Filed under: Video, Apple, iPhone
New iPhone ads showing up on TV today
It's football season, and you know what that means: new iPhone ads? Yes, apparently there are three new ads, starring Doug, Elliot and Stephano, all shot in a variant of the Errol Morris "Switch" campaign style. In these ads, the (apparently real, and possibly recruited online) iPhone users are standing in front of a black backdrop, relating the ways in which iPhone has changed their lives for the better. At the end of each ad, you see the backdrop in wide shot, with the surrounding street scene visible.
A quick review of the final shots indicates that all three ads were filmed in New York City (I can't be 100% sure about Doug, although it might be on West 24th Street...). Elliot is on Fulton St. in
Thanks to all who sent this in.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chris Quick said 7:46PM on 10-07-2007
It seems they are probably pulling these people from the "Share you iPhone Story" part of the Apple iPhone site. They ask people to share their favorite story about the iPhone. Not a bad way to get good stories for the ads.
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Michael Rose said 7:51PM on 10-07-2007
Thanks Chris for the reminder, amended the post.
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Daniel said 7:58PM on 10-07-2007
ok soooo i think these commercials were put in place by AT&T, because the style and the way its made is completely opposite than what apple would do for a commercial with any of their products
i think AT&T is doing this for more attention with the iphone than they are getting as well as more money tactics...obviously these commercials are showing improvements from AT&T like visual voicemail
dang i saw these all day haha all through the football commercials
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Terence said 7:59PM on 10-07-2007
Elliot is at Fulton and Adams St. in Brooklyn Actually. I grew up around there it's in Brooklyn heights. The corner he is on is basically the mouth to the Fulton street mall, you can see Brooklyn Law School in the background.
Adams Street becomes the Brooklyn Bridge
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Jon said 8:10PM on 10-07-2007
The ads were most likely filmed in a studio and then they probably just got in a van and picked 3 random locations for the ending shots.
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Iron Chef said 8:38PM on 10-07-2007
I am pretty sure that "Doug - Mankind" was shot at Redmond Towncenter in Redmond, WA.
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Iron Chef said 8:49PM on 10-07-2007
Yeah, I can see the green bus stop cover in the last 4 seconds, I feel pretty confident it was shot between in front of RTC 3/4... AT&T offices are in buildings 1 & 2.
If true, chances are that the "Doug - Mankind" was a pilot, and it tested well with the focus groups.
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cougette said 9:12PM on 10-07-2007
Apparently, Ellen Feiss is going to appear in the next round of ads! Here's the script:
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So, I making a call to my boyfriend, on the iPhone, when an update comes through and it was like:
BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP!
And then, like, half of my iPhone was gone. And I was like ... ... ... huh?
Steve Jobs had bricked my iPhone!
It was a REALLY good call. And then I had to make it again on a RAZR, and it wasn't as good.
It's kind of ... ... ... a bummer.
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ericvicenti said 9:15PM on 10-07-2007
I love how they supposedly shot them on that little backdrop in the middle of the city, but the audio is crystal clear throughout and they don't wear mics. Plus, the lighting is the exact same with all 3 ads, while it is highly unlikely the lighting would have been the same in real life.
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moe said 9:25PM on 10-07-2007
its de not 25th st its right near chelsea piers, and that start on 22nd st and goes down from there
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cougette said 9:25PM on 10-07-2007
Well, Apple's production values are pretty high. Movies are shot in busy cities all the time and the dialog is good. They could have used off camera boom mics to go with the elaborate rig.
Also, the lighting is very harsh, which suggests it was outdoors, and the people are wearing the same clothing and interacting with the environment.
I'd bet it was actually filmed in those locations.
PS The last line of the script above should have been...
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I'm Ellen Feiss, and I'm a unlocker.
http://www.ellenfeiss.net/movie.php?movie=movies/ellen_feiss.mov
[Imagine the ad with a black background and you get the idea]
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Peter Whalen said 9:31PM on 10-07-2007
I think it is more like 25th street...you can see the high line rail road and in the back is the Postal Hub that is on the west side of manhattan right next to the Chelsea Piers
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Jon said 10:25PM on 10-07-2007
#11: When movies are shot in busy cities they either use ADR (pretty much impossible in this case) or shut down the street (not worth the cost for a short TV ad).
They were not shot on location because:
1) As mentioned earlier, the lighting is consistent in all three ads
2) No wind
3) Most importantly, in a studio you can control everything. It makes no sense to shoot on location when you can easily fake it in a studio. In a studio you don't have any background noise, the sun never sets and you don't have to bother with permits and licenses (a BIG hassle). It is a lot cheaper and easier, and at the end of the day, the viewer can't even tell.
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Judson said 10:29PM on 10-07-2007
Notice the wide shots contain the same harsh shadows as the ones up close. Lighting might have been more dense with reflectors but its very possible that they could get that effect without going into a studio (albeit more easy to go into one)
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Patrick Griffin said 10:54PM on 10-07-2007
apparently you guys don't work on commercials.
knowbody makes ads for 'cheap and easy'. whether or not it was shot indoors or out has little to do with how much money they will throw at a national spot!
lots!
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jrch said 11:20PM on 10-07-2007
"Doug - Mankind" is shot on my block in Manhattan. 23rd between 10th and 11th.
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badtzmaru said 11:28PM on 10-07-2007
i havent watched the ads but i saw a screen cap and that boy looked cute. the one with the light brown hair.
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Julio Mendoza-Medina said 11:43PM on 10-07-2007
The Stephano ad would have been really really fun if at the end he had taken/ridden a bike instead of the car while leaving the scene.
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Eric Garcia said 12:24AM on 10-08-2007
They must have imported these people. I go to law school with Elliot here in Chicago..
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K said 1:53AM on 10-08-2007
http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/ad10/
http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/ad11/
http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/ad12/
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