Apple Releases New 'Bulbs' MacBook Pro Ad Highlighting Touch Bar

[hackenbacker]

It's a good advert, but it's not an Apple advert. Looks more like something Sony or Honda would commission.

The touch bar also doesn't push anything forward - it's less functional than a full touch screen, less functional than having a row of function keys.

 

[citysnaps]

I really think Apple has lost its way - form over function, thinner and less useful, glitzy ads about changing the world as a substitute for actual innovation.

If a touch bar is such an amazing thing, then isn't it much more amazing to have a touch screen?

Amazing when holding a tablet in your hands with an OS designed for touch? Yes.

When using a laptop with a touch screen near vertical placed on a desk you're sitting behind? Nope, not amazing. That's fatiguing and painful due to extremely poor ergonomics.

 

[Dave245]

Amazing when holding a tablet in your hands with an OS designed for touch? Yes.

When using a laptop with a touch screen near vertical placed on a desk you're sitting behind? Nope, not amazing. That's fatiguing and painful due to extremely poor ergonomics.

Your right, Apple actually said as much on the issue of touch screen Mac's. The Touch bar is actually going to be helpful for certain types of professionals, as I've mentioned in other threads, a friend of mine who edits video on Final Cut X has brought a MacBook Pro after seeing the presentation, he thinks it's worth it just for that, the amount of time he will save is worth the price alone is what he told me.

 

[davemchine]

"How do we advertise our new MacBook Pros?"

"Obviously we start with malfunctioning light bulbs."

"Oh, of course! And they need to be in a line, too!"

"Exactly. People won't be able to see this ad and think anything but 'MacBook Pro with Touch Bar'."

I think you nailed it. I watched the add and while it was beautiful I have no idea what it was about or how it relates to the MBP.

 

[avanpelt]

I think you nailed it. I watched the add and while it was beautiful I have no idea what it was about or how it relates to the MBP.

Bingo. Plus, if it takes Apple nearly 90 seconds to show the product they're trying to advertise, the ad is a failure. That ad should've been 30 seconds tops.

 

[tentales]

Another misplaced use of the Wilhelm Tell Overture Finale as musical support.
I suppose some ad guy thought, hmm, Apple hitting head... maybe use that piece, after a keyword google.

Well, Rossini composed this to depict the Swiss cavalry charge against its Austrian oppressors.
Wonder if a competitor could use this in a cynical sense.

 

[-hh]

"How do we advertise our new MacBook Pros?"

"Obviously we start with malfunctioning light bulbs."

"Oh, of course! And they need to be in a line, too!"

"Exactly. People won't be able to see this ad and think anything but 'MacBook Pro with Touch Bar'."

All I got out of the ad (saw it last night) was that things (light bulbs) break.

I suspect that the irony of that was lost on them.

In watching the ad again (now), where I think the ad failed is:

* Too much lightbulbs ... not enough of the "change" paradigm.

* The change paradigm didn't show change, because they were disjointed.

For example, instead of just one telephone shot, give us an ancient telephone, followed by a rotary phone, followed by a touch phone, followed by an iPhone --> illustrate the advancement.

Ditto for airplanes & all of the other examples. A delta wing jet has no context without the Wright Flier.


-hh
[doublepost=1479483890][/doublepost]

$4 tiny inline highly rated USB C to USB A adapters are certainly available...

$4? So then why aren't these being sold in the Apple Store?

Is it an example of Courage to only sell the $25 ones?

-hh
[doublepost=1479484172][/doublepost]

Also, for those who don't get it: The lightbulbs were "ideas". Each one exploded in the past by a newer idea.

But... Thomas Edison had hundreds of "exploding bulbs" ... these were his failures.

If you're going to use a lightbulb paradigm, a better idea is a lightbulb that works better in some way, such as by being brighter, not by going dark.

That's why in my interpretation their "exploding bulbs" represents failure.

-hh

 

[smacrumon]

It's fairly typical in advertising to have longer and shorter form versions of the same ad. There's nothing preventing them from having a 30 second version as well.

I guess my point is the ad is really poor in communicating a brand new and apparently future changing feature all the way from 0 - 1:30.

 

[kaneda]

I hope they didn't soder the light bulbs. They can't replace it after it exploded.

 

[mac_in_tosh]

When using a laptop with a touch screen near vertical placed on a desk you're sitting behind? Nope, not amazing. That's fatiguing and painful due to extremely poor ergonomics.

So what if it's on your lap and the screen is tilted away a bit? And one doesn't have to continually use touch, just for those instances when it is advantageous, so no fatiguing.

Or are you saying that Apple is right and the rest of the world is wrong? Like when they said the same thing about tablets smaller than the original iPad.

 

[Small White Car]

They insinst on what people could invent using the bar as a tool, not on the bar.

That's what I'm complaining about. You explaining it again doesn't make it better.

That's precisely the concept that my last post was responding too.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

#shade

I feel like they could've condensed that ad significantly to get to the point...

That's why you don't write TV commercials.

As shorter ad wouldn't have built-up enough "tension" in the mind of the viewer, which would have translated in less reaction during the "Reveal".
[doublepost=1479503546][/doublepost]

Could that have been done with CGI?

Considering they can make a completely convincing talking raccoon-thing in Guardians of the Galaxy, I think an exploding "lightbulb" on a stick is probably pretty easy. In fact, it doesn't even have to be "GGI", per se; just record one exploding lightbulb in front of a green screen, and cut-n-paste it onto a zillion CGI "sticks".

 

[advancewarsbest]

Horrendous Millennial Ad

 

[VAGDesign]

I hope the bulbs are 3D, otherwise it's not so environmental friendly move for Apple, isn't it?

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

So how do you plug your new iPhone 7 into your new MacBook Pro?

Oh, God! Not THIS meme again/still!!!

Howabout like THIS? :

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0X2AM/A/usb-c-to-lightning-cable-1-m


Or, if you like, just use the USB-A to Lightning cable that CAME WITH YOUR PHONE, with one of these $3 thingies. Here's a 2-pack for $7:

https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Adapter-MacBook-Google-OnePlus/dp/B01AUKU1OO/


...and here's an assortment of USB-C to USB-A and USB-C to microUSB for

https://www.amazon.com/ICZI-Adapter-Aluminum-Macbook-Chromebook/dp/B01G50MYE8/


...or you could opt for a USB-C to dual USB-A "mini-hub" for $7.95:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ALFEUMC


...or even better, this 4-port USB 3.0/with (charging only) USB-C mini-hub for $17.99:

https://www.amazon.com/MOKiN-USB-C-USB-Adapter-4-port/dp/B01F21D77Y/


...and even better, here's a USB-C to USB-A/microUSB Adapter with an SD Card Reader for $9.49:

https://www.amazon.com/PUNICOK-Supporting-Simultaneous-Compatible-Chromebook-SILVER/dp/B01ICZEVYK/


By the way, those were just a few of the possibilities from the first few pages of a FIFTY-FIVE PAGE Amazon Search Result...

But, other than that, I guess you're just outta luck!
[doublepost=1479505821][/doublepost]

No. Apple hasn't gotten to that level of innovation yet.

No, they got to it SIX YEARS AGO (or more), and REJECTED it.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/patent-reveals-apple-touch-screen-imac-tablet-macbook-3236731/

 

[sigma8]

I really think Apple has lost its way - form over function, thinner and less useful, glitzy ads about changing the world as a substitute for actual innovation.

If a touch bar is such an amazing thing, then isn't it much more amazing to have a touch screen?

Nah, touch screen laptop is funky. The screen will need to be heavier/thicker, which means it will bounce a bit on its hinge when you tap it. You'll be moving your hands off and back onto the keyboard frequently. You certainly won't be in a good position to use your laptop with an external display that isn't touch-sensitive. It would be awkward for multi-display setups (which they are definitely advertising with the mbp).

I think the touch bar is a fine idea. Great idea, even. I just don't think they should treat it like it's the single biggest contribution to humanity's (or even the computer industry's) progress this year. I'd say the touchbar is probably just a little bit more fancy than backlit keys. Also, I'd rather buy a laptop with maglock charging than the touchbar, if given the hypothetical choice. I'm fine with USB dongles, that's a temporary problem. But yanking your laptop off the table while tripping over the power cable is a forever problem. Griffin Technology has a very interesting solution for this, but it's third party and still results in a protrusion.

Maglock was a seriously great innovation. I don't know why they are ditching it.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Are you capable of objectivity, or is this condescending tone all you're capable of? You're not fooling anybody.

You're a fine one to talk about "Objectivity"!

When someone(S) PLURAL clearly demonstrate that the Adapter dance is not only completely and cheaply surmountable, AND TEMPORARY, while the world catches up, and you call-out THEIR Objectivity, you seriously undermine your own arguments.
[doublepost=1479506557][/doublepost]

Dude, what?

So, THIS is what your great "argument" is reduced-to?

Hahahahahahahaaaaaa!!!!!
[doublepost=1479507484][/doublepost]

Swappable memory & SDD. Proper ports, proper keyboard. Up-to-date processor.

While I'm kinda with you on the RAM and SSD being swappable, I think that research shows that only a small percentage of people actually DO upgrade those things.

As far as the "Proper Ports", you are, IMHO, completely wrong about that. This Laptop was designed to be Forward-looking, and it is VERY clear that the very-near-future (like from "now" and for the next few years) is all about USB-C and TB 3. And a little bit of adapter-pain NOW will be repaid handsomely with your laptop with 80 Gbps of multifunction I/O. Keep in mind that Apple's spare-no-expense, built-for-the-future Mac Pro only had 60 Gbps I/O bandwidth. And before you beat me over the head with the Mac Pro's design, keep in mind that the TB-3 over USB-C thing has REALLY changed the game, and you will see a MASSIVE increase in the number of peripherals that support TB 3 over the next couple of years. Here is the list of laptops CURRENTLY SHIPPING with USB-C/TB 3:

http://www.ultrabookreview.com/10579-laptops-thunderbolt-3/

As far as "Up-to-Date Processor", talk to Intel. THEY are the ones who are dragging their feet on the Quad-Core Kaby Lake, NOT Apple. Apple can't design for what they can't purchase...

 

[Peperino]

The ad is a lame as the keynote presentation.
1.37 min and they barely show the product in the last 5 seconds...

THe keynote presentation was lame too. They talked the first 20 min about iPhone and Apple tv.
Then the DJ presentation was a complete joke.

They waited 4 years to release this crap?
It looks like innovation is really gone since Jobs passed.
Schiller needs to go and buy a basketball team as well.

The great features:
1- YOu cannot connect you own iPhone-iPad. How lame is that?
2- you need 2 sets of Earphones. One for the Mac, on for the iPhone... really?
3- No expandability. RAM and SSD cannot be updated.
4- NO SD Card, No HDMI, no USB
5- THey removed the Mag-Safe
6- It is so called PRO, but limited to 16GB ram.
7- Way overpriced.
8- Reduced Battery life. IT is actually less than the previous model.

The largest Apple growing product category is adaptors.

How LAME is that??

 

[62tele]

That ad is "too long, couldn't watch"! It says nothing. Touchbar falls considerably short of the light bulb, telephone or even the zipper.
Perhaps the ad took eight years to develop like the linen cover of the new Apple design book. A lot of light bulbs sacrificed their lives for that production.
I think the current leadership group lives in a bigger "reality distortion field" greater than Jobs himself.

 

[bennyf]

All I got out of the ad (saw it last night) was that things (light bulbs) break.

I suspect that the irony of that was lost on them.

In watching the ad again (now), where I think the ad failed is:

* Too much lightbulbs ... not enough of the "change" paradigm.

* The change paradigm didn't show change, because they were disjointed.

For example, instead of just one telephone shot, give us an ancient telephone, followed by a rotary phone, followed by a touch phone, followed by an iPhone --> illustrate the advancement.

Ditto for airplanes & all of the other examples. A delta wing jet has no context without the Wright Flier.


-hh
[doublepost=1479483890][/doublepost]

$4? So then why aren't these being sold in the Apple Store?

Is it an example of Courage to only sell the $25 ones?

-hh
[doublepost=1479484172][/doublepost]

But... Thomas Edison had hundreds of "exploding bulbs" ... these were his failures.

If you're going to use a lightbulb paradigm, a better idea is a lightbulb that works better in some way, such as by being brighter, not by going dark.

That's why in my interpretation their "exploding bulbs" represents failure.

-hh

Not a single person reading these posts is in the intended audience for that ad. Apple knows that this crowd is not going to base a buying decision on their ads anyway, so they don't even factor our demographic into the mix. I had the same WTF as most everyone else when first watching. Maybe it's supposed to also subtly keep the exploding competitor's products in the news.

Oh, God! Not THIS meme again/still!!!

Howabout like THIS? :

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0X2AM/A/usb-c-to-lightning-cable-1-m


Or, if you like, just use the USB-A to Lightning cable that CAME WITH YOUR PHONE, with one of these $3 thingies. Here's a 2-pack for $7:

https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Adapter-MacBook-Google-OnePlus/dp/B01AUKU1OO/


...and here's an assortment of USB-C to USB-A and USB-C to microUSB for

https://www.amazon.com/ICZI-Adapter-Aluminum-Macbook-Chromebook/dp/B01G50MYE8/


...or you could opt for a USB-C to dual USB-A "mini-hub" for $7.95:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ALFEUMC


...or even better, this 4-port USB 3.0/with (charging only) USB-C mini-hub for $17.99:

https://www.amazon.com/MOKiN-USB-C-USB-Adapter-4-port/dp/B01F21D77Y/


...and even better, here's a USB-C to USB-A/microUSB Adapter with an SD Card Reader for $9.49:

https://www.amazon.com/PUNICOK-Supporting-Simultaneous-Compatible-Chromebook-SILVER/dp/B01ICZEVYK/


By the way, those were just a few of the possibilities from the first few pages of a FIFTY-FIVE PAGE Amazon Search Result...

But, other than that, I guess you're just outta luck!
[doublepost=1479505821][/doublepost]
No, they got to it SIX YEARS AGO (or more), and REJECTED it.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/patent-reveals-apple-touch-screen-imac-tablet-macbook-3236731/

And the real reason is that you're not supposed to plug your phone into your laptop. Or anything since it's all wireless... except for charging. But yeah, we all need to realize the days of even being able to back up your phone locally are numbered. iOS 11 -- I'm betting no more iTunes backups -- iCloud or nothing.

 

[StayPuft]

When someone(S) PLURAL clearly demonstrate that the Adapter dance is not only completely and cheaply surmountable, AND TEMPORARY, while the world catches up, and you call-out THEIR Objectivity, you seriously undermine your own arguments.

So no, you can't. The entire rest of your post responding to everyone else is evidence that you can't.

And the real reason is that you're not supposed to plug your phone into your laptop

That's not a reason. It's something you just made up. Don't make excuses for Apple.

Or anything since it's all wireless... except for charging. But yeah, we all need to realize the days of even being able to back up your phone locally are numbered. iOS 11 -- I'm betting no more iTunes backups -- iCloud or nothing.

You might have an argument if their free storage wasn't 5 GB. You can't do full backups that you can transfer to a new device with just iCloud. And if something goes wrong with your phone, you can't Restore it via iTunes without being able to plug it in. Also, please stop trying to foreshadow the future of Apple and plugging things in. Clearly they love having you plug things in with four TB3 ports and all the dongles you need to use them.

 

[TigerWoodsIV]

That's why you don't write TV commercials.

As shorter ad wouldn't have built-up enough "tension" in the mind of the viewer, which would have translated in less reaction during the "Reveal".
[doublepost=1479503546][/doublepost]
Considering they can make a completely convincing talking raccoon-thing in Guardians of the Galaxy, I think an exploding "lightbulb" on a stick is probably pretty easy. In fact, it doesn't even have to be "GGI", per se; just record one exploding lightbulb in front of a green screen, and cut-n-paste it onto a zillion CGI "sticks".

Or that's because they spent forever on the same relative period of time and getting to the point, and I think an average person would lose interest in a 1:30 commercial...

 

[Tech198]

They are getting better at the ads..

Considering they can make a completely convincing talking raccoon-thing in Guardians of the Galaxy, I think an exploding "lightbulb" on a stick is probably pretty easy. In fact, it doesn't even have to be "GGI", per se; just record one exploding lightbulb in front of a green screen, and cut-n-paste it onto a zillion CGI "sticks".

ya, but that would be cheating... I think Apple aims for better perfection..

 

[mitso]

Ok I understand where they're going.. it's an ad for the genius of a "computer".. but I don't get why they chose this theme NOW.

The product is an evolution of the MacBook, hardly something groundbreaking. But the idea of a computer is and was, but that's been done. Maybe if they reinvented the computer this ad would have been more appropriate but they didn't. And to highlight the touch bar at the end makes you think that was the groundbreaking idea.

Very strange ad Apple!!

Kudos on the execution but way way WAAY off on the direction.

 

[matthewhuk]

"And more..." shouldn't that read 'and less'?
[doublepost=1479544947][/doublepost]Ha, fiery that huge build up the touch bar looks really pathitic!