Apple's iPhone ads are great at appealing to youngsters
But they're really confusing and alienating everyone else
By Peter Clark, Marketing Factbook
Friday August 24, 2018
Apple is well known for its powerful advertising. Dating back to the 1984 Super Bowl ad, the Think Different campaign of the 1990s, and the Get a Mac campaign of the 2000s, the company's ads have been hailed as revolutionary. But Apple's most recent iPhone ads are a big departure in both tone and focus.
When asked if the ads inspired participants to purchase an iPhone in the future, scores again followed brand loyalties. A whopping 78% of Gen Z and 86% of Boomer iOS customers were more likely to consider purchasing a new iPhone, versus only 36% of Gen Z and 34% of Boomer Android customers. (Graphic: Business Wire)
To measure the impact the ads have on consumer sentiment and preference, UserTesting, the leading on-demand human insights platform, today published the 2018 CX Study: Apple iPhone Ads. The report captures the reactions of 200 iPhone (iOS) and Android customers - broken into Gen Z (18-25) versus Baby Boomers (55+) age groups - to three recent iPhone ads: Sticker Fight, Unlock, and Fly Market.
Among the key findings from the report:
- iPhone ads are designed for young people / kids. Many iOS and Android customers in the Boomer age group felt the ads weren't aimed at them, but rather at a much younger audience - possibly even younger than Gen Z. Boomers called them "silly" and "haotic." Even Android customers in the Gen Z age group were more open to the ad content.
- Brand loyalty starts - at birth?
Interest in the iPhone ads or in purchasing an iPhone after viewing an ad strictly followed brand loyalties. Android customers of any age were less likely to be interested in the iPhone ads and features, while iOS customers across age groups showed significantly more interest. Most customers expressed a strong preference for the devices they currently own. For Boomers, the ads conjured up science fiction fears. Apple's face recognition technology created discomfort and concerns with privacy and security among many older customers. For some, it conjured up fears like being tracked by ads on the subway.
"The new iPhone ads feature confusing situations, fast cuts, and saturated colors. There's no question that Apple is thinking different again, but this time it's not clear what the company is intending," said Michael Mace, Vice President of Product Marketing at UserTesting. "Apple's age-based approach to iPhone marketing appears to be paying off. In a 2018 survey, Piper Jaffray found 84% of US teens expect to get an iPhone as their next phone, up from 65% in 2014. Because smartphone brand loyalty starts early and is difficult to change, it's likely that Apple is actually trying to appeal to people even younger than those in this CX study: teens and pre-teens."
A copy of the full 2018 CX Study: Apple iPhone Ads, including charts, has been made available for free download at: https://info.usertesting.com
