Parody of Apple's "app for that" ads

RodThePlod

RodThePlod

macrumors 6502a
Hey all,

So - after seeing all of the iPhone ads where the narrator says - "want to do x? yup there's an app for that - only on iPhone" I came up with the idea of doing one of these to promote my app Top-Tens.

So armed with iMovie and iShowU, I put this together with my daughter narrating.

It's called "Categories":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pehFlrpN3vY

What d'you guys think?!?

Rod.
 
Uh...first, too long. It took me 45 seconds to realize that you meant categories and not an actual cat.

Second, new narrator. It sounds like an 8-year-old Brit is doing show and tell. Find someone whose voice is a bit more radio-friendly.

If you're going to keep it that long, you've got to have more narration (ironically after the last one). I'm sitting there watching the cursor while wondering what I'm looking at. The part I saw, you were going to one of the Twilight books. I had no clue what you were doing until I went back and looked again.

Also, don't spend 11 seconds on the text-only intro. You'll lose a ton of people with that. I would suggest about 2 seconds with a big-ass shot of your logo. Then dive right into a bunch of narration about what exactly these "cats" are helping me with -- but you gotta tell me that you mean categories. "App" isn't a word by itself. "Cat" sure as heck is.

"With Top Tens, you find find a category, or cat, for anything." Then keep going.
 
Michael CM1 said:
Uh...first, too long. It took me 45 seconds to realize that you meant categories and not an actual cat.

Second, new narrator. It sounds like an 8-year-old Brit is doing show and tell. Find someone whose voice is a bit more radio-friendly.

If you're going to keep it that long, you've got to have more narration (ironically after the last one). I'm sitting there watching the cursor while wondering what I'm looking at. The part I saw, you were going to one of the Twilight books. I had no clue what you were doing until I went back and looked again.

Also, don't spend 11 seconds on the text-only intro. You'll lose a ton of people with that. I would suggest about 2 seconds with a big-ass shot of your logo. Then dive right into a bunch of narration about what exactly these "cats" are helping me with -- but you gotta tell me that you mean categories. "App" isn't a word by itself. "Cat" sure as heck is.

"With Top Tens, you find find a category, or cat, for anything." Then keep going.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! This was my first time putting together something like this so I appreciate your comments!

Yup - actually my daughter is 11 :) and I did want to get that kids voice on it - just to make it a bit different.

It was mainly done as a bit of fun on Sunday afternoon - just something that might help promote my app :D

But your points are valid - the intro sequence is a little too long, and the ad overall is a little too long as well...

I plan on doing a series of these though - so I'll take your points on board; hopefully my next one will be a bit slicker - especially as I know a bit more about iMovie and iShowU.

Thanks Michael!

Any more comments?

Rod.
 
I watched it. It kinda made me interested in your app.

No offense but maybe not use your daughter's voice.
Also maybe not show so much after each "cat". Just say "theres a cat for that" then maybe 3 seconds of showing that "cat".

otherwise it pretty good. Is it possible to put a link at the end that one can click on to go straight to the app store?
 
hazza.jockel said:
I watched it. It kinda made me interested in your app.

No offense but maybe not use your daughter's voice.
Also maybe not show so much after each "cat". Just say "theres a cat for that" then maybe 3 seconds of showing that "cat".

otherwise it pretty good. Is it possible to put a link at the end that one can click on to go straight to the app store?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice and feedback - it's appreciated. And no offense taken :) Yes good idea about the link - I'll have a look to see how/where I can add it... maybe in the comments or description section.

Cheers!

Rod.
 
I'm glad it was a quickie thing and not a finished product. That makes me hopeful for your little video. If you REALLY want to be professional, you might want to find an American voice to do it to target the US audience. Unless it's someone I've heard a lot before, a British accent can distract me the whole time on something like that. British actors probably tone it down a bit just like Americans on TV and radio do. Trust me, there are a lot of southern accents around here that you wouldn't want on an ad.

Just make sure to think like a TV ad exec when you try for real. Most ads are 15 to 30 seconds because those are the most effective time frames. Fit all of your information into 30 seconds. If you can't, make more ads.

I think I forgot to mention experimenting with other music. You just need something to make background noise that isn't distracting. Apple's Mac vs. PC ads are a good example. If you can find that track, you ought to practice your development with that music and then find something else similar.
 
Yeah, Rod, if you could just pack your daughter off to the US for a few months, get her to learn how to do a fairly neutral, non-specific American accent, and then re-do the ad I'll be happy to critique it. If I can cope with being so distracted, that is.

;)
 
jonnyb said:
Yeah, Rod, if you could just pack your daughter off to the US for a few months, get her to learn how to do a fairly neutral, non-specific American accent, and then re-do the ad I'll be happy to critique it. If I can cope with being so distracted, that is.

;)
Click to expand...

I laughed :)

Michael CM1 said:
I'm glad it was a quickie thing and not a finished product. That makes me hopeful for your little video. If you REALLY want to be professional, you might want to find an American voice to do it to target the US audience. Unless it's someone I've heard a lot before, a British accent can distract me the whole time on something like that. British actors probably tone it down a bit just like Americans on TV and radio do. Trust me, there are a lot of southern accents around here that you wouldn't want on an ad.
Click to expand...

Americans are legendary for being OTT on TV and radio! Well, in the UK anyway. It's why we love (most) of you! :p
 
I have to admit that I'm a cat humor type of person (yes, I check icanhazcheezburger alot) and I thought you were going to making a funny ad with an actual cat. After my slow little brain caught on that no felines would be harmed in the making of your spot I would suggest speeding the whole thing up. Good luck!
 
iPhoneNYC said:
I have to admit that I'm a cat humor type of person (yes, I check icanhazcheezburger alot) and I thought you were going to making a funny ad with an actual cat. After my slow little brain caught on that no felines would be harmed in the making of your spot I would suggest speeding the whole thing up. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Hahaha thanks. My next one will be a little umm... snappier ;)

Thanks for the other comments too - I did think of shipping my daughter over to the US prior to filming, but the missus wasn't having any of it.

Hay!! I have a friend with really strong Brummie accent!! Maybe I'll get her to do the next one :)

Rod.
 
RodThePlod said:
Hay!! I have a friend with really strong Brummie accent!! Maybe I'll get her to do the next one :)

Rod.
Click to expand...

I think the kid sounds sweet. And no, don't use a brummie accent on the next one!

Seriously tho - you need to put a clickable link to the app on the video.

imPoddible
 
I agree that it should be tightened up a bit, and that you should jump into the video portion sooner, but overall I thought that it was pretty clever, and I like your daughter's voice on it just fine. I have to wonder if she'll grow up to be an archeologist though.....
 
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