Apple Releases New Version of 'The Song' Ad for Chinese New Year

Kind of cheapens the idea of the original ad in my opinion to repeat it like this just with different actors.

What they think China won't like black actors? Nothing gets said in the original ad except for the music lyrics and they could have dubbed those with a chinese song.

Just my two cents.

1. There are far more Chinese than blacks in China.
2. It helps to sell the product if the song is actually in a language the viewer understands.
3. What cheapens the original ad, frankly, is playing the race card. More than one ethnicity actually cares about their grandparents. Therefore, race card DENIED.

:apple:

My understanding is that Chinese culture and interaction is largely built upon respect; face-to-face meetings rather than phone or video calls and the like.

Apple's targeting to China all seems a bit cheap; make an advert aimed at China, mention China explicitly in keynotes, feign a respect for the culture, and watch them buy our stuff. Nothing about it seems sincere.

Admittedly, as I'm typing this, I realise Apple is a company looking to make money, but it all just seems so transparent.

Huh? You don't know much about my culture.

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Kind of cheapens the idea of the original ad in my opinion to repeat it like this just with different actors.

What they think China won't like black actors? Nothing gets said in the original ad except for the music lyrics and they could have dubbed those with a chinese song.

Just my two cents.

Fair point, but I think it's because the song is in chinese and it wouldn't make much sense for the girl to be mouthing english words to chinese dub. Plus, the father in the previous ad appeared to be a war veteran for the United states, so it is more appropriate to customize this particular ad.

Kind of cheapens the idea of the original ad in my opinion to repeat it like this just with different actors.

What they think China won't like black actors? Nothing gets said in the original ad except for the music lyrics and they could have dubbed those with a chinese song.

Just my two cents.

You're totally missing the message of the ad if you hang up on racial color.

Amongst many other important values, the Chinese culture still reveres the elderly.

This ad reaches across racial barriers erected by the unenightened, and celebrates this far more important and sustaining truth. It also celebrates youth and new beginnings aided by technology, which has been Apple's theme for a good while now--quite appropriate for the Chinese New Year.

My point is that they already made this ad in America. Why do the same exact advertisement with chinese actors? To me it loses its genuineness and now feels really generic. I liked the original it felt real, now it just feels cheap both the original and this recreation because they just remade it like it was worthless.

Remember Apple isn't just making advertisements like other companies they want people to feel things. By redoing this ad it makes me feel like they are just like any other cold company, this isn't what they are striving for, it's what they are. Remember the narrative and brand image they are trying to drive and reality are two separate things.

1. As was already pointed out, Apple remade the ad so Chinese customers can identify with the actors, which makes perfect sense. How are they supposed to identify with a black family with a American army veteran, singing in English? And suggesting that they dub the original is exactly the kind of tacky thing Apple wouldn't do. It feels cheap and unthoughtful.

2. If another company copied the Apple ad, does that cheapen the original?

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I think race came in to it when Apple remade their advertisement 1:1 and just changed the race of the actors shown in the ad. :rolleyes:

Because people seem to be surprised that different countries identify with different races.

Huh? You don't know much about my culture.

He's probably basing his understanding on things he's seen in television shows and movies rather than any real experience, similar to how some people assume that everyone in China rides around on a bicycle with a cone shaped hat instead of going about their modern lives like everyone else.

How many countries does apple customize it's advertisements for? Im doing this for China, do they risk making other countries (eg other Asian countries) feel left out?

Kind of cheapens the idea of the original ad in my opinion to repeat it like this just with different actors.

What they think China won't like black actors? Nothing gets said in the original ad except for the music lyrics and they could have dubbed those with a chinese song.

The purpose of an ad is advertising (duh)! The target audience is supposed to identify with the people in the ad. Why would you put people who are obviously Americans in an ad aimed at China? And it isn't an "artistic statement", it's a sales pitch; you can't "cheapen the idea". You can, however, make it pointless; for example, by misfiring on the target audience.