Apple Now Producing TV Ads In-House Instead Of Relying On Longtime Collaborator
June 5, 2014
Apple has shifted to creating its TV ads in-house and away from relying on TBWA\Chiat\Day, its longtime advertising collaborator, according to a new report by Bloomberg.
The company's internal advertising team is said to include at least two people hired from Media Arts Lab, a TBWA unit that only serves Apple. There's Tyler Whisnand, who was taken in to lead Apple's creative team, and there's David Taylor, a music director.
"The shift to more in-house campaigns shows that Apple, grappling with slower demand after years of surging growth, is seeking a fresh approach to regain advertising as one of its key competitive advantages," Bloomberg notes.
The switch to producing ads in-house came a few months after Phil Schiller, head of marketing at Apple, considered ending the company's partnership with Media Arts Lab in January 2013, as evidenced by an email disclosed during a patent trial between Apple and Samsung.
The effectiveness of that partnership reportedly declined after the death of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2011, as Media Arts Labs' celebrity-laden Siri ads and Genius TV spots were widely criticized.
As for Apple's internal advertising team, its outputs have been generally well-received, including last year's iPad Air "Pencil" ad narrated by Bryan Cranston and this year's "Your Verse" ad featuring a voiceover speech by Robin Williams from "Dead Poets Society."
