The BlackBerry Storm ad that might have been

This, shall we say, confrontational BlackBerry Storm ad by NY ad agency Guava has been making the rounds today, depicting a blackberry "bullet" taking a violent path through a familiar-seeming piece of fruit. An anonymous source told us that RIM considered it but eventually got cold feet -- and we can understand why. Nonetheless, it's an awesome bit of smack, so hit up the break and check it out for yourself.

[Thanks, Michael]

[UnixSystemsEngineer Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:12PM]

try looking at any other photos of bullets going thru apples. Google it.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:17PM]

Nah it's legit, both sides do go outwards from the energy of the bullet...err... berry. Watch some slow-mo youtube clips of people shootin stuff.

I think the ad should'of been "nothing can touch it.... after a few firmware updates...*sigh*"

[Taylor Yes Taylor Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:10PM]

Why does everyone love this ad? It says nothing about the phone, and just makes a cheap shot at apple. The current ads are annoying, but they are at least informational for people unlike us who don't know about it, and they don't use any childish shots at anyone else. They basically say "here is our phone, it rocks", letting the viewer realize it's better than an iPhone, which is more effective.
I wish their current ads weren't so annoying, but i think they are better than this.
-Taylor

[UnixSystemsEngineer Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:11PM]

I like that ad. A LOT. Plus, you have to respect a company that would choose to air an ad like that, even if you don't like the company.

I certainly understand why they didn't air it, but it woulda been damn cool.

[Altairantares Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:15PM]

Simply pwned. Blackberry so must have been tempted to put this up....

[jordanbiffle Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:29PM]

Wow, RIM just became idiots choosing not to air the add. Then again, I love Apple so I hate this commercial, but man it could have sold Storms better.

[lr4life Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:29PM]

Wow!
Should have kept.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:31PM]

Some of these people are posting as if the ad actually came out. There's a reason why RIM didn't release it. Someone in their promo department didn't like the ad for all the reasons people are saying (except for the fact that it's not very good compared to the iPhone; I don't think internally that's a concern. Of course they think their product is superior).

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:37PM]

I can't view video from my iPhone, anyone have a solution????

[Squid7085 Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:52PM]

Last time a company took a cheap shot at Apple, it didn't turn out too well. Anybody remember buymusic.com? Yeah, I didn't think so. However, very clever ad, I kinda wish it would have aired.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 10:32AM]

Ding ding ding, this man wins a prize. For those of you who don't remember buymusic.com, they were really bragging hard about how they were going to take iTunes down. Of course they failed spectacularly, just like the Storm failed to be better than the iPhone. And people would have remembered this ad, and how silly RIM was to put an ad out like this for an inferior product. It just makes them look like a bunch of jackasses.

Luckily for them they chose some more reasonable ads instead.

[DaRockwilder Posted Feb 26th 2009 8:15PM]

RIM band of wussies....!

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 8:18PM]

nothing can touch it lol. its kinda true cuz its kinda hard to press on. where can you get a gun that shoots out blackberries?

[RogueFive Posted Feb 26th 2009 8:21PM]

Is there anybody here who actually thinks this was "leaked"? Ever heard of guerilla marketing? This is actually very weak ... not at all that controversial

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 8:30PM]

@badweasel

nice video.
But just because your video shows the apple exploding completely, doesn't make this one fake.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 12:35AM]

it's certainly fake. Well done, but still fake. Check the edges of the apple peel that curves back at the entrance and exit and you can tell that it _is_ CGI. Also, the coloring of the "mist" is off. It should be nearly pure white or slightly cream-colored. There should be no "smoke" - nothing is burning to darken the color.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 8:37PM]

Low production costs, already 85 comments on Engadget with thousands of others who watched it today and passed it on. Bravo, Guava gave Blackberry thousands of eyes without spending a dime on media.

blog.allisinc.com

[tnkgrl Posted Feb 26th 2009 8:38PM]

Great ad! Except the Storm is full of fail, as I discovered when reviewing it: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2009/02/22/life-with-the-blackberry-storm/

[Shunnabunich Posted Feb 26th 2009 9:22PM]

Look, I think the world of my iPhone, and I realize that apparently the Storm sucks, but this ad would've been *badass*. I love it.

[bystrika Posted Feb 26th 2009 9:27PM]

Yeah... I hate Apple too...
Who would ever would want to be Confined and hancuffed to their Tunes and spend money on them over and over to their Communist actions.

[Ming Posted Feb 26th 2009 9:24PM]

iPhone, Everyone can touch.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 10:02PM]

cold feet? are you kidding? they totally should have aired that. no question.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 11:34PM]

There should only be a big explosion on the one side. Plus, why do we wait so long for the bullet to hit and we can't see the gun?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV4X_O_Rrrs

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 12:09AM]

FACT: i cant believe its not butter

[RUGRLN Posted Feb 27th 2009 12:36AM]

Nice ad...the message is kind of wrong....being a touch device, you would be touching it....but it's a nice ad...Also, the explosion does look weird but it might be true....anyways, why did they get cold feet? Don't look an AD that might be banned...not as bad as some others..

[rozzi Posted Feb 27th 2009 1:39AM]

not so great. their current ads are better. better to position it on a functional basis than in this negative way. also, this is kinda violent. maybe its good for men but I can see women being turned off. lot of women are big into blackberry.

also a lot of people sort of like the iphone but are stuck in verizon. the storm is a positive event for them, now they get to play too. this has a LOT of hostility in it. that is not so great for a device used by professionals. now one wants to buy a phone in anger.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 4:12AM]

hahaha, this is ridiculous, the Storm is practically the only existing touchscreen phone EVER to suck more than the iPhone

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 4:48AM]

this is a rip off of a british anti gun crime ad called 'stop the bullets kill the gun' which can be found on youtube......

[jamiesim Posted Feb 27th 2009 6:49AM]

poor show RIM; i think they bottled it for fear of the repercussions!

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 4:21PM]

I don' t know...Yes, they use similar imagery, but the message is completely different.

As an ad, I think it was pretty slick, but it'd take a lot more than a pretty video to persuade me to buy the Storm or any BB.

{ Currently waiting for the next iPhone update in June }

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 6:56AM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGp-LxLYvRc

seems like somebody plagiarised this concept!

tut tut tut

[the33dude33 Posted Feb 27th 2009 7:56AM]

I'm actually an Apple fan but I think this ad is great, despite the fact that the iPhone is better than the Storm.
Now the Pre, on the other hand... :)

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 8:54AM]

They probably never released it because they weren't confident that their product was better than the iPhone.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 9:19AM]

HEY ENGADGET - DO YOU KNOW WHAT SONG THAT IS, THAT IS PLAYING IN THIS PROMO?

[Snake Robot Podium Posted Feb 27th 2009 11:03AM]

this could have been a series! the blackberry would then shoot through an android, 6 windows (on wheels for mobility), and a human hand

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 12:38PM]

you now what ?
Apple will sue them anyway for using an apple in the ad of a touchscreen phone.
They will say it may confuse costumers... they mught think its iphone --'

[petepete Posted Feb 27th 2009 4:42PM]

you mean like how microsoft sued apple for making fun of PC's/Vista?

oh wait...

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 6:55PM]

No photographs were used in the spot--it's 100% computer-generated.

[scottkrk Posted Feb 27th 2009 8:18PM]

RIM are running the add now, virally and the RIM fanboys are getting pumped. Lock and load boys!

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 28th 2009 10:27AM]

Whats with the "Worlds first" shit. Its like RIM is prompting china to KIRF a touch screen blackberry .