The words Apple, creative, and advertising often go hand in hand.
Think back to the iconic “1984” Super Bowl ad, the beautifully simple “Think Different” campaign, or even the colorful and exciting iPod ads from the early 2000's. All were made by ad agency TBWA.
But last year Apple started building up its own in-house advertising agency to work on campaigns after almost firing TBWAMedia Arts Lab.
Unfortunately, the in-house agency doesn't seem to be measuring up, Bloomberg reports. According to data gathered by Ace Metrix, Apple's own ads aren't nearly as engaging and entertaining as TBWA's ads, as based on Ace Metrix's proprietary ad-ranking score.
The company interviews consumers about TV commercials and asks them to rate the spots based on characteristics like persuasiveness, watchability, and product information.
Looking at campaigns from the last few months, the two Apple ads with the highest Ace Scores come from TBWA. The ad with the highest rating was the iPhone spot "Powerful" featuring a cover of the Pixie's song "Gigantic." Right behind that is the heartwarming holiday ad "Misunderstood." Both show the amazing things you can do with an iPhone, from measuring your heart rate to filming and creating your own movie.
Here's a look at TBWA's high-ranking spots:
Right behind these two spots is one of the company's most recent in-house ads, "Strength." Set to the song "Chicken Fat," a tune originally used by John F. Kennedy for his Presidential Fitness Program, the ad also shows off some cool things you can do with your iPhone, like track how far you run or how to do the perfect push-up. But apparently it isn't quite as inspiring as the two previous ads.
Here's a look at Apple's own "Strength" ad:
Even though one of Apple's ads had a relatively high viewer score from Ace Metrix, Bloomberg shows that most of the company's recent ads (including spots from the Verse campaign) have polled significantly less favorably. Clearly, something isn't working.
Advertising consultant Rob Siltanen, who wrote the copy for Apple's "Here's To The Crazy Ones" ad, told Bloomberg that it's never a good idea for a company to have its own people putting the creative content together.
"There's a truism out there that applies: 'The lawyer who represents -- For more information read the original article here.
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The new version of Android, Android L, has been available for developers to test since last week's I/O developer conference. Since that time, some hidden features have surfaced.
The biggest discovery yet could soon let Android users with Google Voice accounts make free phone calls and receive voicemails all through Google Hangouts.
Basically, this means Android users don't need to purchase an expensive data plan, as their (free) Google Voice account will be able to send and receive calls over Wi-Fi — with voicemail included.
For those looking to easily trim down their monthly phone bills, this could be a huge feature.
Here's the screenshot prompting users to "Migrate Google Voice to Hangouts."
Reddit user dude2k5 first discovered evidence of the Voice and Hangouts integration, using the debug menu to reveal the hidden prompt.
It's important to note that screenshots can be faked, but AndroidPolice recently reported similar traces of Google Voice and Hangouts integration, which leads us to believe this could eventually be the real deal. Apple is also introducing a similar Wi-Fi feature in iOS 8, which will launch later this year.
Google could still choose to limit the extent of the migration or even prevent users from being able to make phone calls when they officially release Android L later this year, but the inclusion of voicemail suggests a complete migration for those users.
Don't forget to check out our complete breakdown of Android L's new features.
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Thanks to a new breed of smart parking meters, cars that save at the pump will also save at the parking spot.
Starting today, smart parking meters in Madrid will charge higher rates for less efficient vehicles, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
Drivers will punch their license plate numbers into a pad on the device, which will then check what sort of vehicle that number matches with in Spain's equivalent of the DMV. Fuel efficiency and clean emissions will get you a discount of as much as 20%; older and diesel vehicles will face a surcharge, also up to 20%, Bloomberg says.
The meters will also charge extra for drivers looking to park on already-crowded streets. Networked together, the meters will collectively know which streets have more room, and will try to push motorists in those directions, Bloomberg says.
Smart parking meters aren't an entirely new concept, however. Madrid has been experimenting with the idea since 2006, Bloomberg writes. And after a successful test in the Bronx last year, drivers in New York City will be able to pay for public parking via smartphone starting early next year, the New York Daily News reports.
SEE ALSO: Boston is setting up 'smart benches' in parks across the city
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George Aldrich has been working with NASA for nearly 40 years doing one job: he smells things that are about to go to space. Seriously. Aldrich uses his nose to its full potential, sniffing everything around him to give NASA a report on what is allowed to go to space and what is not.
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