Apple took advantage of Coldplay’s appearance on Saturday Night Live this week to air the first of what appears to be a new style of iTunes commercials.
The 30-second spot, which is a vast departure from the company’s cartoon-like silhouette ads, features Coldplay performing their new single “Speed of Sound” in order to promote the band’s new album, X&Y, on the iTunes Music Store. It is not clear whether the commercial was created from original footage or if it was taken from Coldplay’s music video for the song, which has yet to debut on the band’s website, MTV, or on iTunes. The commercial ends with “Coldplay’s new album. Plus exclusive tracks on iTunes.” followed by the Apple logo and “iTunes.com.”
Unsurprisingly, Apple is heavily promoting the much-anticipated X&Y on the iTunes Music Store. “Pre-order Coldplay’s X&Y now and enjoy two exclusive tracks when the album is available for download June 7 (you’ll receive an email confirming the album’s availability),” Apple says. “Pre-ordering the album is the only way to get the exclusive bonus tracks ‘Proof’ and ‘Things I Don’t Understand.’” It is not known if Apple’s Coldplay/iTunes commercial was a one time deal to utilize the band’s SNL appearance or if it was simply the first of several ads to come featuring other artists.
The ad has yet to be made available for viewing on Apple’s website as of this posting.