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See the Need for Speed ad you missed by skipping the Super Bowl
Those of you who didn't spend yesterday hovering around a glowing picture box, while giant sports guys from Seattle trounced giant sports guys from Denver, missed the above teaser for the live-action Need for Speed movie. Aside from pretty cars crashing and Aaron Paul's sole line of dialogue, you didn't miss much. [Image: Dreamworks]
The NFL's new digital network is a step forward, but still not what cord-cutters want
Many people were excited by the announcement that this year's Super Bowl would be streamed online. But this came with a catch on smartphones -- the need to go through Verizon's NFL Mobile service rather than the Fox Sports Go app. And that's nothing new, as most networks often require some sort of subscription for access to live or on-demand content. A&E, CNN, MTV, NBC Sports -- they all do it, and the list goes on and on. Last week, the NFL announced Now, its new network tailored for the era of the internet. However, despite the league trying to do something novel, a quick look at the comments from our recently published article about the release tells you that on-demand content isn't enough, particularly for those who have decided to cut the [pay-TV] cord. For those people, the lack of live games overshadows most everything NFL Now will bring to the table when it launches in July -- namely, an online channel with a personalized experience accessible on different platforms all over the world.
Watch Felix Baumgartner's epic jump all over again in GoPro's Super Bowl commercial
Remember when Felix Baumgartner had the world on the edge of its seat with his daredevil Red Bull Stratos jump? Well, if you don't, and you're watching the big game this weekend, you'll likely get a good reminder thanks to a new GoPro ad. The 30 second spot shows some of the footage caught with its HD Hero 2 cameras, but is merely tease. The main event? A freshly uploaded 8-minute mini-documentary that recaps the ambitious jump from start to finish. After the break you can watch the tense moment when Baumgartner complains that he might pass-out, and then have your stomach gently return from your throat with relief at him finally, safely deploying his 'chute. The only thing is, after all that, the game might seem a little... tame?
Behind the scenes of Apple's "1984" ad
In a recent interview with Forbes, former Chiat/Day ad executive Steve Hayden relays a number of interesting nuggets regarding the creation of Apple's now iconic "1984" commercial. First, and what shouldn't come as much of a surprise, Steve Jobs was heavily involved in the overall tone and creation of the ad. Hayden recalls that Jobs' memo for what the commercial should be was short and to the point, "Stop the world in its tracks." With respect to the "Why 1984 won't be like 1984" line, Hayden explains that it came from a San Francisco writer named Gary Gussick during a brainstorming session. While that line was initially set to be the crux of the commercial, famed ad man Lee Clow thought there should be more oomph to it. That iconic tag line was only the beginning of the story. Initially, Gussick had just paired it with a simple image of an Apple computer. It was effective, but it wasn't going to stop the world in its tracks. We showed the idea to Lee Clow, and he said 'It's not enough to just say that. You have to shatter the image that's in people's minds.'" Clow came up with the concept of a young woman running onto the set and throwing a baseball bat at The Dictator haranguing people on the screen. "Shortly after that we met with Ridley Scott, who was in Los Angeles shooting Blade Runner," Hayden recalls. " And he took one look at the board and said 'A baseball bat is far too American. If you gave her a sledgehammer to throw at the screen, it would be a more universal symbol.' Scott pointed them toward Fritz Lang's cinema classic Metropolis, and suddenly 1984 had its signature dystopian look. Now interestingly enough, Apple's "1984" ad almost didn't run at all as Apple's board, upon viewing a cut of the ad, were none too thrilled. Apple at the time had purchased two minutes worth of Super Bowl ad time, with 60 seconds allotted to run the full "1984" ad and two 30-second spots allotted for two Mac demo commercials. At Apple's behest, Chiat/Day's media department tried to sell off the ad time and managed to offload the two 30-second spots. With a minute of ad time left, Apple had two options: Air the two demo spots. Or 1984. "It came down to the close of business on Friday before the Super Bowl," Hayden recalls. The decision was, of course, to air 1984. Who made the decision? Steve Jobs. The full article contains a lot more behind the scenes info and is well worth checking out. Lastly, here's some "1984" trivia to impress or bore your friends with this Sunday. Contrary to popular belief, "1984" did not air only once. In truth, the full 60 second ad originally aired on December 31, 1983 on a TV station in Twin Falls, Idaho. Why? So the ad would be eligible for that year's advertising awards. Furthermore, 30-second versions of the 1-minute ad were later aired during other television programs.
The Apple Super Bowl commercial that flopped
Most people are likely familiar with Apple's famous "1984" ad, largely upheld as one of the best commercials of all time. But much more obscure is Apple's follow up commercial for the 1985 Super Bowl, an advert dubbed "Lemmings." Apple's "Lemmings" ad touted Macintosh Office, a product primed to be a modern day business computing environment comprised of networked Macs, a file server, and a networked laser printer. Much like the "1984" ad, "Lemmings" purported to show that folks deciding to stay with IBM (or any PC variant) were nothing more than lemmings blindly following one another off of a cliff. And though the "Lemmings" ad more or less carried the same tone as "1984", the ad was largely considered an absolute flop. Network World reports: Reportedly inspired by the myth that lemmings committed mass suicide by accidentally walking off cliffs during migration, the ad showed blindfolded businessmen walking single file off of cliffs in a dystopian wasteland, the implicit result of a world ruined by enterprise PCs that didn't run Macintosh. Whereas the 1984 ad was praised for its allusion to the dystopian future laid out in Orwell's legendary novel, the Lemmings ad was denounced for creating an overly bleak, suicidal scenario created specifically as a knock against Apple's competitors. Compounding matters was that the advertised product -- Macintosh Office -- never really shipped as originally envisioned. Indeed, the file server wasn't even ready for release until 1987. Wired adds: The product simply did not exist. And if you write a check with your advertising that your product can't cash, you will - I assure you - bite the karmic weenie," Steve Hayden, the co-creator of the 1984 ad and the copywriter for Lemmings, said last week during an anniversary bash for the Macintosh. "We bit it big time." It would be a good 14 years before Apple would again run a Super Bowl ad, a Y2K themed ad featuring HAL. To say it's sleep inducing might be an understatement. So with the Super Bowl tomorrow and the Mac recently having celebrated its 30th birthday, might we see Apple get back into the Super Bowl ad game once more? In any other year, "no" would be a safe bet, but given that Apple actually acknowledged the Mac's 30th birthday in a major way, and given the following tweet from longtime Apple ad man Lee Clow, perhaps Apple will have a surprise in store for us come Sunday. Gonna be a goodSuper Bowl. Mac's gonna be 30 :) - Lee Clow (@_clow) January 20, 2014
Daily Roundup: Super Bowl XLVIII survival guide, iWatch rumors and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Denver Broncos picked to win Super Bowl XLVIII in Madden 25 simulation
EA Sports ran a simulation of the Super Bowl XLVIII match-up this coming Sunday between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks using Madden NFL 25 and wound up predicting a Broncos victory with a score of 31-28. The simulation had Denver toppling Seattle in dramatic fashion: Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch brought the team to within two points on a last-second 27-yard touchdown run before the team successfully scored two more on the two-point conversion attempt to take the game to overtime. The sim then showed Seattle stalling out in the first possession of overtime before Broncos kicker Matt Prater booted the game-winning field goal. Broncos quarterback (and noted Papa John's pizza spokesman) Peyton Manning earned the Super Bowl MVP award thanks to his 322-yard, three touchdown performance in the simulation. EA's Super Bowl simulations have a decent track record, as the publisher has successfully named the Super Bowl winners in eight out of the last ten years by using the latest roster files in the current Madden game. If that's not a testament to the work of Madden Ratings Czar Donny Moore, then we're not sure what is. Head past the break to see the list of EA Sports' Super Bowl predictions in recent years and each game's actual outcome.
The Daily Roundup for 02.05.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Shazam mention, blackout at Super Bowl drives mobile engagement
Velti is a firm that runs advertising on mobile platforms like iOS and Android, and they were paying close attention during last Sunday's Super Bowl game to how and when mobile users were on their phones. The company has released a few tidbits about mobile usage during the big showdown, and they reveal quite a bit about when we picked up our phones during the game. Velti says that while the Ravens may have won the game, Jack in the Box was the biggest win on the mobile side: The company's "Hot Mess" commercial (which featured a big plug for Shazam, who we spoke with about exactly this situation at CES) was the most active mobile engagement driver during the entire show. Viewers saw the bug, and immediately picked up their phones, presumably to either check out Shazam or use the app on the commercial spot (though it was only 30 seconds, so they had to hurry). Mobile engagement also spiked, says Velti, during the brief blackout delay that the stadium experienced. In that same vein, the halftime show was actually the point at which viewers were least engaged in their phones, suggesting that Beyonce's song and dance distracted them back away from the smaller screens. And the game itself distracted viewers from their phones as well -- the relatively boring first half had more mobile usage, while the second half of the game, when the 49ers staged a comeback against the Ravens, saw mobile usage drop. There's a lot of very interesting insight in there about exactly how mobile users make use of their second screen devices. The Jack in the Box / Shazam spike is no mistake, and we can likely expect to see even more moves like that in the future. Our mobile phones are nearly always with us these days, and other screens, including television, have lots of opportunities to use Apple's platforms for even more engagement.
Editorial: BlackBerry slumps into history of Super Bowl tech ads
The comparison is obvious: BlackBerry's already-infamous "Can't Do" commercial in this year's Super Bowl vs. Apple's legendary "1984" spot in the 1984 game. Let's do the comparison anyway, and consider some other tech advertising over 35 years of Super Bowls.
Talkcast tonight: Post-Expo hangover edition, 10pm ET/7pm PT
We came, we saw, we sang a little karaoke and met an adorable monkey. Macworld/iWorld 2013 is in the books, and this is the first chance we've had to breathe a little and take stock. Of course, the best way to do that is to counterprogram the blackout-delayed Super Bowl and host our regular weekly gabfest, the Talkcast! Mike R. is fighting off the "expo crud" and sends his regrets, but I'll be there with bells on and ready to go. We'd love to hear your impressions of the show if you were there; your distant takes if you weren't. Products you saw, heard about or shook your head in disbelief at? Let us know. To participate live during the show, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, the best way to have your voice heard is to call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
Samsung Super Bowl ad teases Apple
As noted by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Samsung spends almost $12 billion a year to promote its brand. A chunk of this money is going to clever ads like the one below that is a lead up to the company's bigger Super Bowl Sunday spot. Apple fans will likely see the irony in the video below, which pokes fun at the NFL and its tight licensing of its trademarks. Guess Samsung's disdain for intellectual property is evident in its commercials as well as real life. [Via Apple 2.0]
5 apps for Super Bowl Sunday
It's Super Bowl weekend, so bring on the football, food and fun. Like most people, you likely will watch the game with snacks in one hand and your iPhone or iPad in the other. You probably already have the official NFL apps on your phone and your Zite football news all setup. So here are five additional apps to help you prepare your Super Bowl snacks and enjoy your Sunday night reveling in front of the TV. Football Party Game [iOS Universal, $4.99] Football Party Game is a trivia game that you play with the guests at your Super Bowl party. Each person answers a series of questions as the game goes on and is awarded points for each correct answer. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins! Foodie Recipes [iPad, Free] Foodie Recipes is a recipe app that offers cookbooks filled with seasonal recipes. Recipes are handpicked by the Foodie bloggers and editors. The latest version adds 40 new recipes like baked pizza dip and chili con queso that'll liven any game day parties. Super Ads: Super Bowl Commercials [iOS Universal, $1.99] Watch more than 200 Super Bowl commercials on your iPhone or iPad. Share your favorite ads via email, Facebook and Twitter. Football Squares [iOS Universal, $0.99] Who doesn't enjoy the competition of a football pool on Super Bowl Sunday? Use the Football Squares app to invite your friends to make their picks for the big game and see who comes out on top. Sportsmanias [iPhone, Free] Sportsmanias is a relative newcomer that combines sports news, team information and tweets from the top sports journalists.
The Daily Roundup for 01.31.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
RIM prepping Super Bowl ad to introduce BlackBerry 10 to the world
Get yo' popcorn ready. When your company is announcing the latest and greatest mobile OS, why not seize the opportunity to scrape up a few million bucks to make sure the entire world gets a proper introduction? Research in Motion will be forking out for a Super Bowl spot (which averages $3.8 million this year), as part of an effort to get the word out about BlackBerry 10. Let's just hope it's not shown the exact moment 40 million people head to the fridge. A little presser can be found past the break.
CBS Super Bowl 'second screen' stream to include alternate cameras, DVR functionality
With the heavy responsibility of handling the Super Bowl XLVII livestream, CBS is focusing in on what football fans really want: commercials. Well, that, and real-time statistic updates, game highlights, alternate camera angles and a star studded musical performance by Beyoncé, of course. The network's taking its duties seriously, and seems to be pulling out all the stops to create a robust second screen experience on CBSSports.com. Viewers will be able to access a pop-up video console from laptops, desktops and tablets to choose between four cameras, pause coverage or check customized Twitter feed culled from the CBS' top sports experts. Deep social integration is promised -- particularly when it comes to the game's infamously expensive commercials -- allowing fans to instantly share their famous moments. After all, if you're going to stream the Super Bowl, you may as well do it right. Read on for the official press release, including specific details on what those four extra cameras will be looking at.
NFL announces Super Bowl XLVII will be streamed live by CBS
Last year, the National Football League took a massive step forward when it announced it would be live streaming the biggest game of the year for the first time ever -- at least officially. Said move was mostly deemed a pretty good success, to say the least, with the sporting event netting around 2.1 million unique viewers back then -- as such, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the NFL's looking to come back for round two on February 3rd. Earlier today, Roger Goodell & Co. announced the upcoming Super Bowl XLVII is set to follow suit and be streamed on the interwebs as well, however this year's streaming duties will be handled by CBS instead of NBC -- and the NFL's own website, of course. Additionally, Verizon subscribers can get it on the action straight from their smartphone via the the NFL Mobile application, just as they were able to during the Giants vs. Patriots face-off. We still have some time until the next iteration of the Big Game, so here's to hoping your favorite team shows up in New Orleans and makes the entire experience that much better for you.
Super Bowl internet debut breaks records, disappoints some viewers
Not sure what this says about the state of streaming video online, but while the first live internet stream of the Super Bowl was watched by a record 2.1 million unique viewers, it didn't receive glowing reviews. The best indicator, though, is that the engagement for the three (plus) hour event was only 39 minutes. We think the folks over at Streaming Media got it right when they called it the Super Bowl Streaming Fail. It was bad enough that only Verizon Wireless customers could watch it on anything other than a laptop, but even those who could see it were left searching for a TV once they saw the quality. Big sports fans who might've been checking it out for the additional commentary and camera angles were also left wanting more, as the stream was plagued with lag. This meant that the other angle you were in search of was as much as a minute behind the big screen. Ultimately, we're sure everyone's glad the Super Bowl was extended to the smaller screens, but one thing sure seems true, broadcasting an event like this to millions of people is unlikely to ever be replaced by unicast internet streams.
App usage doesn't drop during Super Bowl -- except during halftime
Mobile advertiser Flurry's latest report, on app usage during the Super Bowl, is fascinating for those of us who have been following the "second screen" phenomenon: The tendency of mobile device users to use their devices while also watching television or other media. Flurry notes that during last week's big game, not only was the app audience (according to the apps that the company is actually monitoring) almost as large as the Super Bowl audience as a whole, but as you can see above, app usage steadily grew throughout the game. With one interesting exception, that is: During the Madonna halftime show. During the show itself, viewers finally looked away from their smartphone devices and tuned into the television. Obviously not all of them did, but that is a big enough dip (along with the drop during the final minutes of the game) to say that yes, there's a big correlation here between what people are seeing on their televisions and how they're using their mobile devices. The opposite story is also true: Flurry was actually able to rank app usage versus the most and least popular commercials during the game. As you can see from the final charts in their report, on commercials that people generally liked and paid attention to, app usage dropped significantly. That's very intriguing: Most of the second screen work brands have done so far is designed to keep people using ads during commercials, but a study like this would suggest that customers would rather pay attention to good commercials. They postpone their interaction with those "marquee" ads until later on -- or during other ads, including possibly those of competitors. At any rate, this study definitely shines a new light on this second screen thinking, and we might see some new trends in apps trying to make use of this habit going forward.
Apple enjoys free Super Bowl advertising courtesy of NY Giants
While some tech pundits are bemoaning Apple's lack of ads during the Super Bowl on Sunday (the company hasn't run an ad during the big game for years), The Street's Jim Cramer is taking another view and one that is much more rooted in reality. Apple didn't need to pay for expensive Super Bowl air time, because the World Champion NY Giants provided tons of free advertising for the iPhone. As Cramer noted, "... there was one ad that struck me as the most honest, most riveting and most compelling of all. You see, the game had just ended, and Colts great Raymond Berry ran the Giant gantlet with the Lombardi Trophy. Suddenly it seemed like every other Giant pulled out an Apple iPhone to snap pictures of the moment. One after another after another. And I said to myself, there it is, not some pet dangling a bag of chips or some headlights killing vampires or King Elton getting trapdoored. Nope, there was an ad worthy of Steve Jobs and the company he built." Cramer went on to say "To me, the endorsement of Apple by real athletes who were not paid, especially when contrasted with the gift of the GM Corvette that Eli Manning didn't even seem to care about -- 'Eli, the keys, the keys, don't forget the keys!' -- said it all ... when everyone else is paying $3 million per commercial, Apple paid nothing and easily had the best ad of all." To see what Cramer's talking about, just check out the YouTube video below and count the number of iPhones that you see snapping photos and shooting video of Raymond Berry and the Lombardi Trophy. Amazing...
