Apple's New Shot on iPhone Ad 'Earth' Includes Narration by Carl Sagan From His Book 'Pale Blue Dot'

[MacRumors]

Apple tonight shared a new ad in its line of "Shot on iPhone" commercials, this one focused on iPhone users who have taken impressive photos and videos of vistas around the planet.

Well-known astronomer Carl Sagan narrates the spot, reading out a few quotes from his book "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space." The theme of the commercial focuses on reminding viewers about the importance and responsibility of taking care of "our only home."

"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is no where else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the only home we've ever known."

Apple's ads have lately been focused on providing tutorials for features of the iPhone 7, as well as a few commercials specifically highlighting Portrait Mode. On Earth Day the company shared a few videos with similar pro-environmental messages as the Carl Sagan-narrated ad posted today, centering on topics like solar farms and zero waste.

Article Link: Apple's New Shot on iPhone Ad 'Earth' Includes Narration by Carl Sagan From His Book 'Pale Blue Dot'

 

[filmantopia]

RIP Sagan.

 

[kjs862]

i like it a lot!

 

[macs4nw]

RIP Sagan.

You do know he's been gone for over twenty years, right?
Which seems like billions, and billions, and billions of years ago

.... In all seriousness, he definitely was the face of Astronomy back then, and a fascinating speaker on the topic.

 

[44267547]

Slow-Mo and Time lapse are really showing true potential in this video. Nicely narrated and beautiful scenery.

 

[citysnaps]

Beautifully crafted and very moving.

 

[BWhaler]

So well done..

Great job Apple.

 

[vipergts2207]

Absolutely love Carl Sagan. Even named my Border Collie after him.

 

[nzgeorge]

Sagan would not have approved.

In fact, he actually sued Apple for suggesting that he had endorsed their product:

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2160066/wireless/yes--carl-sagan-once-sued-apple-for-libel.html

 

[markfc]

Nice, shame my 7 Plus cameras and flash have just stopped working today.

Got to wait till Monday for a genius appointment.

:-(

 

[gugy]

Awesome ad.
Very appropriate for these crazy times.
Good for Apple.

 

[jonblatho]

Gorgeous ad, so well produced.

 

[FactVsOpinion]

Sagan would not have approved.

In fact, he actually sued Apple for suggesting that he had endorsed their product:

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2160066/wireless/yes--carl-sagan-once-sued-apple-for-libel.html

This is an unverified story about a cease and desist letter in 1994, pre-Jobs return, about naming a computer, "Carl Sagan"

 

[ndolebay]

Tim will love this ad 100% for political reason.

 

[M_Json]

Really well made ad. Feels like Apple took a stab at the Trump administration for deciding to leave the Paris Agreement at the same time.

 

[nzgeorge]

This is an unverified story about a cease and desist letter in 1994, pre-Jobs return, about naming a computer, "Carl Sagan"

A verified story (Davidson 1999, Poundstone 1999) about Sagan being sufficiently unhappy with Apple using his likeness to initiate legal action.

 

[NervousFish2]

Nice
[doublepost=1496900505][/doublepost]

Tim will love this ad 100% for political reason.

And rightly so!

 

[jdillings]

How long before they start doing commercials with Steve Jobs narration?

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

The disclaimer clearly says,

"Additional equipment and software used."

Doesn't that destroy the ad? I mean that means you cannot do this right out of the box!
Very nice, but clearly false advertising. I mean, like what other equipment? How much money?

Is there Hollywood CGI involved? LOL

 

[Winni]

So Apple is still "sharing" ads. How nice of them. I wonder why other companies don't "share" ads - they just "place", "release" or "air" them.

 

[2499723]

Love Carl Sagan, and this excerpt always puts me in some kind of weird, existential mood.

I'm not sure how I feel about Apple using it, though. Presumably they got permission from the publisher (of the audio book?). Wonder if they needed permission from Sagan's estate? It's kind of in poor taste in the same way the Think Different ads were in the 90s. Great ads, but sorry Apple, you're not on the same level as Einstein.

 

[Quu]

The disclaimer clearly says,

"Additional equipment and software used."

Doesn't that destroy the ad? I mean that means you cannot do this right out of the box!
Very nice, but clearly false advertising. I mean, like what other equipment? How much money?

Is there Hollywood CGI involved? LOL

Equipment likely means lighting equipment or tripods / stabilisation rigs around the phone. Software likely means video editing software for colour grading and general editing.

That doesn't mean you cannot get shots like this on the phone just that those individuals who submitted their footage to Apple did not submit it straight from their iPhones and instead edited the footage on a computer first and/or used auxiliary equipment to get better shots (like lighting scenes with external light sources).

It's still remarkable that this footage came from a phone sensor, all the accessories in the world cannot change that.

 

[mejsric]

The disclaimer clearly says,

"Additional equipment and software used."

Doesn't that destroy the ad? I mean that means you cannot do this right out of the box!
Very nice, but clearly false advertising. I mean, like what other equipment? How much money?

Is there Hollywood CGI involved? LOL

Whatever, still shots on iPhone.

 

[testcard]

You do know he's been gone for over twenty years, right?

I'm not sure he does. Still, a great ad.

 

[Royal Gala]

This is a beauty