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!



  1. god says:

    Tee hee.

  2. Raff says:

    Great idea.. and nice job…

  3. There goes his university career….. 😀

  4. Greg Allen says:

    Native ability is way over-rated.

    When I worked in advertising, I just HATED it when companies would come to us with some amateur’s work.

    95% of the time, we’d waste more time trying to get it to work, than it would have taken for a trained professional do it from the ground-up.

    But there is that 5%, and this kid seems to be it.

  5. Bob Haldeman says:

    I wonder if Apple likes this guy’s iPhone commercial:

  6. JFStan says:

    You know, many companies would have issued a C&D or just sued him, but Apple did the opposite and commended (and hired) this guy. If other companies had similar attitudes towards user generated content, they wouldn’t come off as such a$$wipes.

  7. erik says:

    Just as we have Godwin’s Law for political cults – I think we should add Job’s Law for dweebs like #6 – who daren’t pass up an opportunity to wander OT to satisfy his Apple hangups.

  8. erik says:

    Meanwhile, here’s a guy who tried a bit more overtly on behalf of Kellogg’s Caramel Nut Crunch:

    To no avail, I hope.

  9. J says:

    #4 Greg

    95% of the stuff coming out of and created by the advertising agencies is crap any way so what is the difference? You should ask yourself, Is this kid a genius or does he just have a keen mimic ability?

    #7 JFStan

    Any person at any company that would issue a C&D should be fired. The value of the free advertising is huge. Unless the people running the “many companies” are stupid, I will give you that one, they would do just what Apple did. If not at least secure the rights to the music to keep the RIAA from stopping it.

  10. Angel H. Wong says:

    #10

    “The value of the free advertising is huge.”

    The thing is, these people want free advertising on their terms, just look at the idiots at Paramount suing YouTube.

  11. MikeN says:

    Same with the studios that sued companies for selling edited versions of their movies. Had to be on their terms, or no sale. That actually took money away from the studios!

  12. Matthew says:

    Here’s another user created ipod ad for the mini very much in the style of time.

  13. J says:

    #11

    What you are describing is very different. That isn’t advertising per se. It is out and out theft of sellable content.

    What this kid did is not even in the same ball park from Apples perspective. Apple isn’t in the business of selling pictures or animations of their iPods that are choreographed to music. Conversely lol they do precisely what this kid did. They use pictures and animations of their iPod choreographed to music to sell iPods. Paramount on the other hand is in the business of selling the content that people are posting for free on You Tube.

  14. Ray says:

    Dvorak, why is it so hard to view your embedded youtube vids? I have tried them from several PCs at work and home and I end up having to go directly to youtube to view them.

    keep up the good work!

  15. Pablo says:

    No matter how we want to twist it, this kid has got talents, showing such
    greatness for Ipod ads!


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