14 DAY TRIAL // As is typical for Apple, while the Apple TV has seen a lot of press and hype, it has not really been advertised the way new products usually are. Starting yesterday, Apple has discreetly begun airing an Apple TV commercial on network and cable TV.
The commercial itself is rather unobtrusive, smooth and to the point, like most of their recent ads. It features a scene from the movie School of Rock with the voice over, "It's on your computer," as the camera zooms out to reveal the scene playing on an Apple iMac.
The camera pans right, goes through the wall to another room and settles on an iPod in hand playing the same scene with the voice over, "It's on your iPod." The camera then pans right again, through another wall to show a flat screen TV with the voiceover, "And, now, it's on your TV." The spot ends with a shot of the Apple TV, finishing by showing the actual product name that is on top of the Apple TV units.
Unusually for Apple, the new Apple TV commercial is not available for viewing on their web site. So those interested have to settle for a filmed version that was caught on CNBC by a user and posted on Google Video. Why the Cupertino Company has chosen to go this route is unclear, especially after such a long trend of offering the commercials via their web site. Could it be that they are still working behind the scene on pumping up the video quality of the movies they offer on the iTunes Store, but still want to start making some noise over the product itself? This could very well be the case, as the Apple TV ad focuses more on the ecosystem of iTunes-Mac-iPod-Apple TV than on the Apple TV itself.