New RIM ad shows deep appreciation for U2, Apple's ad team
By Paul Miller 
posted Jul 9th 2009 5:58PM
posted Jul 9th 2009 5:58PM
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OMG. SO MYSTICAL AND FREE SPIRITED. I MUST BUY.
*Bump*
They also borrowed the lens flare stuff from Star Trek.
Apple ad: popular musical group enveloped in flashing lights and bubbles.
RIM ad: popular musical group enveloped in flashing lights and bubbles.
Microsoft ad: husband lying on the floor wallowing in his wife's vomit after she discovers his porn browsing history.
HMM, WHICH COMPANY SHOULD I PATRONIZE?
@Quix
Well gee, since you have no intention of ever using MS products regardless of what their ads are, nor will you use RIM stuff, why the hell are you wasting everyone's time asking?
@ Looks_Around_You: it's called a "rhetorical" question. Look it up.
Quix,
It's called trolling, and could you try a little harder next time.
I love Viva la Vida too, but our Arab friends hate the song, because it has the word Jerusalem
@Quix
I think you hit a little too close to home on the vomit scenario.
@Sea Urchin,
Don't be silly I'm an Arab (Kuwaiti) & I love Viva La Vida, smart lyrics & brilliant vocals, the song is inspirational & it's produced by visionary people.. Absolutely brilliant.
Now talking about that other company.. U2 is worth nothing to me outside of Apple.
I know I know.. downvote me all you want.. but I'm an Apple & Sony fanboy, & I'm proud of it.
@ WindowsFTW: Who needs to try? Microsoft writes this stuff for me!
@DanielT: Indeed.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
Imitation or duplication?
How exactly does this AD help sell more RIM products? Who cares if they love U2?
It's a play on words (I assume):
Blackberry Loves You Too.
I really think it went over his head.
Apple pulled it off way better though...
agreed. The songs better too :-)
I thought they were both below average ads. If apple's was better it would only be because it was actually about coldplay. The blackberry one had nothing to do with either bb or u2, u2 wasn't using bb and bb doesn't have a global music store with u2 exclusives.
U2 must feel like the town bike eh?
Heh, I wonder how U2 feels about being Apple's sloppy seconds for RIM.
The apple ad was to promote coldplay's new album, which IIRC was on presale only through iTunes (i.e. an exclusive promotion). So, you can get Coldplay on iTunes, but U2 LOVES the BB... Big diff. It has nothing to do with the iPhone, but then again this is Engadget.
The BB ad should have been compared to the other U2 ad that Apple did. Of course, the artist development of the Coldplay and BB U2 ads are the same (likely U2 was behind the concept of an Apple ad, then when Coldplay came along, Apple stolen it and used it against U2. U2 does a BB ad and says, hey remember that concept we had at Apple...) Hmmm.. I like starting rumors...
Also, when Palm uses U2 then you can say U2 IS the town bike.
Cold Play add is way better!
so is the music :D
Well, now we know who the twelve-year-olds are on Engadget...
HELLOOoooooo!
HELLOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo!
HOLA!
czesz!
feliz navidad
Coldplay ad was much better.
I would say thir music is better, but that song was totally ripped off from another group almost to the note.
Find the comparison on youtube. it's astonishing.
I don't get how these ads have anything to do with blackberry's product. They aren't exactly the greatest media players out there...
I think the adds are to show that they're the main sponsor for U2's up coming world tour.
Yeah, cause I'm sure Coldplay sits around listening to Joe Satriani all day. Not.
Melody duplications can happen independently. It's not like it's some complicated and weird arrangement of notes.
No. No similarity. Whatsoever.
hey at the end of the day both bands suck so, I guess HTC wins, since pre's advertising is also freaking creepy.
are you talking about the ad where that chick REALLY needed a tan?
if so, i agree 100%
yeah but the music rocks
M83 >>>> Coldplay >>>>>>>>> U2
seriously that girl is creepy as hell! who the hell at pre/sprint thought that ad was ok? that doesnt make me want to buy a phone it makes me want to change the channel.
Quite odd link with U2/ b'berry since Bono owns most of the hedge fund that has just invested in and revitalised Palm to enable the Pre!
With Bono's Elevation Partner's money tied up in Palm, you'd think that U2 would be sending some love the Pre's way.
Ironic that Coldplay has been hounded for their 'Deep Appreciation" of a couple of other writer's songs.
So what's gonna be the red u2 version blackberry ? Bold or storm ?
My bet goes to storm !
Blackberry is sponsoring U2's current tour, and U2 is putting out a mobile album sold on the Blackberry Apps Place, AND Blackberry's newest product is called the Blackberry Tour. Although most people wouldn't know that or deduct that from the ad, I guess it's somewhat relevant?
AND all RIM employees are getting a free ticket to the U2 360 tour closest to their city (in Canada at least)
Yup, saw this the other day and though the same thing.
What does that have to do with a Blackberry? Oh, nothing? Ok.
Yeah. They should stick to their strengths.
I thought it was an ad for apple tv when I first saw it. The whole time I was wondering... "Why would Apple use U2, they haven't been trendy for 10 years?" and then it said BlackBerry and everything made more sense.
You do know that U2 was in an iPod ad just a couple of years ago?
Let me guess, that slipped your mind before to decided to slam RIM for using them?
@ look around you
.. that was in 2004, dude. Before iPods could even play video. Before blackberry put more than 32mb of memory in their phones. Five years in the tech world is more than a couple, it a lifetime.
Don't be stupid. U2 is considered to be a pretty timeless band at this point. They don't have to have something new and trendy to be marketable. Coldplay has spent their entire career trying (and failing) to shed the U2 / Radiohead knock-off label.
Wait wait wait...So Apple isn't creative at all? They just rip off other peoples commercials? Fucked up!
Where have you been in the past year? Apples came out in May 2008.
i'm so 3008, you so 2000 and late!
you can blame chuck anderson for this
http://www.nopattern.com/nopattern/
I think that Coldplay should have filmed the Viva La Vida music video just like the ad. I think Apple should have used Life in Technicolor for the new iPhone ads.
This is way better than the Pre commercial with the day-walker weirdo talking about jugglers.
Agreed, she reminds of that weird Gabriel chick from Constantine.
iPhone > Blackberry. U2 > Coldplay. I am so torn.
iphone >< Blackberry (still different market, iphone for fun, blackberry for business)
U2 > COLDPLAY
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight < Viva La Vida
Does Apple ever get mocked about anything on this site?
Nope.
Their press credentials and invites to Apple events will get pulled.
Why should the site mock Apple stuff when the commenters (Looks_Around_You and Co.) do it endlessly?
Does this mean no more U2 edition iPods?
I hate to say it, but what a complete rip off.
Does everyone have to copy Apple these days?
Yeah, I thought the same thing when I saw it. An obvious rip-off. Although Apple's Eminem ad was just as bad a rip-off.
The Intel chip ad wasn't a rip-off, it isn't a rip-off when you hire the person who did it before and they just do it again and get paid to do so. It might not earn you much cred with people who liked the item you are essentially buying by doing so though.
Guess Bono's a big whore... He's a majority owner of Elevation Partners, which is a majority owner of Palm. They sponsored a U2 iPod. And now this... let's hope some of the money they get ends up helping the starving children in Africa, and not lining the pockets of some worn out rock stars(Sorry Bono, but yeah, when ya charge $200+ for show tix, you've jumped the shark)
"Bad artists copy. Great artists steal." - Pablo Picasso ;)
Well I guess RIM are bad artists then, because this is a really bad copy.
Haha. I agree completely. Just throwing a quote in.
BlackBerry Loves You Too :)
Oh yea, and RIM's sponsoring U2's World Tour.
Well, Coldplay is the new U2.
Coldplay is the new Barry Manilow.
@Quix
Well gee, since you have no intention of ever using MS products regardless of what their ads are, nor will you use RIM stuff, why the hell are you wasting everyone's times asking?
It's funny because of how you couldn't even make the point that they weren't mimicking Apple. RIM isn't a very media-oriented brand, so having a video of U2 in an ad just doesn't make sense.
good point. i can understand why apple would have coldplay do a commerical; their brand is best known for their media offerings. so it is puzzling to see such a business oriented brand have a music video style commercial.
Shouldn't this be a KIRF?
WRONG!
First off, when I first saw the Coldplay ad I thought it was a complete rip-off of U2. You can't compare the two... no WAY! I like Coldplay but they are not in the same stature as U2.
and yes... I know that Coldplay's came out first but they tend to immolate U2 a lot.
Immolate:
verb (used with object), -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing.
1. to sacrifice.
2. to kill as a sacrificial victim, as by fire; offer in sacrifice.
3. to destroy by fire.
that ad was a total rip-off, you dont have to be a fanboy to see that.
A fan boy!? right.... Coldplay tries to duplicate everything U2 has done. There is not comparison b/w these two commercials what so ever. The only difference is that the blackberry one is much better.
I saw this on tv and thought, wait what does U2 have to do with BB. At least with the Coldplay commercial, they advertised their new song on iTunes
They are being sponsored by BB on their current tour that just started about a week or so ago. You get to see the mammoth stage in that ad.
In case you wondered what it would like Apple'd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_0xSVmeIlw
RIM using U2 now. It's like sloppy seconds.
I'm sorry but is U2 even relevant anymore?. I still don't understand why RIM is letting U2 design a BB it kind of reminds me of when LG let beyonce design a phone, definitely corny and beneath them IMO.
your statement asking whether "U2 is even relevant anymore" basically says more about you than it does about U2.
Really? explain please.
I find it funny that U2 went the way of RIM, because just a few years ago they were all buddy buddy w/ apple...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vflb4nBhb9M
Who ever said that RIM was letting U2 design a BB!? BB is sponsoring U2's new tour... and to answer "Just some Girl", yes they are very much relevant. They are one of the last few great acts out there.
"known to have said. In a recent conversation with Toronto DJ Alan Cross that was mentioned to the Globe and Mail, the artist revealed that U2 had approached Apple for designing products but had been rejected, leading the band to switch to RIM when it became clear it could have a more direct hand in final products."
"[RIM] is going to give us what Apple wouldn't -- access to their labs and their people so we can do something really spectacular," Bono said.
OK, they're relevant....clearly since so many of you guys are getting your panties in a wad.
The styles aren't really all that alike.
The concept is similar, I suppose, but how they look is very different from one another.
I said this on Gizmodo, and I'll say it again here. While the visual styles are no doubt similar and the RIM one is inspired by Apple, shots such as 0:34 in the RIM ad and 0:16 show that the overall look is different enough. It's not nearly as bad as when, say, Apple did the Such Great Heights-inspired commercial where the visual style, costuming, and sequencing were shot-for-shot.
Its not slamming U2, it is slamming the meat puppets at the AGENCY for rim and the butt raider at RIM who agreed to CLEARY steel this ad and SHAME on U2 for going along with it!
This advertising scheme worked better for Apple because it was advertising that the song was now available on iTunes, which then created revenue through iTunes purchases. For RIM....it makes no sense... What does the ad have to do with their products? Nothing.... Fail.
to be honest i think the bigger issue here is the fact that U2, a perennial apple favourite, is appearing in an ad for the competition. that said, apple pulled it off much better than BB. besides, at least apple was advertising the prerelease of Coldplay's album. What about BB?
this article kind of jacked from competitor engadget...in my opinion
I saw the ad last night for the first time and noticed the similarities right there.
ironic that elevation partners is a big investor in palm, no?