The idea that you do not have to be a professional to create a good commercial is becoming widespread, a trend known as consumer-generated content. Leave it to Apple to – paraphrasing the company’s old slogan – think differently.
A student at the University of Leeds, Nick Haley, used his Mac to make a commercial for the iPod Touch. Put it up on YouTube and got a couple thousand views. One of them from someone at Apple’s ad agency.
Here’s his original video
“I was sitting on the bus and I got this e-mail on my phone,” Haley, a native of Warwick, England, said last week in an interview from the University of Leeds, where he is a first-year student.
The message said, ” ‘We represent Apple, and we’ve seen what you have produced and we’d like a chat with you,’ ” Haley recalled. “This seemed ridiculous and far-fetched. My initial reaction was, someone wanted to steal it.”
He was soon convinced that the message was real and traveled to Los Angeles this month, his first visit to the United States, to work on a broadcast-ready version of his spot.
The commercial based on Haley’s spot was seen during American football games Sunday afternoon and on shows that night, including “Desperate Housewives” and Game 4 of the World Series. It will also be shown in Europe and Japan.
Rock on, Nick!
