October 15, 2004
U2 Appears in Apple iPod Commercial to Promote New Single "Vertigo" on iTunes!
"Unos, dos, tres, catorce!" shouts U2 frontman Bono, counting out in Spanish as he launches into the the first single from the Irish group's first album in nearly four years. The song, called "Vertigo," is the first single from the forthcoming album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" and was released for download on Apple's iTunes online music store in September.
The premiere of "Vertigo" marks first time U2 has pre-released a new track via the Internet before releasing it on CD. But what may be more significant is that U2 is appearing in a new Apple television ad for iTunes and iPod. The commercials feature U2 performing "Vertigo" in what is now the widely-recognized iPod/iTunes ad style of silhouetted people dancing in front of solid-color blackgrounds of various bright hues. The band members are identifiable as they aren't as completely blacked out as the cast of anonymous dancing silhouettes that appear in the commercial.
Apple made two versions of the ad, a 30-second spot airing on television and a two-minute clip that can be viewed via the Apple website (see links to the commercial after the jump-link below) or through a direct links from the iTunes window for those who have downloaded the software to their computers.
We caught our first glimpse of the new iTunes commercial Wednesday night when it aired during the broadcast of the American League Championship baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
What happened next, when the commercial ended, was either a testament to very powerful marketing or our nearly pathological interest in media and advertising (probably a little of both) ... we ran into the dining room, where our wireless laptop was set up, and keyed in the URL to the Apple website thinking that the clip might be available online--we wanted to see it again right away!
You could say that U2, as one of the world's most successful and recognizeable rock bands, is also one of the world's most recognizable global music brands, that is, if you recognize that on a purely economic level a commercial rock band is also a commercial enterprise, and as such a business that, like most others, must establish a meaningful indentity among consumers, such that when you say "U2" people think "consistently great pop-rock tunes and albums that are cut above most commercially released music," or something like that.
Apple Computer has similarly established not only a strong global brand of its own but several product lines and designs over the years that have attained icon status, so much so that they are for all intents and purposes themselves powerful brands--the Macintosh OS, the iMac and the iPod.
That great band and great brands have come together for the iTunes commercial seems natural given the product, which is actually a service, (legal) music downloads. It also reflectsjust how fast the mp3 revolution has forever impacted the music business. Who would have thought a band like U2 would ever appear acommercial of any kind, anywhere, even as recently as six months ago, if ever?
RELATED LINKS
Apple iTunes Commercials Featuring U2
Newsday Entertainment News Item on U2-Apple Commercial
Posted by at October 15, 2004 10:54 PM
