Apple Uses a Big Name in Hopes of a Big Profit
Music consumption has made many changes over the years, from records on record players in the 1950s, 8-tracks, cassette tapes in walkmans in the 1980s, CDs, music downloads onto IPods and MP3 players in the early 2000s, and recently streaming. Specifically, in the last few years streaming has dominated the way music is consumed around the world. In 2015, Apple launched Apple Music after they made the decision to improve their options that allow customers to listen to music on their cellphones and other devices. This came after the major success of streaming music on other platforms such as Spotify, Pandora, Tidal, etc. At the time Apple’s only option of listening to music was to purchase songs off of ITunes and download them. In light of this new way of listening to music, Apple created their own streaming service to be in competition with these companies. In the year 2016, one of the biggest artists on the charts was Taylor Swift, who had previously been completely open about her negative views on the use of streaming music. Taylor Swift is a celebrity that children all the way up to elders can identify, this creates a broad demographic for the commercial. Apple uses an extremely recognizable and popular global superstar to promote their new service. By hiring Taylor Swift to do an endorsement, the commercial appeals to the target audience and uses ethos to persuade the audience that if she approves of the streaming service above all others you should as well
At the time this commercial aired, Taylor Swift was quite possibly one the most successful and popular musicians. She had five albums, four world tours, and plenty of experience in the industry under her belt. She could certainly be labeled as a global superstar. It’s no surprise that a brand as big as Apple would want to hire her for an endorsement. Taylor had already racked up over 90 million Instagram followers, making her the most followed on the platform, and was one of the top followed people on Twitter as well. Her album “1989” (2014) gained her the Grammy award in 2016 for “Album of The Year.” In the wake of her recent success, this made Taylor the perfect celebrity for Apple to partner up with. It was quite a shocker to the public because of Taylor Swift’s opposing views about streaming services that she expressed in a letter to Apple just a year before when the service was launched. The partnership created quite the publicity, which was was great for the sales of Apple Music.
Endorsements are commonly used in commercials because of the tremendous amount of sales and the loyalty that celebrities and their fan base bring. The celebrities are technically brands themselves as well; they are marketed from the time of their first movie, song, campaign, etc. Endorsements can bring a significant increase in sales almost immediately after an advertisement is released. However, they do need to be done carefully because different celebrities will bring different target audiences.However, Taylor Swift has a broad demographic because people of all ages know and recognize her for the entertainer she is. She was an excellent choice for Apple Music’s campaign because the service is available for anyone, and is not directed to any specific age category. To specifically appeal to the younger audience though, Taylor Swift is listening to rapper Drake’s song “Jumpman” in the video, Drake was also extremely popular amongst teenagers and young adults in 2016 due to his album “Views”. The use of an endorsement was successful to appeal to the target audience Apple Music has created for themselves because the commercial has now obtained over twenty million views on YouTube.
The humor in the video made the commercial memorable as well. After running on the treadmill for some time, Taylor trips on her own feet and falls off the treadmill, continuing to sing along to the Drake song. The fall itself was humorous, and the fact that Taylor Swift was rapping along to every word of a Drake song, even after her fall. The trip catches the viewer’s attention because it was unexpected, and it is an easy way to remember the commercial and the brand itself. This is the main reason why humor is used in advertising, so that the commercial will grasp the audience’s attention and leave an impression on people. The humor also creates a positive outlook on the brand making people wish to purchase the product or service they are selling. This is why it is commonly used among marketers. Additionally, what makes this commercial in particular even more funny, is that Taylor Swift is the one who takes the fall. Apple chose to have Taylor take the fall specifically because she is a well-known figure and has the power to get people talking. The commercial seems light hearted and fun, which is exactly what Apple wanted.
Music used in the commercial added to the lighthearted feel because of the up-beat tempo of the song. Music has been known to completely transform an individual’s emotions, so the use of music in advertisements is to make the ad more memorable and seem more creative to the viewer. If they had made the choice not to include music, the audience would have been confused because music is the service that is being offered in the commercial. In the same way, if the music featured would have been slow then the commercial wouldn’t have had the same effect. The slow music would have placed a somber tone in the commercial which would not have been beneficial to the sales of the service. The goal was to make streaming with Apple Music seem fun, so using an upbeat track like “Jumpman” made the most sense. Using Taylor Swift, who makes primarily upbeat music as well adds to the fun aesthetic placed throughout the advertisement.
The endorsement that Apple Music used was ultimately successful because of its views that it obtained since its release and the conversation it created. Both the views and conversation helped with the marketing of the product at hand, being Apple Music. The commercial appealed to the target audience which could be anyone, but was specifically the younger audience who primarily listen to mainstream pop music artists such as Taylor Swift and popular rappers like Drake. It was a memorable commercial because of the massive endorsement deal with Taylor Swift, upbeat music played in the background, and loads of humor throughout the video such as the fall and dramatic rapping done by Taylor herself. Without these elements, the video would probably not be as successful as it turned out to be.
Sources:
