iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Friday, October 26, 2007
News Category: iPod

A new TV advertisement for the iPod touch, slated to debut this Sunday, is based on a fan commercial created by 18-year-old English student Nick Haley. Haley’s original commercial is set to the song “Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex” by the Brazilian band CSS and showcases the player’s music, videos, photos, Safari, and iTunes abilities. Haley uploaded the 30-second spot to YouTube, where it was spotted by Apple marketing employees, who asked TBWA/Chiat/Day employees working on the Apple account to contact Haley about producing a more professional version of the commercial. TBWA emailed Haley, saying, “We represent Apple and we’ve seen what you have produced and we’d like a chat with you.” Haley added, “This seemed ridiculous and far-fetched. My initial reaction was, someone wanted to steal it.”

Apparently little has been changed in the new version, which features more polished editing and has been shot in HD. Chairman and chief creative officer at TBWA Worldwide Lee Clow said, “we didn’t mess with his content” because “it has a charm to it, a youthful fun.” “My input was totally respected,” said Haley, stating that the agency’s efforts are “pretty similar” to his own. When asked what it means if consumers like him are willing to make commercials, Haley said, “That’s the whole point of advertising; it needs to get to the user,” adding, “If you get the user to make the ads, who better?”