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Selling To An Audience:

In the first ever Apple iPhone commercial that came out in 2007, the Apple company

alongside AT&T worked on promoting its latest piece of technology, the iPhone.    Apple  

presented  a  new  kind  of  phone,  introducing  the  advanced  features  it  had  to  offer.  The  only  

similar  piece  of  technology  to  it  out  at  the  time  was  the  iPod.  Before  this  revolutionary  

product  phones  had  plastic  keyboards  and  basic  features  like  calling,  texting,  and  a  

rudimentary  mobile  version  of  the  Internet.  Apple  aimed  to  show  its  audience  that  iPhone  

was  the  only  of  its  kind,  and  ultimately  persuade  them  into  buying  it.  This  commercial  was  

directed  to  attracting  affluent  consumers  in  their  early  thirties  and  turning  them  into  

costumers.  Apple  reached  out  to  this  specific  audience  and  connected  with  them  using  four  

instances.    

The  commercial  begins  set  to  grab  the  audience  with  a  visual  of  a  simple  black  

background,  and  a  hand  holding  the  iPhone  face  up,  which  the  narrator  first  refers  to  as  an  

iPod.  This  image  manipulates  the  audience  into  feeling  like  they  are  holding  the  phone  

themselves.  Apple  does  this  to  set  a  personal  intimate  feel  for  the  audience.    

The  first  feature  presented  to  the  audience  is  the  iPod  application.  The  hand  slides  

down  through  a  list  of  music  albums,  and  pauses  for  a  few  seconds  on  two  specific  albums.  

The  first  album  was  Automatic  for  the  People  released  in  1992  by  the  alternative  rock  band  

R.E.M,  and  the  second  album  The  Very  Best  of  Elvis  Costello  by  Elvis  Costello,  came  out  in  

1999.    They  were  both  extremely  well  known  albums  that  most  of  the  80-­‐90’s  generation  

owned  at  the  time.  Continuing,  the  hand  then  turns  the  phone  over  horizontally,  and  what  
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was  once  a  list  of  album  names  now  becomes  a  collection  of  album  covers.  Introducing  a  

new  experience  when  going  through  your  music.  The  first  album  cover  exposed  to  the  

audience  is  Beck’s  album,  The  Information.  Beck  Hansen  is  an  America  musician  who  

became  popular  with  the  release  of  his  hit  single  “Loser”  in  1994.  At  the  time  of  the  release  

of  the  commercial,  The  Information  was  his  latest  album  out,  released  in  2006.  Teenagers  

that  listened  to  Beck  when  he  was  popular,  or  to  the  previous  albums  mentioned,  were  in  

2007  watching  this  commercial  in  their  early  thirties.  This  targeted  audience  would  most  

likely  have  had  or  wanted  Beck’s  newest  album  The  Information,  or  any  of  the  previewed  

albums  on  their  iPods,  or  what  could  be  their  phones.  Apple  had  strategically  chosen  these  

specific  albums  to  build  the  personal  connection  with  this  audience.  This  strategy  gives  the  

audience  a  sense  of  nostalgia  creating  a  stronger  connection  between  them  and  the  phone.  

Apple  wants  them  thinking  if  they  bought  this  phone,  they  would  be  able  to  download,  

listen,  and  go  through  all  their  favorite  music.      

Apple  continues  to  reel  in  this  specific  audience  when  introducing  the  next  feature,  

the  “Movie”  application.  The  commercial  moves  along  and  the  hand  proceeds  by  scanning  

through  a  collection  of  movies.  The  audience  at  this  moment  catches  a  glimpse  of  the  titles  

of  two  T.V  shows,  Heroes  and  The  Office,  watched  predominantly  by  an  older  crowd.      Both  

shows  were  released  around  2005-­‐2006,  only  a  year  before  the  iPhone  commercial  came  

out.  Both  these  shows  were  trending  in  2007,  making  it  likely  that  the  targeted  people  in  

this  audience  were  into  these  shows.  Apple  is  giving  their  aimed  audience,  the  well-­‐off  

thirty  year  olds  who  watch  these  T.V  shows  a  chance  to  envision  themselves  owning  a  

phone  that  allows  them  to  hold  all  their  favorite  shows.    
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    As  the  commercial  progresses  the  finger  eventually  decides  on  a  movie.  A  clip  of  the  

movie  Zoo  Lander  that  came  out  in  2001  is  played  for  a  few  seconds.  This  same  audience  

that  were  teenagers  in  1994  listening  to  Beck,  were  in  2001  young  adults  likely  watching  

this  popular  comedy  in  theaters.  This  increases  the  relationship  between  audience  and  

phone.  Now  the  phone  is  also  able  to  provide  them  with  movies  they  love  and  can  watch  

anywhere.  Choosing  to  feature  a  comedy  is  aimed  at  trying  to  make  the  audience  smile  and  

in  a  state  of  mind  where  one  is  more  inclined  to  buy  a  product.  At  this  moment  the  

audience  begins  to  really  get  the  feel  that  this  product  is  relatable  and  meant  for  them.      

Moving  forward  in  the  commercial,  the  hand  navigating  the  phone  introduces  the  

“Photo”  application.  It  clicks  on  a  little  square  titled  “photos”,  which  then  converts  into  a  

space  that  holds  a  collection  of  different  photo  albums.  Unlike  other  phones,  the  iPhone  

could  not  only  hold  and  store  a  great  amount  of  high  quality  pictures,  but  also  organize  

them  into  albums.  The  hand  taps  on  an  album  titled  “Italy”.    Inside  this  album  is  an  entire  

documented  trip.  The  finger  picks  one  of  the  pictures  and  easily  slides  his  finger  in  a  swift  

left  motion  to  go  from  picture  to  picture,  almost  like  slide  show.  What  the  audience  would  

start  to  observe  is  these  pictures  of  a  little  redhead  boy  photographed  around  Italy.  This  

commercial  being  geared  toward  working  affluent  thirty  year  olds,  that  have  started  a  

family  and  have  young  children,  would  naturally  relate  to  this  Italy  album.  The  message  is  

that  the  pictures  of  this  little  boy  could  relate  to  the  audience’s  pictures  of  their  little  kids  

that  they  documented  on  their  family  trips.  This  is  intended  to  make  the  audience  feel  like  

this  is  a  phone  designed  for  their  lifestyle.  These  people  would  want  pictures  of  their  kids  

on  a  family  trip  on  their  phones  to  show  to  their  friends  and  coworkers.  Apple  wants  this  

audience  that  travel  with  their  families  to  buy  their  product,  because  people  who  can  afford  
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to  travel  to  a  place  like  Italy  with  a  whole  family,  can  afford  the  iPhone.  Apple  also  reaches  

out  to  an  audience  with  a  family  because  eventually  these  parents  will  need  to  buy  phones  

for  their  children  as  they  get  older,  creating  another  generation  of  costumers  that  will  

eventually  also  need  a  cellular  plan.  Apple  wanted  to  create  families  and  generations  of  

Apple/iPhone  supporters.    

  The  big  surprise  at  the  end,  meant  to  shock  the  audience  is  the  actor  receives  an  

incoming  phone  call.  The  point  is  to  relay  the  message  that  this  is  not  an  iPod;  it’s  actually  a  

phone.    This  targeted  thirty  year-­‐old  demographic  is  a  social  one  with  friends  and  

coworkers  that  receive  phone  calls  on  a  daily  basis.  To  these  people,  Apple  communicates  

the  possibility  of  having  all  these  features  on  their  not  iPod,  but  phones.  A  phone  that  is  

able  to  do  what  any  computer  or  iPod  can  do,  and  beyond  what  any  other  phone  is  capable  

of.  Something  these  socialites  use  all  day  and  have  with  them  at  all  times.  This  is  a  costumer  

that  would  show  off  their  phone  to  all  their  friends  and  coworkers  who  might  then  also  

become  costumers.    

  Apple,  like  any  other  company  attempted  to  sell  their  product  through  this  

commercial  and  make  sales.  The  way  Apple  had  approached  this,  is  they  made  a  marketing  

strategy  of  selling  to  a  certain  audience.  This  audience  consisted  of  trendsetting  people  in  

their  early  thirties  who  are  well  off,  had  jobs  and  families.  They  wanted  this  audience  

buying  their  product  because  they  were  the  people  they  wanted  representing  their  brand.  

These  people  were  the  ones  most  likely  able  to  afford  their  product  and  utilize  its  abilities,  

as  well  as  ones  who  would  help  build  their  costumer  base.  Apple  connects  with  this  

audience  using  four  representations  of  their  lives,  to  ultimately  have  persuaded  them  into  

becoming  iPhone  owners.    

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Work Cited

"IPhone Commercials." YouTube. Apple. YouTube, 06 June 2007. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.