Apple’s iTunes ad helps Dylan top charts again

Bob Dylan’s new album “Modern Times” hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts thanks in part to Apple’s iTunes TV commercial featuring the legendary singer. Advertising Age reports: “The iTunes spot wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill celebrity-endorsement deal in which a big brand signs a big check to tap into the equity of a big star. This one flipped the formula, with the all-powerful Apple brand giving Mr. Dylan access to younger demographics and helping propel his sales to places they hadn’t been since the Ford administration. ‘The iTunes tie-in definitely did more for Bob than it did for [Apple], making him seem younger, cooler and more progressive,’ said M.T. Carney, partner at Naked Communications in New York.”