New Apple TV Billboards Start Popping Up in U.S. Cities

[MacRumors]

Apple has launched (via AppleInsider) a brand new outdoor ad campaign for the Apple TV a week after debuting its first TV commercials for the new set-top box. The new ads feature a variation of the SMPTE color bars, a television test pattern, as a backdrop to the simple Apple TV logo.

Image via SMPTE Connect​

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The color bars are also featured in the TV ads, dispersing in different ways as the ad showcases its apps or games. Thus far, the billboards have been spotted in Los Angeles, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Beverly Hills and Hollywood.

The ads appear to have gone up in the last 24 hours, with Instagram user Courtney Cerruti noting that she saw workers tugging the image into place and that they went up "in unison." Additionally, every current picture of the new billboards have appeared within the last 11 hours or so. The ads also come in different formats, with some ads in a vertical orientation on buildings and others in a more traditional horizontal format.

Article Link: New Apple TV Billboards Start Popping Up in U.S. Cities

 

[cchunk]

I saw one today on the 405 in LA by LAX. Thought it was interesting since I never noticed it before but it all makes sense lol

 

[heeloliver]

Kinda an odd way to present the TV. For some the color test may remind them of a glitch, maybe something Apple doesn't want to be seen with the Apple TV

 

[usarioclave]

The colors, they're back!

 

[bookwormsy]

Also in Columbus, OH.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Wow. That banner is both hideous (the ugly colors at the bottom?) and it reminds me of a glitch or a color test - throw back to tube TVs.

 

[GreyHare]

Those aren't the NTSC color bars, those are the six colors from the old Apple logo of the 80's and 90's. The bars on the bottom are like CMYK but the M and C are too dark.

 

[macfoxpro]

A definite eye catcher.

 

[Grimes213]

The rainbow flag ❤️ Seen it in Hollywood

 

[shiseiryu1]

I wonder if this means there is going to be a big announcement soon? For example, the ability to stream TV on AppleTV?...

 

[NicolasLGA]

I hope people have noticed that this is not simply a "variation" on the color bars pattern...

It's the original Apple rainbow logo.

Very good marketing. I love it.

 

[Cisco_Kid]

Now lets have everyone overanalyze these ads...

 

[Rogifan]

Hmm...I find this ad campaign almost as dumb as the Genuis one from a couple years ago. Does Apple think this is going to get someone to buy an Apple TV?

I hope people have noticed that this is not simply a "variation" on the color bars pattern...

It's the original Apple rainbow logo.

Very good marketing. I love it.

What exactly makes a good marketing? What does the old Apple rainbow logo have to do with the Apple TV?

 

[JimmyHook]

Fantastic marketing!!!! The throwback to their colors and the imagery relating to old school tv is fantastic!!!

 

[HenryDJP]

Wow. That banner is both hideous (the ugly colors at the bottom?) and it reminds me of a glitch or a color test - throw back to tube TVs.

Well you know what? That banner is doing it's job then. If it reminds you anything about a TV then mission accomplished. If people are so uptight and take things so seriously that they would automatically associate that with something adverse then they don't need the product in the first place.

 

[ksuyen]

I think the advertisements serve its purpose. It makes people notice, whether in a good way or bad way. Right now, AppleTV is unnoticeable by general public (translation: non MR readers).

 

[John.B]

Big money for marketing campaigns, but still no Remote app support and no Bluetooth keyboard support.

Not even Apple's own Bluetooth keyboards.

 

[NickD73]

What a great ad! I'm going out to buy 2 now, no make it 3! Blah, Apple TV could have been so much more for gamers who want to play p2p.

 

[Slix]

I like it! The colors in these new ads and banners are great, a nice throwback to the colored Apple logo, and I think it gets the point across pretty well. I wonder if I'll see one of these around my area?

 

[HiRez]

Do the kids even know what SMPTE bars are anymore? When's the last time you saw a test pattern on tv?

 

[pat500000]

I would appreciate if they put Mac Pro on rather than Apple TV.

 

[bpeeps]

I saw one today on the 405 in LA by LAX. Thought it was interesting since I never noticed it before but it all makes sense lol

I saw one at Crescent Heights and Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood on my way home from work earlier. I thought it was a clever ad for the gay residents in Weho. Whoops.

 

[adamneer]

I like it. But then, I already own an Apple TV 4 (and love it) and I know that "bars and tone" are a broadcast standard for calibration and not a "glitch" like some here seem to think.

 

[Aluminum213]

I actually really like these ads, also really like my Apple TV

 

[bpeeps]

Do the kids even know what SMPTE bars are anymore? When's the last time you saw a test pattern on tv?

Apple really hasnt designed ads formthe "kids" since the iPod music video days.

Kinda an odd way to present the TV. For some the color test may remind them of a glitch, maybe something Apple doesn't want to be seen with the Apple TV

They're nothing more than a calibration tool to make sure what is being displayed is how it should be displayed. And engineers can calibrate their equipment properly. Has nothing to do with glitching, dropped signals, station problems, or test patterns. They're still very widely used in television, news, and broadcast facilities. Apple's ad scheme is simply a throwback.