New Apple ads flop in viewer test

Bloomberg News

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc.’s newest TV commercials, showing consumers enjoying its products while an actor reads the company’s corporate philosophy, are a flop compared with earlier ads from the maker of iPhones and iPads.

The company’s latest ad, which began airing June 10, has earned the lowest score of 26 Apple TV ads in the past year, according to Ace Metrix Inc., a consulting firm that analyzes the effectiveness of TV ads through surveys of at least 500 TV viewers.

The ad scored 489 on the company’s scoring system, below an industry average of 542 and far below past iconic Apple campaigns that often topped 700.

The 60-second commercial, which shows kids in school with iPads as a voice declares the company’s product- design goals, underlines a strategic advertising shift at Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple. The company is moving away from upbeat ads promoting product features toward ones that identify it as a reliable provider of products that combine quality, innovation and utility.

Since May, Samsung has had eight ads that scored an average of over 600, according to Ace Metrix.