From the dystopian “1984” Macintosh commercial to its disastrous “Lemmings” follow-up, Apple ads haven’t always been full of jokes, tinkly music and Jony Ive saying “aluminium” in a soothing voice.
Nothing Apple has ever created, however, has been quite as weirdly disturbing as this iPhone ad parody from the folks at Noka Films.
Called “Upgrade,” the iPhone 7 parody ad depicts a woman whose body seems to be malfunctioning around her — until she receives an in-ear Apple implant in a moment that is all but guaranteed to make viewers wince.
“iPhones and similar smartphones are now an integral part of our modern life, and in a way, beginning to alter who we are,” the filmmaker told AdWeek of their concept. “To ridicule our addiction to our smartphones, we played out a world where this technological evolution may one day take over us.”
While the concept of a smartphone we control directly with our brains may not be out of the question long-term, I’d be surprised if it’s a strategy Apple pursues anytime soon.
And particularly not by the time the iPhone 7 ships in 2016.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
8 responses to “Parody iPhone ad is just about the freakiest thing you’ve ever seen”
OK, somebody’s got way too much budget.
Amusing, she must have been running Android at the start LOL.
Sorry. That is the lamest Apple ‘parody’ ever. Besides, everyone knows that Apple will not enter the bioimplantable market until it it can be done ‘by the rest of us.’ Surgical implants are SO Microsoft!
What a bizarre thing. It would have been more appropriate if they had placed an Android at the forehead of the woman. Very lame.
The video started out really good. High-quality camera, great use of slo-mo and quality cinematography. But it went all downhill from there as the woman flailed about that looked more like a seizure and frankly not funny or interesting.
Interesting idea but very poor execution.
This trend of “you’ve ever seen” or “better than yours” etc headlines is horse shit. Speak for yourself. I’ve seen much freakier things. Hell, I’ve participated in much freakier things.
Has anyone done the analytics on headlines like that? I’ll be really sad if people actually respond well to being told what to think in such blatant terms.
Do take note though that it was titled and phrased ” -just about- the freakiest thing…”. Note the use of “just about”. Sure, it may not be even close, but the author has taken the presumption out of the title with this phrasing, and is not “telling you what to think”. i suggest taking the time to fully read and access the title before punching out comments like that.
Personally, I did not find it very blatant, or a forced thought/way to think.
The use of “YOU” trumps the use of “JUST ABOUT” … There’s no reason to refer to the reader at all, except a some pop-psychology clickbait. End of story.
Also, is this the first bullshit article you’ve ever read? This is a growing trend, and therefore worth discussing. If it was just this once, then it wouldn’t be annoying.
I did, you didn’t… you could have just lead with that, instead of defending the indefensible.