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New iPhone 6 Advertising Campaign From Apple Puts The Focus On Our Creativity, Not Theirs

This article is more than 8 years old.

Apple won a Grand Prix at Cannes with an outdoor campaign called "Shot On iPhone 6." It is indeed a creative outdoor campaign deserving of the honors, but calling it a "creative campaign" misses the entire point. The "creativity" of this campaign is not about Apple's creativity, it's about ours.

Let's start with the campaign itself.

Here are my three favorite films from the "Shot On iPhone 6" TV campaign:

Simple, clean, compelling little product demos.

Apple also created a "World Gallery" where all of the images and videos shot on an iPhone 6 are housed.

Now, why is this campaign great?

It makes no claims about Apple.

By focusing on actual films and images created by actual people, Apple avoids making any gratuitous and tired claims about the number of pixels the camera delivers, how cool the slow motion feature is, or how epic a landscape can be.

The campaign doesn't try to convince us of anything, yet convinces us of everything at the same time. It shows us what others have done with the iPhone 6, credits each creator, and gets out.

That's powerful.

The campaign is for the people, by the people.

It would have been tempting for Apple to go halfway with this campaign and agree to use only the iPhone 6, but put it in the hands of professional photographers and videographers. Not unlike what they did in partnership with the TV show "Modern Family" in February, where an entire show was shot with an iPhone 6 (here's the behind the scenes video of that).

It would have been tempting because it's easier, it puts Apple in control, and the brand could still say that the spectacular images and films were "shot on iPhone 6."

But they didn't with this new campaign. They took the time and effort to find existing images and films shot by real people on iPhone 6. It was undoubtedly harder and riskier, but at the same time reeking with substance and authenticity. All Apple does here, in effect, is hero its customer's creations.

And that's where we see glimmers of Apple's soul.

Apple celebrates the creators it inspires.

Ever since the "Think Different" campaign from the Steve Job days, Apple has crafted its brand out of the substance of inspiration. Not just inspiring creativity, as a human value, which they also do sometimes. But inspiring all of us to be more creative ourselves using Apple products.

To witness these user-generated images and films within Apple's iPhone 6 official ad campaign is to see the deference Apple holds for its users. It's not about what we can do (Apple), it's about what you can do with Apple products. It's not about our creativity, its about yours.

That, my friends, is the blinding light that is Apple's soul when Apple is at its best. Though the brand is considered a "creative brand," it has never really been about Apple's creativity. It has always been about ours.

To Apple, anyone can take a video of a slow moving caterpillar, if she allows herself to think of it first. Anyone can shoot a video of a swirling and dancing sea of birds, if he is lucky enough to be presented with one and has an iPhone 6 on hand. Anyone can stand at the back of a train and shoot its progress from one stop to another, if she believes that the result may be beautiful.

With this campaign, Apple is telling us to go all Nike on our creativity. We can all do it, if properly equipped.

With this campaign, Apple wisely takes a back seat to its users - no, to its creators - and lets their wonderful creative acts represent the effects of Apple products (in this case the iPhone 6) and the effects of the larger Apple brand.

And we all think a little different as a result.

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