The residual image of ‘Apple Keynote’ in most people’s minds is likely to be that of a large visual of an Apple product showcased in a dark grey screen or held in the hands of an Apple executive in the same dark grey screen as background . It has been so for years now and […]

I am an accredited app junkie (aside from being an accredited Apple fan) and I have truck loads of apps on my iOS devices. Sure enough, there are only a handful one uses on a regular basis but hey, one can get into the mood to explore all the apps once in a while, right? I also eagerly await app updates and never leave updates pending even if it a 1GB update of the iMovie app which I hardly use. I also look forward to Friday mornings when Apple updates its iTunes with ‘App of the Week’, ‘New and noteworthy’ and ‘Editor’s Choice’ apps. Aside from the usual Twitter, Tweetbot, Nuzzel and Flipboard I havee begun to use these apps often nowadays.

Apple revealed a new page, ‘Shot on iPhone 6’, dedicated to showcasing great pictures taken on the phone. The page has some truly haw-dropping pictures making one wonder if such pictures are possible through a phone camera. In a clever move, the images are used in an outdoor campaign (apparently synchronised to be launched globally including markets in India) – all of which are meant to evoke a ‘wow!’ reaction. I don’t know if the campaign was timed to launch alongside the Samsung S6 launch but it appears to be so. At the Samsung S6 launch event the brand took pains to compare pictures taken on that device along with those from an iPhone 6, obviously showing the latter as worse off.

The ‘Be Together. Not the Same’ addresses a critical need for an identity among all of us. We all want to showcase, express who we are and the most personal device we carry with us – the smart phone does just that. Such a proposition appeals to both current users (reinforcing their choice) and potential users – creating doubts about them being unable to ‘stand out’.

Many luxury brands – be it in jewellery or fashion & fashion accessories segments follow a template in static advertising – they all have models posing and staring into the camera. What sets apart such campaigns is the styling and execution. The props, celebrity models, quality of photography and even a quirky, memorable element helps in breaking clutter. In audio-visual advertising, luxury brands may not have a template but have a signature style – superb production values, luxe settings, an element of mystique are common. A new campaign for Motorola’s Moto 360 smartwatch lampoons luxury advertising for watches.