In 2016, Apple released a fun yet clever ad for Apple Music in which Taylor Swift and Drake “switch songs,” lip-syncing to each other’s very different styles until Taylor falls off her treadmill. People are currently revisiting the ad on Instagram, calling it “iconic”.
It’s the perfect encapsulation of how an ad can use celebrity in a way that’s on-message for the product while delivering a strong angle, all in the very short time an ad gets to communicate with (as all the best ads of the 2010s do). Two disparate artists connect to Apple Music in an unexpected way, showing off their personalities while landing a joke – a long way from the sleek, polished advertising Apple usually favours for its hardware. See fboy’s Instagram post below.
The ad works because it plays on the distinct personalities (and musical styles) of the two celebrities, rather than merely using the two for their fame. Also in 2016, Apple released a similar ad featuring Britney Spears catching Kevin Bacon dancing to Oops I Did It Again in her red catsuit, which hit all the same points.
Apple isn’t the only company to get ads right in this way, of course. George Clooney’s suave persona in the Nespresso ad is another, or Ryan Reynolds’ perceived sarcastic, deadpan, breaking-the-fourth-wall style in Aviation Gin & Mint Mobile. Christopher Walken’s BMW ad – ‘Talkin’ like Walken’ – that has people mimicking his speech style is perfectly pitched on his own quirks, and then there’s Michael Cera in CerVe – this ad focuses on his slightly bizarre sense of self.
When brands lean into public perception of celebrities it gives a self-aware, in-on-the-joke feeling for the audience to lean into – and it works in a way that a celebrity simply being the face of a brand doesn’t quite achieve. Last year I reported on the success that came Jennifer Aniston did the same for her own brand. Of course, it’s not only good for the brand but shows the public that celebrities can laugh along at themselves, which is great for their personal brands, too.
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