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Apple has a great new spot supporting a single feature of its iPhone X, Face ID Unlock. That is, you can simply look at your phone and it unlocks. No buttons to press, no numerical codes to enter. You just look at it. The creative idea for the spot is powerful and the execution is fun and engaging. But is it compelling enough to warrant the increased price? Let's take a look.
The creative idea: unlock the world.
What I love about this piece of communication is its singular focus. We start with the seemingly magical unlocking of a phone with a simple gaze and then the real magic begins. Lockers unlock, gym doors unlock, car trunks unlock, even a dude's heavy-duty punk chain unlocks at the end. All to the sound of over-the-top, fantastic music that helps dramatize and punch up every unlocking moment.
The talent does a great job of looking like an everyday teenager in an everyday school. And quickly becomes accustomed to her newfound ability to snap her head towards anything locked and unlock it with her new superpower, her face.
The point is clearly made that it's cool to unlock something with your face - in this case a phone. The creatives and production house should be commended for bringing this strategy to life so well.
But is the strategy behind all this creative goodness compelling?
Is Face ID Unlock worth $300?
Whomever developed the strategy for this ad must have gone through the following calculation. The iPhone X is $300 more than a similarly sized iPhone 8. As such, whatever feature we choose to communicate in this ad must get prospective consumers to conclude, "That's totally worth $300 more."
Is it? I don't know.
Let's look at how we unlock the iPhone 8 and see if avoiding that method with the iPhone X is worth $300. With the 8, you place your thumb on the home button and poof, the phone unlocks. So the X eliminates pressing your thumb on the home button.
$300 for that?
To be fair, Apple has run other ads focusing on other features. One on the Portrait Lighting feature, another on how you can Animoji Yourself, and others with a compilation of features. I suspect they are hoping that the pool effect of these TV spots - along with everything else they're doing - will add up to $300 for consumers.
Still, as well done as the "Unlock" ad shown above is, and as epic as it is, I wonder if it might backfire on Apple. The fact it is so epic and so big may make it appear to consumers that Apple is putting all its chips on Face ID Unlock. Those not seeing the other ads are more likely to wonder, "Really? Is that it?"
The marketing department in any company sees all the ads. That doesn't mean consumers do.
How do you focus your advertising with a product that can do anything?
I sympathize with Apple. I really do. They've got this incredible product - the iPhone X - that can do so many things and do them all incredibly well. Meanwhile, for a TV spot to be any good it must focus on a singular message. Good on Apple for creating a TV spot that focuses on a single feature. It truly is a great spot.
But is focusing on features the right strategy? Personally, I find the Portrait Lighting feature mildly compelling, but that's also available in the iPhone 8. The Face ID Unlock feature is unique to iPhone X, but again is that worth $300 alone? And the Animoji Yourself feature? I'll let you draw your own conclusions on that one.
I don't believe focusing on individual features, epically, matches the overall epicness of the iPhone X product.
In fact, knowing Apple I'd wager the product is, in fact, worth the extra $300. I'm just not seeing that value in the communications yet.
