooting for a competitor to whom they can defect.
It’s happened to bigger companies than Apple.
Chris Mealy
on 08 Aug 08I’m most offended by the knockoff version of “London Calling.”
GeeIWonder
on 08 Aug 08@AC:
Huh?
@Chris: That’s not a knockoff is it? A cover, maybe? Not like the old ‘Tour of Duty’ ones anyhow.
Dru Richman
on 08 Aug 08Three words – “Mileage may vary.”
Accentuate the positives, delineate the negatives. It’s been that way in Sales for years.
If you’re very good, you can turn a negative into a positive – “Sure it doesn’t have video capabilities, but that makes the battery last longer. And, at the end of the day, which would you rather have…a 30 second shaky video or a phone that’s still on-line?
mare
on 08 Aug 08Note: Professional surfer on closed airwaves.
Pocho Saurus
on 08 Aug 08I don’t see it, guys – the ad is clearly edited – it’s cutting in and out, close-ups and it’s clear that it’s edited. I don’t see how adding a disclaimer is going to help them sell phones – call it BS, call it the usual hype, but there’s no way this ad is misleading at all.
bk
on 08 Aug 08@Tony: AT&T is horrible in Chicago. I live near the Loop (where you’d think there would be ample cell coverage). I get full signal (five bars) at home. Yet, I was on a call this morning and was dropped twice.
I wish Apple and Verizon could have worked a deal out instead of AT&T. I almost never had trouble with my Verizon service. I’m beginning to regret switching from Verizon to AT&T just to get an iPhone. My iPhone routinely loses signal completely—something I almost never experienced with Verizon.
It may be different in other parts of the country. However, there was a study done in Chicago that ranked US Cellular and Verizon tops in call quality.
Glenn Fleishman
on 08 Aug 08“They could have had a “Screen Simulated” notice at the bottom. Even if it was small and light grey. I know that would be ugly and un-Apple…”
Not at all. They managed to insert a message in an “I’m a Mac” ad in which the fact that Macs could run the Windows operating system that Parallels was required. This was before Leopard’s release, at which time Boot Camp was a beta and VMware Fusion wasn’t released. The folks at Parallels had no idea they’d be mentioned. It was tiny type, but legible, and provided accuracy.
Aron Trimble
on 08 Aug 08I could not agree more with your post… I saw that ad on the site a couple days ago and was shocked at how fast the GPS worked! I seriously want to know where I can buy the iPhone in that commercial…
Louis
on 08 Aug 08Each second they add to the ad is a second they pay a fortune. So I can’t blame them to short up the delays.
Also, the message is “this thing is fast!”, so they hyperbole a little, but it’s absolutely not a trick as you describe it.
Gene
on 08 Aug 08The irony here is that the original demos and commercials for the iPhone showed a zippy interface. I thought at the time that they were exaggerating, that the actual phone couldn’t possibly be that responsive. Turns out it was exactly as advertised and I was astonished. Now that the 2.0 firmware is running on my phone, it’s slow and unresponsive and the commercials make me fume.
Nate
on 08 Aug 08At least those HTC phones are advertised accurately. Whenever I use one, a team of hip-hop dancers in sunglasses immediately surrounds me.
Chad Crowell
on 08 Aug 08Last time I checked, marketing was still referred to as “fluff”, and for a reason, by many people. This is visual fluff, in the same way that the picture of a Big Mac on TV or the menu looks like gold and the one you get looks like slop.
But when was the last time someone came back to the counter complaining that the actual burger looked nothing like the picture? Not that people rely on a burger the way they would rely on an iPhone. Well, maybe some rely on the burger more, actually.
Anyway, its marketing. Its the fluff.
Jim Thorpe
on 08 Aug 08While I agree with this post in principle, I’ve gotta say it’s a losing battle and has been forever. I’ve known since I was tiny that the cheeseburger on the menu isn’t even a close cousin to what you’re actually gonna get when your order’s up. I understand the price scale puts this in another tax bracket, but still: marketing has never—and will never—have a 1:1 relationship with reality.
Jim Thorpe
on 08 Aug 08Holy hell, Chad, same wavelength?
Tuco
on 08 Aug 08The late George Carlin puts advertising in perspective:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWg2KH4G16o&NR=1
Perspective
on 08 Aug 08If the ad is really that bad, then the market will expose it. Until then, it’s like every other advertisement: puffery.
Greg
on 08 Aug 08If you are relying the imagery over the actual scripted promise then yes it is deceptive. However the ad really only promises that 3G is twice as fast, which from what I have heard it is.
I would perceive the demonstration to show what operations could be done “Twice As Fast” rather than showing them in real time. Anyone who would expect a gadget to perform at the speeds demonstrated in the promotion of that gadget deserves a high five for buying their very first gadget.
Clark
on 08 Aug 08I wish my powerbook loaded webpages that fast.
james
on 08 Aug 08They’ll be sued for bait and switch on this ad for sure, the 3g iphone isn’t even half as fast as portrayed
zach
on 08 Aug 08I’m more worried about the non-moving hand holding the iPhone. I think it might be a prosthesis.
In all seriousness, some beautiful parts of the country don’t even have 3G yet. Greetings from Alaska!
Gary
on 09 Aug 08It’s a television commercial. Why does Apple have to be held to a higher standard than every single television advertisement ever created?
My actual Big Mac looks nothing like the pristine architectural work of art that stands a foot tall with a perfect center of gravity in their TV ads. Who’s complaining about that, huhn? Hmm?
Mike
on 09 Aug 08I did the same things in the commercial and the speed I got was about the same in the commercial. The New York Times page loaded slightly slower but the GPS worked just as fast as shown. I might add that I am in Orlando, where there isn’t anything to obstruct signals. That probably has a lot to do with it.
Andrew
on 09 Aug 08This ad is indicitive of Apple’s behavior over the past few years. Apple has slowly yet steadily been lowering their standards (in everything) in order to gain a quick buck. It’s a scary trend and eventually they will see themselves becoming Applesoft.
Can you think of another advertising campaign in the history of the world that has specifically called-out it’s competitor and berated it as Apple has done to Microsoft? Careful Apple, what goes around comes around.
Who’s the culprit? Money, growth, prestige…Apple finally becoming the golden boy of the tech industry (marketshare and financially) and not being very gracious about it, even poking Microsoft in the eyes as it passes them on the way up the podium. Jobs’ is selling his and Apple’s soul for money and market share. Even Mr. Micromanager Steve can’t have his finger in every pot as Apple has become too big too fast. I could write volumes on this but you get my drift. Apple was a very modest company as the underdog but I’ve quit adoring them as they’ve become more and more arrogant in the spotlight.
instig8r
on 09 Aug 08Two things: 1. The first iPhone ads were spot on accurate. That set the bar for iPhone ads. B. By comparison, other media phone ads are nowhere near as accurate at portraying the experience you get when you actually use those brain-dead, slow, poorly-designed interfaces.
Conclusion: We are comparing Apple to Apple, not any one else’s “standard” of advertising accuracy.
marlwin
on 09 Aug 08What Gary said.
Come on, this is just an ad. Have you ever seen an ad with slow network ? This is not about telling the truth. Apple isn’t snow white.
Mitch
on 09 Aug 08Get over yourselves.
Are you seriously complaining because an ad makes a product look really, really enticing and desirable? And then, you take it home and yours doesn’t work exactly like in the commercial?
Did some loser (yes, james, I’m talking to you) talk about a lawsuit over this ad?
Have you ever seen a commercial before?
Gee, my teeth aren’t as white as the guy in the tv ad.
How come I wasn’t smothered by 3 hot girls after using that body spray?
Why did my sandwich not look like the one in the ad?
How come my Wow didn’t start now when I bought a computer with a new operating system?
How come my shirt still has a ketchup stain even after the commercial showed that it would remove it?
I guess I could base 100% of my expectations of my new product on a TV ad or maybe, just maybe I might try the product out for myself or read a few reviews.
mattybinks
on 09 Aug 08Guys, look at the hand holding the iPhone. There is no human being alive that can hold a device that perfectly still for that long of time. If you watch very closely you can see the shadows on the holding hand’s thumb and middle finger having shadows applied to them when the right hand moves in to touch the screen. They are simply retouching the still image of the hand holding the iPhone with a video clip, adding shadows, and then when the hand moves out of frame, they’re showing the real movement.
As for the actual functional speed of the Home button and the web page loading, my iPhone is slower now that I have the 2.0 update and find this slowdown infuriating. Steve’s launch demo didn’t even load pages that fast when he ran the 3G side by side with the gen 1 iPhone. I agree that the speed shown in this ad is just hilarious and totally misleading.
Then again, if you’re dumb enough to watch this ad and walk straight into an Apple store to purchase one without personally trying one out, I feel bad for you.
oomu
on 09 Aug 08why do you want apple to be the Mythical Carebear ?
-
they show you an idealistic situation. Yes, gps (when you are outside with some good 3G reception) can be THAT fast. Because the iphone don’t wait to get all information from gps.
the same with safari, in some case, it really displays that fast. and in some others cases… no. try “animepaper.net” for example :)
so ? Yeah apple shows what the device can be, yes! and reality is not always like that. yes! but it’s an ad. the business of giving people reason to by stuff. The new perfume can make me a better man! (for only $9.99 ?! woaa)
it’s an ad. and I don’t want apple to be the mythical carebear. Carebear die trying to sell newton-weird device and imagining hugely complex copland stuff with nice posters about Einstein. I want a Real Company focussing on good products and wanting to sell it. to me.
I’m not a lover/hater of Apple, the mythical perfect GirlFriend disappointing you. I like to use their products. not the same thing.
Apple do some ads with perfect conditions, go on to seduce people, go on! run Apple, run !
MILE
on 09 Aug 08Oh come on, it’s an AD, for cryin’ out loud…! It’s an adverstisement, not a documentary…!
By the way, I have noticed that 3G is way faster over here in Germany that in the US, even though it’s being throttled by T-Mobile for iPhone users…theoretically though, it could be almost as fast as shown…! ;)
googleurself
on 09 Aug 08If anyone thinks this isn’t a simulated picture (idealized for a 30 second spot), do you also think the entire studio they filmed the ad in is also moving down the street in the Google Map doing about 200MPH?
Just sayin’....
Mark
on 09 Aug 08The “half the price” line is the one that strikes me as being the most dishonest, since they raised the monthly fee, and the iPhone is much good without that monthly fee. Hardware costs are eclipsed by the service fee after only two or three months, so the up-front cost is basically irrelevant. There should be a huge asterisk and disclaimer on that one:
Offer applies only if you use the iPhone for decorative purposes. Void if you want to use the iPhone as a phone.Anson
on 09 Aug 08Enlarged to show texture.
Podesta
on 09 Aug 08I DO have a 3G iPhone and it is faster at most things than my original iPhone was. How much faster? That varies on circumstances and methods used to make the determination. I simply do not interpret the ad to be meant to be cinema verite. ‘Twice as fast’ is an inexact term, so there is surely evidence that supports the claim. You are being much too touchy.
poopinontheparty
on 09 Aug 08quit bitchin and use a windows mobile phone then- my 3g is pretty quick- you don’t like the way apple does stuff just shut the heck up and use another platform….jeeeeez
Michael Llaneza
on 09 Aug 08Twice as Fast, Twice as Fast, Twice as Fast, Twice as Fast.
It’s a clearly edited video, and they keep saying “Twice as Fast”. They are emphatically not promising the speed you see, they’re promising twice as fast as Edge, and they’re delivering that – I got to watch a 3G phone install some apps today and it was annoyingly fast compared to my 2G phone.
Dan
on 09 Aug 08It’s funny saying this about Apple, when you have a post just bellow that says:
“The speed initiative We want to treat speed as a feature. It should be one of our best features.”
rdas7
on 09 Aug 08I don’t know about you guys, but if only Apple had been more truthful in this ad, the world would be a better place. Sadly, they ruined it for all of us. The sky is dark, and we’ve been had. All of us. There’s just no point in carrying on anymore.
Marius
on 09 Aug 08The truth is that the typical Apple fanboy will still buy it and be “happy”
James Madley
on 09 Aug 08Browser cache maybe?
Emma
on 09 Aug 08So it’s ok to lie as long as you only have 30 seconds to lie? I think not. The Apple has gone sour, very very sour!
Tom Davis
on 09 Aug 08The only thing around here that’s sour are the grapes, as in all the folks that can’t stand the fact that Apple jumped into a field as an unknown, and it two years has captured it.
J
on 09 Aug 08For those who think 37signals doesn’t like Apple, remember that 37signals only hires people who use Macs.
psychomuso
on 09 Aug 08I want to swop my 3G iPhone for that one!! No way does mine act that fast even when it’s connected to wifi. Talk about “gilding the Apple”!!
Anon.
on 09 Aug 08I wouldn’t be surprised if this is actually an ad for the carrier—and by “for” I mean “paid for.” It’s got AT&T’s brand on it and they’re selling you on the network (which is essentially an AT&T product), not the hardware (the Apple product). Same goes for the others in the series.
The fourth ad on the page you link to looks different, has a different voiceover actor (Robert Downey Jr.?) and has no AT&T bug at the end.
Think of car ads vs. car dealership ads. In the ones bought and paid for by the dealership association, the voiceover or superimposed graphics will be about financing options, but they use video of the cars the dealership sells.
Emma
on 09 Aug 08yes, because of all the years I’ve spent developing cellphones and pointless apps for those cellphones I was crushed when Apple beat me to it! it’s false advertising, nothing new for the juicy fruit but still!
Roger
on 09 Aug 08You are nitpicking, exaggeration IS advertising. It’s creative liberty. And most ads often overstep that line into misleading territory and if you decide to take them literally then you will have to coment on just about every ad ever produced.
Just look at a couple of ads on TV, the car ads, the technology ads, the fashion industry ads, and even the celebrated award winning ones at Cannes.
This is not a demo, a web video, this is an ad on prime time TV which can cost millions of dollars and is sold on a per second basis, if you were creating this ad what would you do, wait for the map to load or show it loaded? Seriously?
Darren Mason
on 09 Aug 08They had no choice in order to fit all the info into a 30 second spot. The same technique is used across the industry.
Apple makes plenty of mistakes but still far fewer than having to put up with Microsoft.
Benjamin Reed
on 09 Aug 08It also depends on where they’re at. Presumably they’ve got 5 bars of 3G and all that jazz.
When I’m in a high-signal 3G area, it is burning fast on my iPhone. Perhaps not as fast as the commercial, but not so slow I feel short-changed. I don’t think it’s bait-and-switch to assume that to film they commercial, they’d have the best signal possible.
I guess men are going to stop taking Viagra when they realize that their wives don’t drag them upstairs through a shower of rose pedals to have hot steamy sex for 3 hours in the hot tub every night, either.
Sebhelyesfarku
on 09 Aug 08It’s just RDF. Nothing new, move on.
Javier [EmaStudios]
on 09 Aug 08Actually, I have to agree with Benjamin too. When I’m in a high-signal 3G area my iPhone goes fast, what sometimes DOES NOT GOES FAST is the software it has.
Although, is the MOST AMAZING MOBILE SOFTWARE yet out there, you guys have to admit, it’s a bit slow sometimes. Perhaps because we trend to stick everything we have there when we first buy it.
The interface is great, the animations are amazingly well done, I’m not saying that. I’m saying that if you use it a lot, sometimes it gets slow (specially when it has to load data).
Granted: iPhone native applications are excellent and they almost don’t have any lag, but the ones that don’t come with the iPhone suffer the most.
I just love my new iPhone, but I’m feeling apple will come with another one soon and I will hate myself for buying this one.
IT SUCKS WHEN APPLE DOES THAT! IT REALLY DOES!
Again; when you are in a high-signal 3G area, everything goes smooth. When you are not… things get slow, but even then, the AD is accurate most of the time.
Take care! Javier Cabrera
GeeIWonder
on 09 Aug 08False advertising is subjective, and as many adfvertisers have noted, advertising is often inherently deceptive to some degree at least.
But the distinction here is that Apple is promoting the speed, quantifying the speed, and demonstrating the speed. All at the wrong speed. 3G is ‘twice as fast’, except that it’s not, because 3G doesn’t have speed requirements or specs in the standard at all.
It’s very similar to what ISP have been sued for in the past when specifying bandwidth rates.
Podesta
on 09 Aug 08“It’s very similar to what ISP have been sued for in the past when specifying bandwidth rates.”
Nonsense. There is nothing absolutely nothing in that ad that is misleading to a reasonable person. Nor are any promises of users getting specific speeds made. The notion that people can sue over anything they do not like is much too common and much too foolish.
GeeIWonder
on 09 Aug 08@Podesta
Well the lawyers Apple clearly don’t think it’s nonsense.
Peter Cooper
on 09 Aug 08Has this ad been shown in Europe? It almost certainly wouldn’t pass European advertising regulations – especially as they were tightened earlier this year. Hyperbole is allowed, but only if it is “obvious” and not “misleading.” It is misleading to show an actual device being used under somewhat normal conditions doing things that it cannot actually do.
If an ad for a vacuum cleaner showed the vacuum cleaner sucking up, say, an elephant, using special effects, that’s obvious hyperbole. A phone loading Web pages a few seconds quicker than they should load is not obvious hyperbole to 99% of the audience and is, I feel, misleading.
CyberGus
on 10 Aug 08I’m impress… at this point I think almost any visitor who read 37Signals is not a blind believer of any ads or any media… we, or at least me, need to prove and use any computer gadget… maybe cause you have a friend who has one… I don’t know…
Pretty obvious to me that there’s always a big difference between the real product and that one that plays in commercials.
Do you really buy a product only because you saw it in an Ad? I don’t think so…
Apple tells people that Lord Of the Rings composite was made with Macs… that doesn’t mean everybody can create LOTR with a Mac.
The average user can’t tell the speed difference between the ad an a real iPhone, that’s a fact.
Rob Reed
on 10 Aug 08Hi. I was just as upset by this for precisely the same reason so I did my own comparison and it’s just as awful as you might expect that it is. You can watch the video I posted to YouTube.
Cheers
Rip Ragged
on 10 Aug 08Oh come on, it’s right there on the bottom: “Professional driver, closed course.”
josh
on 10 Aug 08I’m not going to read the bulk of comments. I watched the ad. Twice as fast. Twice as fast. Twice as fast. Well you know what… I had the 2g and now the 3g and it is more than twice as fast.
STEVEN
on 10 Aug 08So, are you saying that the speed illustrated on the commercial is impossible, or that it’s jus not possible where YOU live?
Steven
on 10 Aug 08Seems to me this is the same sort of advertising license that fast food restaurants take. I mean, do those Subway or Quiznos sandwiches ever look like that in real life? Have you ever seen a Taco Bell taco with beef literally spilling out of the shell? Sure, you have – on the commercial. But somehow I don’t see endless threads about how disappointed we are with the food barons for misleading us.
Anonymous Coward
on 10 Aug 08I don’t understand. How does this ad “border on bait-and-switch?”
There is one iPhone 3G and one 3G network. It’s not like this ad says this is the 8GB model and then the Apple store employees try to get you to buy the 16GB once you go are in the store with your credit card. Nor did any Apple employee try to sell me any accessory (but even if they had I wouldn’t consider that bait-and-switch either.)
This bait is just plain marketing and is hardly different than many other ads (I’d say most ads). The only switch involved is a real switch to move to AT&T for service or from Edge to 3G, but in no way is Apple sell you something from the commercial and then try to get you to buy a different product that has better profit margins.
trevorblanco
on 10 Aug 08While we’re at it lets call Birdseye and all the frozen food people out for false advertising as well. Have you ever eaten a 3 course frozen dinner where it remotely resembled the meal that was inside?
John
on 10 Aug 08Unfortunately I only have EDGE service available where I live, but the times I have had a chance to try it on a 3G network it did feel just as fast as they show it to be.
I’ve also had luck with the GPS appearing to work as fast as they show it to be. Although most of the time it takes a while to get a lock on the proper location.
Granted, neither of these are side-by-side comparisons. But if it feels like it’s the same speed in my mind, that’s good enough for me.
Emma
on 10 Aug 08Really? I think not, it doesn’t work like that and it never will and no GPS system locks down your position that fast unless you work for the military and have Dick Cheneys secret password to the “Utterly Fabulous but Useless Hardware™” locker.
Apple’s ad folks are smacked of their tits on coke.
Rabbit
on 10 Aug 08A lot of the comments here make me sad. We understand that what is shown on TV is probably untrue, and we think that’s okay.
Why?
And more importantly, is that what you want?
Joakim
on 10 Aug 08Sure. Live, It’s not as fast as in the ad. But have you ever tried this exercise on a Windows device? I had (yes past tens) an HTC TyTN II. Surfing the web was a terrible experience. You could unfold your map, find your way and pay the parking fee long before the device had you positioned with the built in GPS. Not to mention what it does to your battery life. And God forbid you get an incoming phone call whilst doing any of the above… So, iPhone is maybe not perfect (which we by now kind of expect from Apple), but a god leap ahead of the competition. But for crying out loud! Copy Paste, please! How can they miss that?
Anonymous Coward
on 10 Aug 08Load those pages and Maps via 3g or Wifi, then, open them again. Some of the stuff will be in cache and load faster. Maps are almost always the last place you searched. It could almost be possible.
The ad is just showing the features. For something closer to a real world test, the WDDC keynote demonstrated that.
If you want to skip around to features faster than you can read them a newspaper or read a map, believe the ad.
J
on 10 Aug 08But have you ever tried this exercise on a Windows device?... So, iPhone is maybe not perfect (which we by now kind of expect from Apple), but a god leap ahead of the competition
This isn’t a criticism of the iPhone. It’s a criticism of the reality presented by Apple in this advertisement.
Kevin
on 11 Aug 08This isn’t anything new, and it’s a shame to take such a cheap shot at Apple.
If you worked there, would you really buy into the idea of buying an additional minute of airtime in order to show the actual speed so people don’t think you’re even remotely dishonest? Get real…
Grover
on 11 Aug 08I’m not defending the Apple ad, but I am calling shenanigans on that YouTube side by side comparison. I clicked Go on my own 1st gen iPhone right when they clicked the link in the video and I loaded the nytimes.com website over EDGE within 2 seconds of their time.
So regardless of your opinion, the YouTube video certainly seems to be at the opposite end of the performance spectrum. Which is, of course, the very question at hand. If the truth is between two extremes, neither of which is very likely, does an advertiser have an obligations to stay away from those extremes (positive or negative)? And if so, how far?
Antonio
on 11 Aug 08Sorry but you have to be in idiot to think that 3G is that fast. I think most people know it’s a short commercial and reality is skewed. This wouldn’t be the first time that Apple has exaggerated in their commercials, or any company for that matter. Plus that side-by-side comparison isn’t accurate at all because 3G isn’t consistent. Just because you have full bars doesn’t mean you have the fastest connection.
Miguel
on 11 Aug 08“Have you ever seen a commercial before?”
Yes. You’ll notice that commercials that use hyperbole to make a point do NOT do it under the guise of a product demonstration. Or, as others have noted, they have a disclaimer of some sort.
I say that as someone sitting in an ad agency using a MacBook Pro to type this.
Ken
on 12 Aug 08I’ve never used an iPhone and I thought the ad was an accurate representation of the phone. I do feel the ad is a misrepresentation of their product.
Diwant Vaidya
on 12 Aug 08Good find. The ad is misleading. But I have heard that the OS the phone shipped with was slow, and that upgrading might make it faster. Yet I still don’t think it will get to the speed shown in the ad.
Jeff Hartman
on 12 Aug 08Why isn’t giving some blame to AT&T? It’s their network that sucks. Slow, slow, slow in Chicago. Thank goodness for Wi-fi!
I’m sure the iPhone could and would load data that fast, but as someone coming from Sprint (which wasn’t all that bad), AT&T blows chunks.
I love my iPhone, but I get infuriated when I can’t even check my email before the screen dims and locks. My Treo using ChatterEmail was very fast (though the Treo pales in comparison to almost everything else).
mat
on 12 Aug 08Hey, this reminds me, I bought some AXE body spray the other day. I applied it generously about my person and yet not a single hottie jumped me. Oh well, it still smells good.
Please consider things like the nature of bandwidth and degradation of performance by virtue of the number of active users, distance from the antenna, etc. AT&T’s 3G network needs a lot of work, but the iPhone is capable of processing web content as fast as it is served.
John
on 12 Aug 08What a surprise… Apple pulling a fast one on their customers… Gosh, I’ve never seen that before.
Apple needs to make their toys look like world-beaters in their ads—that’s the only way people can justify paying those ridiculously high prices.
JP
on 12 Aug 08What a funny article and even funnier posts. Sounds like some folks need to really watch a few commercials to get a grip on reality (the reality of visual communication, that is.)
Jason (and anyone else who wants to understand advertising communication) needs to try creating a successful commercial. I’ve done it a few times and I’m telling you, our brains see much faster while watching a commercial, movie, or TV show than when we are experiencing life in real time. Why? because we limit our attention to that tiny sliver of possible stimuli which is a television screen rather than the fire-hose of stimuli that is the world. Any viewer would be bored in literally 5 seconds if they were forced to watch any representation of reality in real time.
To get us to watch a commercial, there has to be a story. And to get us interested in the story it must be told well (engagingly.) A good story teller knows to edit it down to the essential message (hence the phrase, “Let’s just cut to the chase.”)
I once had to include the sound of a modem modulating in a promotional piece I was doing. The sound took about 18 seconds. I wanted the piece to show how annoying it was to wait for and listen to the modem hooking up. I edited it down to 2.5 seconds—less than 1/7 the real time. Any longer than that and it was unbearable.
Pay attention and you will see this is totally normal in ALL audio visual media as well as simple oral story telling (ever heard a story told poorly? “Yeah, yeah, and then what? Skip to the punch line!”)
JF
on 12 Aug 08JP, I didn’t suggest Apple had to show things in real time. I agree it would be boring to show a web page load in real time. That probably wouldn’t be a very effective ad. But I don’t believe that gives Apple license to fake real-time speed in order to make their ad concept work. They are clearly suggesting that this is how fast 3G is. Problem is it’s not.
If you can’t make something work in an ad you come up with a different ad. You don’t fake it so it looks like you’re advertising real-time speed that isn’t actually real-time.
JP
on 12 Aug 08JF, while your response is logical (in the real world,) you still don’t get it. The story of the ad is that the iPhone is fast. This story is very well communicated in only 30 seconds (and within all accepted rules of advertising communication.)
As I said, try creating a successful ad (or even just an OK one.) You probably have access to a video camera and iMovie (or just do it by scanning storyboard sketches.) This is the only way to understand the parameters of this type of communication.
When viewing the commercial, only a small number of people will notice this warping of time in the commercial. Of those only a few will think it is nefarious. The large majority will find it completely unremarkable because they explicitly or intuitively understand the principle of time compression used in this medium of communication.
By far most people will not even notice it, unless it is pointed out. This is because if they were given a real iPhone it would seem to them that it works just as fast as it does in the commercial. Why? Because faced with a real iPhone, in real life, right in their hands, their sense of time is not compressed. They just see this fast iPhone, just like in the commercial.
This is not made up. Its a well understood principle.
Anonymous Coward
on 12 Aug 08BTW, I enjoy your posts and hope my response is not taken as a troll. Its just my reaction, to the reaction, to the . . .
JP
on 12 Aug 08whoops, BTW , I enjoy your posts and hope my response is not taken as a troll. Its just my reaction, to the reaction, to the . . .
Gianni Chiappetta
on 13 Aug 08I hate it when those sneaky advertisements trick me. Especially after I went in to an Apple store to test an iPhone 3G before I bought one. They get me every time!
Kim Siever
on 13 Aug 08Compared to my PocketPC, my iPod Touch is more than twice as fast at loading webpages. As far as I can tell, the commercial is more than accurate.
Dan Ciruli
on 13 Aug 08Another misleading thing (not in this commercial): claiming that it’s half the price.
Yeah, it’s half price the day you buy it. But as everyone knows, with the increase in monthly fees in the contract you’re forced to get, it costs more than the old iPhone.
Again—all of this information is available, but the ad is misleading.
Dave
on 13 Aug 08Hello “this is a little off topic but” I don’t usually read your blog but the video you embedded is from my account on youtube “wwewm23” and I’m getting inappropriate comments on youtube . For example an unknown user commented and said “bait and switch bull____”. So far 5,701 people have clicked on this link and watched this video, I thank you for the views but next time go easy on apple.
Scale
on 13 Aug 08I think JP has a point. You have to pay attention to the cuts. They’re transitioning from wide shot to close up, cutting out the load time that is in between. It’s a feature overview, not a speed test.
This exercise is like trying to act out an entire week long portion of Survivor in the same 45 minutes that CBS uses to sum up the highlights of that week.
Jesse Palmer
on 13 Aug 08It is hilarious that people defend apple’s ad by saying it is simply on the same level as penis enlargement pill ads. Good to know what everyone’s expectations of Apple are now O_o
Howard Fore
on 14 Aug 08They don’t? You’re saying that most people expect they cellphones to never drop calls and to always work? I think you’d be surprised.
Jason G
on 14 Aug 08This thread is making me hungry.
This discussion is closed.