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Apple's New Shot on iPhone Ad 'Earth' Includes Narration by Carl Sagan From His Book 'Pale Blue Dot'
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I'm sure a lot of people won't get the video, and instead will see it as a cheap shot at using a truly monumental quote about the vast value of our planet and the life on it to simply sell a disposable piece of technology that will be forgotten in a few years.
I, however, am not one of those people. I thought this ad was absolutely incredible and I love that Apple uses it's position as a globally recognized brand to take a stance on something much more important than electronics.
Feels like a stab at every anti-science, anti-environment, pro-coal lunatic in the country.
I'm sure Apple used the narrative in a legal fashion; they are, after all, an aggressively litigious company, and I hope they paid an extraordinarily exorbitant sum to do so.
I doubt most of the people at Apple are old enough to remember the "BHA" days. I'm sure Sagan's ex-wife had good motives for doing it, but let's not forget that Carl did not wish to associate his name with Apple products at one time (at least not with the 7100, which was a piece of junk).
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I'd like to see that App.
Well, if they show up with a book titled "To Serve Man", just remember, it's a cookbook.
While I can't speak for Sagan himself, no more than you can, I think Sagan would agree that however self-serving the nature of commercials, this one is getting his words, his ideas and HIM out to a wider, greater, more global and new audience. Keeping him, his words, and his ideas alive. And in paring those words with beautiful images, making his message even more powerful.
And given how important he held those ideas and words, how much he wanted, I'm sure, to have them passed on generation to generation, I do not think he would rather be let to "rest in peace." Not if that meant that his voice, saying such things, would not be heard again. A commercial may not seem "respectful," but the pairing of those images to those words is very respectful. And certainly has a larger and more important message to give viewers than simply that they should buy an iPhone.
Ironic. But apples and oranges because (1) Apple clearly didn't have approval from him on the 90's computer, whereas I'm sure his estate approved this ad. Sagan's ex-wife, from what I've heard, is *VERY* protective of his legacy and likely had the right to veto any second of it if it if she didn't find it respectful of Sagan and his values. And I'm sure you'd agree that she knew him better than you did and what he'd have thought and wanted. (2) Back in the 90's Apple may not have been environmentally in tune with Sagan or his ideals. But this ad is all about trying to be environmentally conscious, and that's certainly in tune with Sagan's words. So he might well have approved of Apple now. You wouldn't argue that a person's opinion (even Sagan's) was immutable would you? (3) The 90's example was to to have him as an un-agreed-to "spokesman" for a computer, with little to no benefit to him in exchange. This ad is his words saying exactly what they say ("Take care of the planet") and selling his ideas. Putting it another way, this ad may be using his voice and words to sell phones...but Sagan (sic) is using the ad and images shot on that phone to sell him and *his* message. So...win-win.
I think, in short, that even Sagan would argue that it's not scientific to assume that just because he disapproved of Apple doing what it did this back in the late 90's, he'd disapprove of this ad. Or that he'd even find the two comparable.
How is false advertising? They're using the actual camera shots, but probably also using a gimball (or some mechanical stabiliser because being able to create smooth tracks is different than just stabilising the shot and can't really be done in camera, those equipment are not really expensive) and a bit bit of post production (post production is kind of expected in an ad don't you think so you'd expect this kind of disclaimer on any add that has a shot from a phone).
They could have shot hand held I suppose but that usually complicates shot matching and post production.