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Comment by cromka | Hacker News Reader

The product ad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkrYiZ_g9tw) is amazing, honestly, and I can't think of any other brand that has this kind of "feeling". Most other just copy this style, like Google or Microsoft, but they just don't have the "coolness". And I am not saying Apple is the ultimate cool, just that from all big tech, they're consistently the best of them.

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Production values are high but I don't see how this is any good as an advertisement. This family is not aspirational. They're arguing and sniping at each other like a sitcom with no laugh track. The only nice thing about them is their house. Realistic, maybe, but realism doesn't make me want the product.

> Realistic, maybe, but realism doesn't make me want the product.

Relatable is probably what they are going for here.

Essentially the angle they seem to be going for is...have you got a busy household with lots going on like these guys? Look how much our new product can help make everything a bit easier/bit better.

Personally I would take an ad with a 'relatable' family over an 'aspirational' one, but I do take your point - the level of snark in that ad is pretty high.

(Also - disclaimer...my household reality is nothing like as frantic as shown, but I deliberate seek to have day to day family live running at a much slower pace than a lot of people seem to want to/aspire to)

Funny, I had the opposite reaction to the ad. The whole sequence felt forced, and if these are the best use cases they could come up with (looking up recipes, using findmy, asking for factoids, checking calendars) theres very little reason why someone would opt for this vs just using their phone.

$300 is a compelling price, but I have a hard time imaging this being successful.

>asking for factoids

Define "factoid"

> A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual

Ok and at no point did the person in it ask for inaccurate information.

That's the joke...

The user in the commercial never asked for incorrect information.

whoooosh

No, you misused a word and are pretending that you are using it jokingly. Be honest for once in your life.

Do you work for their marketing department?

This commercial fell completely flat for me. It's cringe like they're trying to be a sitcom, but all the jokes miss. It's not cool or aspirational. I don't leave thinking I need this new thing in my kitchen.

> Do you work for their marketing department?

OMG seriously?

the ad did a good job of displaying all the features of the new device, of course it left out the parts I would have liked as a parent who's already dealt with these types of devices. I mean apple had the benefit of 20/20 vision and could have looked into blocking little kids from just going to it to watch YouTube. It could have also solved the issue that dad's around the world would have united against: locking who gets to set the thermostat.

that said, also what's with the kids being disrespectful, untruthful, dismissive, and patronizing (in that order) to their parents...I bet these kids were a joy to be around as toddlers and will continue to be so as "formed" adults

The snarkiness is just typical American ad style, like 80% of ads are like this, even simple three sentence exchanges. It's actually quite fascinating, because it stands out from any other culture's advertising I know.

I think it was started by the American sitcom culture, the sharp witted, but also confrontational, borderline aggressive comebacks. I am not an expert but I feel like Cheers might have pioneered it?

I came here to say that I hated the ad.

It manages to show the product’s features but that’s about it.

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