Apple Takes Steps Towards Health

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTjejvnBJfU

Apple recently rolled out its latest catchy advertisement about the iPhone 5s entitled “strength” and it premiered during the Stanley Cup Finals. Strategically aligned with their soft-announcement of upcoming fitness application “Health Book”, this 60 second spot features the song “Chicken Fat” which was recycled from the national fitness campaigns of the 1970s under the Kennedy Administration. When the ad premiered on NBC, The Stanley Cup Finals pulled in the highest ratings (1.9) in the 8:00 PM time slot with 5.26 million viewers, and a share of 8. In addition, the spot has been seen airing during the NBA championships as well as the World Cup. The amount of impressions delivered over the airwaves seems to be giving the you-tubes a run for their money considering Apple’s official You Tube page only reports 671,352 views since posting on June 4. The iPhone 5s is the co-star of the spot, as the focus was clearly on the athletic empowerment it provides to its users. The many clips within the ad show ordinary people using their iPhone 5s as part of their daily exercise and health routines. The ad ends with the copy: “you’re more powerful than you think”. This slogan is used in prior iPhone advertisements and mirrors the current campaign theme of focusing on it’s natural interface with daily life rather than standalone functionality.

TBWA produced this advertisement which adds to their substantial portfolio with Apple. The advertisement needed to effectively communicate the wide array of the iPhone functionality as well as its broad user base. To accomplish this, the actors in the commercials span a gamut of race, age, and athletic ability all while the background music is undoubtedly recognizable by the baby-boomer generation. This commercial is also expected to signal the beginning of many strategic communications which reinforce the message that Apple technology is designed to be a natural part of daily life. Considering the amount of news surrounding technology collecting personal information, Apple appears to be taking proactive steps towards making sure that their audience sees wearable technology as a benefit rather than an infringement on personal space. This theory aligns with the somewhat regular news leaks about the expected iWatch. Rumors suggest that this wearable technology will do far more than simply tell time and answer phone calls. Technology insiders are expecting the incorporation of biometric sensors which will be able to collect medical data from users and beam it back to the iPhone for analyzation and interpretation within the Health Book app. Apple is walking a fine line in the realm of privacy and light hearted communications such as this will play an integral role in business strategy. Accounting for possibility that Apple will want to position itself in the market as a provider of electronics that can improve health, it seems plausible that this message of blending fitness and technology demonstrates that Apple is taking initial steps towards that direction.