Uh, oh, PopWatchers! We’ve got an MP3 advertising battle brewing between Mcirosoft’s Zune and Apple’s iPod. If you remember (and I’m quite sure it’s still bouncing around in your head), Apple snatched up Feist’s "1, 2, 3, 4" for its iPod Nano campaign earlier this fall, which led to an indie-crossover that earned Leslie more digital downloads than she could count. As for Microsoft, the company has countered with its new Zune commercial featuring the indie earworm, "Lake Michigan," courtesy of Oakland foursome Rogue Wave. (EW’s Leah Greenblatt gave the band’s album, Asleep at Heaven’s Gate, a B review back in September.) I’m sure the commercial will rocket sales for Rogue, and since I already blogged about indie acts selling out partnering with corporate advertisers, I’ll spare you another rant.
So, I’ve embraced it, and now I want you to tell me: Who will garner more mainstream attention from their new turn on TV commercials? Will Rogue Wave surpass Feist’s newfound fame? Or does "1, 2, 3, 4" have too much catchier-than-thou attitude? Check out both commercials after the jump, then weigh in on our message board below!
Comments (1-30) of 33 Add your comment
Which company uses that “music is my boyfriend” song? That one is the one that wins. Whatever I hate this type of music anyways…
Sorry, the but Feist has the catchier song… Not to mention Apple having the better commercial. (Although the bass drum turning into a sun was pretty neat in the Zune ad)
i hate both of these they suck i agree with serah i love the one with music is my boyfriend 1234 sucks
ugh that zune ad is awful
the music is not good
sorry
apple wins again
Sorry LaRue but its more like Rogue Wave versus CCS’s “Music is My Hot Hot” for Ipod Touch as of current. I love both songs and they are very different. But my vote is The Roguesters cause Ive loved them for awile and they are genuises of beautiful yet simple melody. I love that the fantasy Zune add is only based on the word “heaven” in Lake Michigan and takes a trip into a crazy cute phone world. Ipod’s gets props for being so vibrant in all depts, though!
I love Feist, so Apple wins.
The Zune ad is pretty cool though.
The company that does the “music is my boyfriend” ads is Apple.. their iPod Touch commercials.
I love Feist, but being an Oakland kid, I have to give props to Rogue Wave for getting out there! Love the Rogue and the new album’s fantastic…
MyMusicIsWhereIwantYouToTouch. (OK?)
Seriously, why is this author still talking about the Feist Aple ad? They don’t even show that one anymore. The new ubiquitous Apple ipod ad is the one featuring Music is My Hot Hot Sex by CSS. So if I had to compare THAT commercial to the Zune commercial, hmm…..LOVE the Rogue Wave song, but have to give this one to Apple, because its just a better comercial. Real snappy and to the point, showing the features of the ipod very clearly. The Zune commercial is kind of too abstract to sell its product effectively.
Neither.
I prefer Mary J. Blige’s “Work That” iPod commercial which I saw for the first time tonight. So, Apple wins. LOL
Regardless of the songs picked, Zune sucks. Tried them both. Stick with the Ipod. Microsoft gets some of the profit, anyway.
I love My Zune. The ipod Sucks try something new.
As much as I love Feist, the Zune does have the better commercial..But in terms of better product, psh, Ipod all the way.
Oh Lord! I have two words for Microsoft: you’re trying too hard! Shoot, that was four… five if I separated you’re. OMG!, I need a life.
the zune girl sure LOOKS like ms. feist, doncha think?
hmmm
LaRue, thank you for reminding me of Rogue Wave. I forgot that I liked that band. lol. Feist’s song didn’t do much for me on the album, but when I heard it in the iPod commercial, I was like “what is this song? It’s great!” Go figure. I also own an iPod.
I’m a little bit biased here, seeing as I’m friends with one of the dancers in Leslie’s video; and I’m Canadian, but taking artistic measure into account, Apple wins out: they used Feist’s already cool video the way it was, Microsoft’s was created just for the commercial.
I love the iPod ad with Music is My Hot Hot Sex…already went and downloaded that songs days ago.
The Zune commercial sucks. It tries wayyy too hard.
I have to say, those Zune ads (esp. the one with that great Shins track) are really gorgeous…the iPod campaign doesn’t feel so fresh anymore to me.
That said, I’m a die-hard iPodder, and there is NO WAY that Zune is getting me to buy.
But it’s gorgeous eye candy…
The Zune ads are terrible. The Apple ads have kind of a cool simplicity, where the Zune ads are middle age men in grey suits going, ‘go outside and grab a hip Asian and ask him what’s cool.’ Then, they try to make the commercial from memory based on what he said. Way too obvious. Like a fat girl in a short skirt. Kind of sad.
The zune ad is fun to watch, but ultimately there isn’t anyway that they are getting me to switch over. Plus the song is not as pleasant to listen to as Feist’s, which I loved from the day the album came out.
Also, I’m not sure that her doing the ipod commercial is really selling out as much as taking a great opportunity. More people than ever know her now, and that’s not a bad thing in this Canuck’s book.
Rogue Wave is awesome. I’m glad they’re getting exposure. You need to listen to Chicago X 12 off the new album now. It’s perfection.
Personally, I love both songs, but I like Rogue Wave’s better. However, I don’t think it will outsell Feist’s because I think a lot of people will find “1,2,3,4″ more appealing and catchier than “Lake Michigan.”
A lot of people are commenting the effectiveness of the ads based on their preference of the music which isn’t the point. The question is which ad will further the career of the artists. Both feature music from the artist in question and neither explicitly identifies the artist in text.
I think the Apple ad wins because it (1) Clearly identifies the product and the use of the product. I sorta thought I knew what MS was selling but it could be a new brand of cologne or bubble gum. It isn’t clear until the end, and if you blink, you missed the Zune completely. (2) Clearly shows off the artist’s work. Apple used Feist’s video. Microsoft used their video interpretation of Rogue Wave’s music. Even both didn’t identify the artist in bold letters, you can get on youtube and identify the work. It’s harder to tell who the artist was with the Zune ad.
i like how almost everyone who commented on here has an ipod. of course all of you are going to say apple wins… you’re all stuck up mac users. stop following trends and actually give other merchandise a shot. the zune is a great product. it has a much, much, much better screen than the ipod, and that’s a proven fact.
to base the effectiveness simply on music is silly. yes, ipod’s commercial shows the product the entire time, but the zune commercial is so fresh that it captures your interest. you see the commercial and think, what is this? never seen anything like it.
and personally, i think feist’s song is unoriginal. one, two, three, four? such poor lyrics.
in short, both the ipod and the zune are good products. different campaign methods, but i’d say about equally as effective. the ipod has just been around a hella lot longer.
you’re arguing over who has the better commercial? seriously?
the CSS song was originally in a zune ad, just further proving apple to be the tired copycat they’ve always been.
ipod all the way!
I like Apple’s way of simplistically advertising the iPod nano, I think it makes it really effective because they haven’t needed a lot of special effects or actors to make the product sell.
But I also like Zune’s way of advertising. The style is unique, and I have never seen this ad on TV, but it is effective, but a bit too long I think.
I think in terms of techniques, Zune wins because it’s unique and the camera movements/ actions on screen blend well and look good together.
But I think in terms of style, Apple wins because it is effective at advertising, and it’s simple, and I like it when companies don’t go all-out to advertise a decent product.
Overall, I have no idea. I own an iPod myself, but have never experienced a Zune before, so I can’t say which one is best, otherwise it’s a biased opinion. I’d say both would win?