Ads you can feel! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Apple has a track record of excellence with just about every campaign, and the iPod series is no exception. Here's proof that it's a smashing success: I've been so jaded with what passes for "music" these days that I've actively avoided anything "new" for a couple of years now. Including U2, who I used to love, until Bono became convinced he's the second coming of the messiah. Anyway, it is through the iPod ads that I've had that catchy "Vertigo" tune incised into my consciousness (Hola! Donde Esta?). And against my will, too. That's effective advertising.

And it's not just having the star power of this legendary band that makes these ads jump off the screen. The series actually started with silhouetted dancers doing their gyrating moves against a saturated color backdrop, an iPod draped around their necks, and samples of their favorite music blaring in the audio. In the U2 spot, they got the "contrast" toned down so you could actually make out their faces. Still, the unmistakably distinctive production wins half the battle: every time you see these ads, you KNOW who it is, and what the product is. The energy of the spots might actually be greater than that of the music that's pumped out of the product, depending on your musical tastes.

It's catchy, it's exciting, it's powerful, and it's part of a master marketing plan. That goes for U2, too... I learned that they refused money for appearing in this spot, knowing that the success of the iPod and the exposure of this hit tune would remunerate them during their upcoming tour. Hmmm... and Bono's lobbying for Director of the World Bank, too... maybe he is a divine entity after all.