(10-12-2004) New iPod Ad Features U2 -- MacCentral*

[dsmith2904]

New iPod Ad Features U2

By Jim Dalrymple MacCentral

Apple has stepped up its marketing campaign for the dimunitive iPod MP3 player by featuring lendendary rockers U2 in the latest "silhouette" ad. Apple's popular silhouette ads usually feature music from up-and-coming bands like Jet playing as a someone dances on a multi-colored background.

Although the ads follow the same format as before, members of U2 are clearly visible as they sing and play their instruments. The new ad marks the second time in recent weeks that U2 and Apple have worked together -- U2's latest single is available exclusively through the iTunes Music Store.

"U2 is one of the greatest bands in the world, and we are thrilled to be working with them," said Apple in a statement given to MacCentral. "The new ad, a cross between Apple's award-winning "Silhouette" ads and a music video, begins airing in the U.S. tonight. You will hear more about Apple and U2 working together in the coming weeks."

The ads will debut tonight on American League championship, "Scrubs" and "One Tree Hill."

The 30 second TV ad and a longer two minute version of the ad are available now on Apple's Web site.

 

[caragriff]

i realize that there were hints that this was coming....and the ads do look very cool...but U2 as corporate pitchmen.......it's hard to handle.

 

[withashout]

I know. Increasingly they will have to do anything to get the exposure they want (and that is expected of them by their fans, record company execs who support them, and really the entire music industry). Bono is a member of a venture capitalist firm is another example. I don't think they'd sell their ideals, but this kind of behavior can be obviously rationalized by them and their organization (acknowledging U2 is a whole lot bigger than just 4 guys and a manager) so who knows what else they will rationalize in the future.

 

[edgeboy]

i raise this question to you: are u2 sellouts? cause im afraid
there going in that direction.

 

[bsp77]

I do not see this as selling out to a corporation. This is more self promotion, after all they are the number 1 song on i-tunes.

 

[dsmith2904]

To me, this isn't U2 selling out, this is U2 selling U2. Right now the only way to buy "Vertigo" is through iTunes, so of course the band wants as many people as possible to know about that and check the site out. If the main product was simply Apple Computers or an airline or a car or whatever, then it would feel a bit like selling out, but since the band is selling its own song in these commercials, I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

[sue4u2]

This industry is changing and U2 are in on the ground floor. Got to stay up with the times man. This isn't selling out it's change.
Better get use to it.

I've had goosebumps now for at least an hour and 1/2 now.
This is all so exciting

Edited: didn't show up

 

[ouizy]

The U2/Apple connection continues:

1. Bono buys Steve Job's NYC apt.
2. When the CD was 'stolen' in France U2 said they would put the songs immediately on iTunes
3. Bono enters Elevation Partners as a Director (a firm dedicated to West Coast hight tech companies)
4. Bono and the boys are no strangers to Paul Allen or his ship, who is no stranger to Steve Jobs

I believe there will be a bigger "U2 / Apple Partnership" to be announced in the future.

I think this is all good - both groups believe in innovation...

 

[caragriff]

that is a good point that this is more selling themselves.
it is a far cry from a car commercial or something.
but even though they are selling their own song, in the end, it is an ad for ipod/apple, bottom line.
even though they have tweaked it a bit, the style of the commercial follows the graphic style of past ipod commercials. anyone watching this will see it clearly as an ipod ad.
it is a new step for them to be taking is all.

 

[Pop Artist]

I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that they're investors in iTunes/iPod...in which case they're helping their own investment.

 

[Edgette]

To me, this isn't U2 selling out, this is U2 selling U2. Right now the only way to buy "Vertigo" is through iTunes, so of course the band wants as many people as possible to know about that and check the site out. If the main product was simply Apple Computers or an airline or a car or whatever, then it would feel a bit like selling out, but since the band is selling its own song in these commercials, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I agree, I don't think they're selling out quite yet.

But...I did buy a '45 single of Vertigo in L.A. for $3. It's official too. So, you can buy it elsewhere.

 

[BAW]

To me, this isn't U2 selling out, this is U2 selling U2. Right now the only way to buy "Vertigo" is through iTunes, so of course the band wants as many people as possible to know about that and check the site out. If the main product was simply Apple Computers or an airline or a car or whatever, then it would feel a bit like selling out, but since the band is selling its own song in these commercials, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I agree.

And the 2 minute video is pretty entertaining!

 

[follower]

Well, I loved the video. In my opinion, they are selling their music, and they can sell it the way they think it´s right. I´m not from the U.S. thus I have never seen these Apple iPod commercials before, but I see no problem. Vertigo is currently being sold only through iTunes, right? So things are connected, in my point of view.

MT

 

[clementine_rose]

I love that they are putting themselves out there. I am just glad that they have stuff like this instead of making us all go crazy with anticipation waiting for the album. HTDAAB still has over a month until its release, so I think that they are just letting people know..."Get ready cause U2's back!" I don't think that you can say U2 are selling out.... they are doing what you do when you have something to promote.... you promote it! I just wish they did this much with their other albums. I do think that it sucks that I can't download iTunes because I have Windows 98. I really hope to see the ad sometime. I was wondering...is the ad going to be a full-length video or just a clip?

 

[mkdominatr]

itunes has the commercial now u can get to it from u2.com its an awesome commercial

 

[kobayashi]

bono as venture capitalist=u2 as sellouts. that made my day.

has anyone considered that what we broadly consider to be 'selling out' is unavoidable given the framework within which entertainment products are created and distributed?

while U2 are kings of rock and roll and span multiple periods of music, new forms of corporate governance and technology have been born, died and risen again to fundamentally change the content industry at large.

it is no longer 1980 or even 2001. U2 can no longer market themselves as if it were so. at the end of the day, U2 is a brand and the music a product. brilliant ones at that.

 

[saltwaterkiss26]

I guess I'm the kind of U2 fan that wants them to be big, so I have to say I love seeing commercials like that with them.

Maybe it's me. I don't think they're selling out.

 

[zooperson]

enough with the "sell out" bit. that was awesome and the Edge was so rockin i can hardly contain myself. im so excited.


yay!

 

[Hawk269]

That was f'n amazing!! They were all badasses in that video!

F*ck selling out. Welcome to the 21st century people - the new marketplace for music is ONLINE. Period. It is no different than U2 promoting any other album in any other way.

U2 create music for people to buy. That is their trade. It's no different than a jeweler who sells diamonds or a bakery selling bread. They try to create the best product they can, and if it is good people will purchase it. Why should they stop promoting and selling their music?

Using a corporation like Apple is not inherently bad -- it is just a smart move to stay one step ahead of everyone else. People should relax.

AJ

 

[ehMac]

If it was a commercial for Microsoft... it would of been a sell out. Because its for Apple, its cool.

Selling out is giving into a corporation to make money so they can solely sell their product using your music. This is as much about selling U2's music as it is about promoting iTunes at a time when this new media is the "big idea".

There is a major shift in how music is being listened to and enjoyed. The ground is moving and U2 has always liked going where technology takes them. It's always been mixed up. People said Dylan sold out when he started using an electric guitar.
---

The Edge really does looked like he's pissed at seeing Bono with all those politicians. I love it! Can't wait to see U2 live again.

Hey U2, if any of you read this, I'll be the 6'7" guy in the front row of your Toronto show(s) wearing an orange (Nederland) t-shirt. Maybe I can buy you boys a Heineken or two. (Or 3 or 4)

We can talk Paul Martin, sing Gloria, ask WTF, talk about our kids and then walk on.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

just saw this during the ALCS.

 

[edgeboy]

i just wish u2 was'nt so mainstream. But ya, how can they not be.

 

[believer75]

Yeah, I just saw it, too. I'm glad U2 is giving the mainstream world some rock and roll. Maybe everyone will come down with a case of 'Vertigo' really soon.

 

[Kerborus]

I think they're selling themselves online.

When they start doing Pepsi ads and car tire ads, I think we will all know for sure that they are selling out.

And even when they DO sell out, at least we'll hear their music more and so will all of those who are unbelievers...

 

[sue4u2]

That was officially the first time I've actually channel surf'ed FOR a commercial. Caught it 3 times in one hour. The game, the WB channel which is the first time I've seen One Tree Hill (or parts thereof) and at the end of Scrubs.
Their energy is infectious.

 

[seajewel]

TOO HOT!!!!! And the Yankees are winning!!

 

[Aslan72]

Anybody notice the footage that they're taking from. I believe it's from the actual video. Think about the still's we've seen from the footage so far (e.g. Bono opening his shirt, a wide pan of Adam in the middle of a bullseye, etc.). I think they took footage from the forthcoming video and ipod'ized it.

--Aslan

 

[sharky]

Ya know, when I saw the file after downloading it, i thought it was a total sell-out move. But after seeing the ad on the ALCS, I changed my mind. It's not like they are selling beer or clothes or something. I think it's a good partnership as opposed to a product sale. U2 is selling their single, Apple is selling their iTunes.

I love U2. I love my iPod. All is good.

 

[nurse chrissi]

This was posted on the Ipod Garage Website by the owner Bill Palmer

I posted this on the sell out thread as a link but I liked the article so much I decided it went well here too.

To sum up my feeling - Love U2. Love Apple. Love Ipod.


The new U2 iTunes TV ad: all this time, I never knew the silhouette dancer was Bono

By Bill Palmer

Wednesday, October 13th

There was a brief moment in there, perhaps a full second and a half, during which I thought I was witnessing a minor revelation: the latest in the long line of Apple's "silhouette dancer" iPod+iTunes television ads, featured the music of none other than U2, a band that just plain simply does not get involved with corporate endorsements or sponsorships. I mean, this is a band that won't even allow companies to sponsor its tours, and yet here was the opening cadence of U2's new single Vertigo blaring away as the silhouette dancer began to do its thing. But then that initial second and a half passed, and after all these months of dancing, we finally get a look at the dancer's face, and I'm thinking, hey wait a minute, I think I know that guy from somewhere...

And sure enough, it's not just U2's latest single featured in the advertisement, it's the band itself...performing the song...in a television commercial...for a piece of software...being hawked by a for-profit company. Forgive my stuttering, while I try to shake off the disbelief. I mean, U2 just doesn't do this kind of thing. Oh sure, lead vocalist Bono has shown up to plug iTunes during a Steve Jobs Keynote or two, but this?

This is different. This is U2 marrying its music to a commercial product. Forget the minor revelation I thought I was witnessing earlier, this is HUGE. This is a band, after all, who sacrifices profit potential on every one of its world tours, by refusing to allow any corporate entities to sponsor them. Yet here they are, getting just about as deeply into bed with Apple as an artist can get with a company. And you know what? It can't just be about the money that the band is likely being paid for finally putting a face on Apple's silhouette dancers. U2 already has so much money, you'd think they'd invented the concept. And it can't just be about the opportunity to promote its new single, seeing as how the song had already reached number one on the iTunes charts on its own merits.

No, at its base, this has got to be about U2 believing so deeply, so strongly, in iTunes and the iPod that they're willing to climb into bed with Apple and do just about anything the company asks. And really, why shouldn't they? For that matter, why shouldn't every artist feel that way? After all, delivery and playback of content is the lifeblood of every professional musician, is it not?

Simply put, fans buy music so they can listen to it, and artists get paid so they can keep making music for a living, which allows the fans to continue to buy the music, and so on. Over the past few years, we've kept hearing how, thanks to illegal music downloads, the whole cycle was in danger of going away. But thanks to the iPod and iTunes (after the latest round of market statistics, can we all just agree that there is no competition?), the cycle of music production, delivery, consumption, and compensation has a chance to become stronger than ever.

So after watching the band stick its neck out for good causes around the globe, it's little wonder that U2 is willing to go all the way in promoting iPod/iTunes. The "good cause" here appears to be the desire to protect the ability of professional musicians (who aren't as rich as U2) to make a living at what they do.

Either that, or Bono just really wanted to play the part of the silhouette dancer.

Judge for yourself by watching the extended version of the commercial in iTunes.

 

[Bono's shades]

I know it's not like hawking beer or a sports car, but it still makes me a little nervous seeing U2 getting so chummy with a corporation. It feels like a slipperly slope - who knows what's going to come next?