
MacBook Air Stickers - antr
https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/stickers/index.html
======
modernerd
Your brief: _create a video ad that features the company logo in the middle of
the screen for the full 30-second advert, without losing people 's attention._

Placing your company logo so prominently for so long in a video ad is rare –
it's hard to find an excuse to leave it there for the full ad. But it works in
Apple's _Stickers_ ad here.

The video ad reads both as an invitation to get creative with the space on the
back of your laptop, and as an optimistic style guide handed down from above:
_“by all means shove stickers over your MacBook, but – hey – if you 're going
to do that, they may as well interact with our logo in a fun way instead of
covering it up!”_ (Clearly, my own MacBook contravenes the suggested
guidelines: [http://d.pr/i/iGOa](http://d.pr/i/iGOa) )

~~~
mosselman
To each their own of course, but I find these plastered laptops kind of
childish. I can't be the only one right?

I don't really understand why I'd broadcast different brands that might align
with what I do professionally everywhere I go. Then again, I am not one to
like things on Facebook either, might be a similar tendency.

This seems more of a trend in America than it does here in Europe. Maybe it is
similar to the more American custom to communicate 'witty' things on t-shirts?

~~~
dionidium
I think you're being unfairly downvoted, mostly because I don't think
_childish_ quite conveys the thought. There _does_ seem to be some personality
type that likes a lot of flair in their life -- jewelry, stickers, tattoos,
busy t-shirts -- and it's always felt a little odd to me, too.

At risk of being reductionist, it is kind of hard to understand why anyone
would feel compelled to signal their likes and group-identities to strangers
in such an overt way. But I'm probably revealing more about my own personality
by saying that than I am theirs.

~~~
revscat
> At risk of being reductionist, it is kind of hard to understand why anyone
> would feel compelled to signal their likes and group-identities to strangers
> in such an overt way. But I'm probably revealing more about my own
> personality by saying that than I am theirs.

I think the second sentence is more true than you might like to admit. People
have been decorating things for as long as there have been modern humans.
There is some evidence that even Neanderthals modified their environments for
aesthetic reasons [1].

The desire to make things beautiful -- including our own bodies -- is as old
as history itself, and even older. If you don't partake in this then I, for
one, consider that a bit sad. You're missing out on a huge part of life.

[1]
[http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jun/14/neanderthals-...](http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jun/14/neanderthals-
first-create-cave-paintings)

~~~
dionidium
To be fair (and as a sort of vote for the this-behavior-is-childish camp), I
was much more into this sort of thing when I was a younger person.

------
afs35mm
This seems like a complete paradigm shift from the Jobs-days of so closely
holding and protecting their brand. Refusing to dilute it with Home Simpson
and poorly drawn Golden Gate bridges...

...Or maybe they could just want to increase accessory sales.

~~~
jcromartie
Yes. Compare this, and the iPhone 5C, with "here's to the crazy ones"… it's
depressing.

~~~
mdanger007
Under Jobs, the iMac G3 was invigorated with a similar aesthetic flush.

~~~
jonknee
Oh man, remember the Flower Power iMac? Blue Dalmatian? Things got crazy...

------
theallan
Don't know if it can really be considered "interesting" or not, but at the
very end the logo flickers between the new style single shade and the old
style rainbow colours. Might we see a return of the old logo?

~~~
JosephRedfern
I'm pretty sure that it was a sticker.

~~~
eyko
He's talking about the quick transform that happens on the digital logo at the
end (white, black, rainbow, and cycles)

~~~
fredsted
You can get transparent rainbow stickers you can put on the apple logo on the
back of MacBooks. I agree that that was probably the intended meaning.

------
evaneykelen
Can a cinematographer explain to me why the Apple logo (or even the whole
laptop) doesn't stay centered but shifts a few pixels now and then?

Would the clip look too polished (not real) if the logo remained at exactly
the same position for the duration of the clip?

There must be a 'movie-technical' reason for this because it deviates from an
otherwise pixel-perfect Apple ad.

~~~
philmcc
As a videomaker, I was a little stunned by how 'imperfect' it was, for a few
of the shots.

It has to be a conscious artistic decision, because it would be trivial to
'nudge' the frame around in an NLE (we'll assume Final Cut here, right?) to
make sure the Apple logo never moved.

There are also some shadow inconsistencies that could've been skipped, there's
no need to actually swap out the entire laptop for each shot, could just use
the logo/sticker area.

~~~
philmcc
I agree with the other commenters, but sort of wonder if they missed the mark
by going "half way" gritty/raw/stop-motion. The Gondry example is a perfect
one, because he doesn't make each shot 99% close to the one before it. If
you're going to make it imperfect, really make it imperfect. It'll look better
if it doesn't look like a mistake.

------
smanuel
A little bit off topic but... can someone please remind me why does Apple
continue using this horrible thing called QuickTime Plugin?

~~~
ihuman
Because it is their own product, and it could be seen as a negative move to
not use it?

~~~
smanuel
And they can absolutely use it as a fallback for HTML5 video.

Using WMP Plugin, RealPlayer plugin, QuickTime, Flash, etc. is so... 2007.

MS also has(had) Silverlight but at some point they just stopped using it and
most of the videos I've seen recently on their site(s) are HTML5 (no plugins
required).

But not Apple. Everything (I've seen) on their site is QuickTime.

~~~
coob
What browser are you using? Everything shows up as HTML5 video for me.

~~~
smanuel
Chrome. On Ubuntu.

> Everything shows up as HTML5 video for me.

That's weird.

------
NietTim
What stood out the most to me is that some laptops are actually dirty, you can
see the dirt on them. Guess they went with the "Ok, get the as raw as you can,
we want machines that have been used". Kinda cool, especially from Apple since
they are normally so strict and 'clean'

------
poolpool
Jonny Ive is crying right now that his brushed aluminum is being cover up by
vinyl.

~~~
nick_riviera
I've had to cover all exposed metal parts on my MBP in vinyl. It gives me a
rash otherwise. I bet he didn't think of that when choosing materials...

~~~
raverbashing
I believe people are much more likely to be allergic to vinyl than to aluminum
(or Aluminum Oxide)

~~~
andor
People are allergic to nickel, which is used in aluminium alloys.

~~~
raverbashing
Humm

Maybe it's this one?
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6061_aluminium_alloy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6061_aluminium_alloy)
(a guess from here:
[https://discussions.apple.com/message/8612485](https://discussions.apple.com/message/8612485))

Anyway, when I'm using a wristwatch I don't have a problem with the case, but
the strap is often itchy (not to the point of irritating the skin, though)

~~~
nick_riviera
It's possible. You can nickel treat alu to give it a consistent durable finish
as alu oxide is quite easy to dent and this deposits some on the surface.

Another thing I've seen is that a friend of mine's MBP has started to
dissolve. It is pitted and looks burned. Turns out some people's sweat eats
them as well.

Probably a bad material choice if you ask me.

------
stevekinney
It's curious to me that they're not selling these stickers. These are mostly
ones I've seen on various third-party sites.

I'm also amazed they managed to get the rights for all those characters
(Disney was probably easy, but the Simpsons and Warner Bros.?)

~~~
jbrooksuk
The Simpsons are always jokingly referring to Apple. They have the apple logo
with two bits out of it. I'm sure The Simpsons are happy to tie their name
like this.

~~~
carlob
You probably meant 'the Simpsons' instead of your first Apple?

I don't think the portrayal of Apple in the Simpsons is very positive though,
it's often shown as cultish.

------
circa
I always thought the Iron Man ones were great.

[http://www.karenhealey.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/09/colorf...](http://www.karenhealey.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/09/colorful-iron-man-macbook-decal-2.jpg)

~~~
therockhead
Wow .. love it.

------
pxlpshr
Is it just me or did that feel like that came from Dre/Beats ad team?

~~~
roc
It certainly feels like it came from a company that would buy the Dre/Beats
team.

That is: historically Apple has emphasized the emotional pitch to the things
that _you (can) do_ with their gear, and the expression of personality
_through that use_.

This commercial is much more an emotional pitch to the gear _in-and-of itself_
, and the expression of personality via (crass/commercial) _personalization_
of the gear.

It's not wholly incompatible with the older Apple approach, but it's _much_
more in-line with Beats' approach.

This also seems to walk directly into the old criticism that Apple is
primarily an enabler of _corporate consumption_ as opposed to _creation_.

It's unclear whether they're ignoring those old knocks with new confidence, or
are simply unaware of how this looks (and more importantly: how _the shift_
looks).

------
nicholassmith
That's a pretty interesting move from Apple, I know a few people who are part
of the stickers-on-laptop set (myself included) and those that refuse to
besmirch the looks with stickers. I'd always assumed that Apple would fall
into the second group, but it's nice to see them showing off a small cottage
industry.

------
cbovis
Love this, reminds me of the silhouette iPod adverts.

------
TazeTSchnitzel
It's really interesting that there's dirt on some of these MacBooks.
Presumably they must be real machines used by Apple employees or customers,
and they intentionally didn't clean them.

~~~
jlcx
Not sure if it means anything, but your comment reminded me of this blog post
written after Steve Jobs died:
[http://daringfireball.net/2011/10/universe_dented_grass_unde...](http://daringfireball.net/2011/10/universe_dented_grass_underfoot)

------
plg
it's not about the stickers, people

it's the idea that people love their macbooks air so much, they adorn them
with flair to personalize them, to incorporate the laptop into their own
personality

~~~
normloman
It has little to do with macbook airs. People will put stickers on anything.
Years ago, my college gave out lenovo think pads, and people stickered the
crap out of em.

~~~
hnha
Well it's _different_ with Apple. I guess people who don't own one won't
understand. /s

------
bshimmin
I didn't really like the way the laptop judders slightly (especially in the
opening 10 seconds or so) because the images don't quite line up. I'm not sure
whether it was a conscious decision to do it that way - obviously taking
identical pictures is hard, but not impossible, though doing the whole thing
digitally would probably be easier. Odd choice, if you ask me.

~~~
lukeholder
This is a keen observation that make a surprising conclusion. I made the same
observation but had a completely different reaction.

The stuttering was actually a motif to show this are pictures of different
laptops of real people. It also completely tied into the music which was of a
stuttery and impactful tone. It was obviously an intentional technique. You
will notice that the laptops were also scuffed and looked used.

The whole ad was about how personal a macbook is to its owner. I think apple
have been concerned mac's are now so 'mainstream' they want to encourage the
view that you are your macbook.

~~~
bshimmin
I take your point. I think I would have preferred it had the jumping around
been just a tiny bit more pronounced so it was _very_ obviously intentional.

I'll take it over Apple's increasingly mawkish TV spots any day, though.

------
bryanlarsen
You wouldn't see it on the Apple web site, but are there any good stickers
that take advantage of the fact that an apple (often with a bite taken out of
it) is the universal symbol for sex store in many countries? It's a reference
to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, of course.

~~~
eru
Which countries?

~~~
gambiting
In the UK, Ann Summers has an apple in their logo,and this is the biggest
"sex" store I can think of.

------
eddyg
As a big fan of Minions, this is my MacBook Air:
[http://puu.sh/amhxR/56166054af.JPG](http://puu.sh/amhxR/56166054af.JPG)

------
spain
I liked the cute flashing of the old rainbow-colored Apple logo at the end,
almost as if they were sort of going back to that kind of colorful style with
the stickers.

------
mapleoin
So I don't get it. Are they for sale? How much?

~~~
hashtree
[https://www.etsy.com/search?q=macbook%20decal](https://www.etsy.com/search?q=macbook%20decal)

~~~
hamidpalo
Also check out [http://www.decalgirl.com/](http://www.decalgirl.com/) .

I made this for my mbp:
[https://twitter.com/hamidp/status/463408033670774785/photo/1](https://twitter.com/hamidp/status/463408033670774785/photo/1)

~~~
mmarks
Society6 has a fun collection: [http://society6.com/laptop-
skins](http://society6.com/laptop-skins)

------
strictfp
Tux available here:
[http://idiffer.de/de/product/Tux](http://idiffer.de/de/product/Tux)

~~~
gambiting
I love linux but for some reason I would find this really off putting. Like
writing down your political beliefs on your bumper .

~~~
dublinben
A significant portion of the population finds it completely acceptable to
plaster their political beliefs on their bumper, both via stickers or their
license plate itself. You might find it distasteful, but it's hardly rare.

------
dangerboysteve
I can hear the screams from Etsy merchants.

------
idan
Does anyone know what song that is?

~~~
italophil
Chimes by Hudson Mohawke

~~~
rxdazn
TNGHT (Hudson Mohawke + Lunice)

You probably won't ever get that version as rapper Future bought the beat.
Last time something similar happened, it was Kanye West buying TNGHT - R U
Ready which ended up being the beat for Blood On The Leaves

edit: I actually am completely wrong. Chimes actually from HudMo only and not
TNGHT and it can be purchased on iTunes right now. Big surprise, really
thought it would never come out (it's been at least two years since it's been
played for the first time). [https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/chimes-
ep/id900521487](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/chimes-ep/id900521487)

~~~
icpmacdo
Thanks dude! Just bought the song :)

------
alco
A lot of the designs on that page would look better if they covered the logo.

------
wolfgke
Somehow for me it feels for me that the choreography from the Apple trailer is
"copied" from an Inception trailer.

Compare 0:10 of Apple's ad with
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM#t=34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM#t=34)

------
pepsi_can
I enjoyed the music. Was that original music made for this film?

~~~
why-el
Yes, they mixed two songs together, one of which is not out (the beat part),
but it is acquired by a rapper and might someday come out as a fully fleshed
song.

------
rbanffy
I really want the pixelated rainbow apple... Good memories.

------
retroencabulato
<meta property="og:title" content="Apple - MacBook Air - Stickers" /> <meta
property="og:description" content="Lorem ipsum" />

~~~
ihuman
The "og" series of meta property tags are for FaceBook's Open Graph [1]. I
believe that FaceBook uses that data to determine what to post if you post
that link.

[1] [http://ogp.me/](http://ogp.me/)

------
kmfrk
Goes well with the iPhone 5C branding.

------
thrillscience
I have one "sticker" on my Mac. A piece of gaffer's tape over the glowing
logo.

------
rcarmo
Still waiting for that 11" with Retina display, Tim.

~~~
jbverschoor
Won't happen for now. The 13" has retina. The battery is twice as big as the
13" air. Techspecs for the rest are identical. Batterylife is the same.

So unless they can extend batterylife 100%, it will not happen

~~~
rcarmo
It's not about the battery, it's about the portability and the display. A 13"
laptop is too big to lug around for me, and the retina display would enhance
readability for me (I tend to read a _lot_ on screen, but an iPad is simply
not an option for the rest of my activities).

~~~
sorenjan
Have you looked at the Surface Pro 3? 12", 2160x1440, lots of nice reviews.

~~~
rcarmo
Yes, and I'm sorely tempted even though I've only used Macs for five years
now. (edited to add:) The keyboard's not very nice, though.

------
darkstar999
"Film"? I was expecting some kind of documentary about the culture of Mac
stickers or something. I got an ad with no commentary.

------
stefan_kracht
I'm just a little bit angry, they didn't use any of my
[http://stickerlicio.us](http://stickerlicio.us) stickers ;)

------
stefek99
Perfect fit to the #laptopstickers collection:
[http://www.pinterest.com/pin/200410252143300149/](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/200410252143300149/)

------
artificialidiot
Thus apple invented stickers..

------
jug6ernaut
The lack of this [1] Legend of Zelda decal hurts me a little...just a little.

[1] [http://ecx.images-
amazon.com/images/I/51X%2Bx1P7f3L._SL1500_...](http://ecx.images-
amazon.com/images/I/51X%2Bx1P7f3L._SL1500_.jpg)

------
nawariata
I am amused that they offer sticker of Walther White (Breaking Bad series),
character known for his aspiration of becoming a drug lord, producing meth and
murdering people. Does not quite align with Apple's family-friendly brand
image.

~~~
sjtrny
AFAIK they are not offering these stickers for sale. They are presenting
examples of stickers that people have made.

------
collyw
I got a Macbook Air from work. Stuck Ubuntu on it, and a big kayak sticker
over the Apple logo. They aren't getting free adverting from me. (One fanboy
looked noticeably upset when he saw it running Ubuntu).

~~~
mosselman
I like how someone who uses the same hardware as you but a different OS is a
'fanboy', but at the same time you are completely exempt of this moniker even
though you take part of your identity from the fact that you cover up a logo
and run Ubuntu; feeling proud enough to tell us about it here.

Fanboy-ing aside the benefit of OS X over Ubuntu (et al.), to me at least, is
that it is more stable, still unix and there is much more software available
for it that doesn't require debugging/building/re-building, etc. Ubuntu is fun
for playing with, but when I need to get work done it tends get in the way
eventually.

~~~
thrillscience
Agreed. Ubuntu people are just as crazy as Mac zealots.

~~~
collyw
It would have been a different version Linux, but Ubuntu is the easiest to
install with the bootloader nonsense.

------
pjmlp
> With up to 12 hours of battery life, an incredibly thin and light design,
> and fast all-flash storage, what's not to love?

The price for European pockets.

------
pistle
Steve Jobs: One more thing... we've got a huge user base that love
STICKERS!@!@!@! WoOt!!! We got nothing technically new, but you should know
that people love us and like to put stickers all over our stuff because, well
people have to do that when there's a bunch of the same product in a group...
like in schools and stuff.

People put stickers on their things for purposes which generally don't sync up
with Apple's brand aesthetic. I'm confused that this happens when Ive has MORE
control in this realm.

This, along with the Beats acquisition, seems to point towards a shift from
delivering innovation and more towards marketing to kids - which is a valid
business proposition. Sticker bombs and colorful headphones are middle school.
Apple has to balance it's aspiring Bauhausian creative class against its next
generation of buyers.

In a large, case-control study of Apple product owners, it was shown that
professional creatives were less likely to put stickers all over their tools
of production since they were trying to get things done and carry a message of
precisely and cleanly delivered works of inspiration.

If the message is, "I <3 APPLE! like everybody else!" the play is heavily
tilted towards emotional ties and peer pressure. These aren't messages of
productivity, social connectedness, innovation, etc. They are about your
personal connection to a product.

In teaming with IBM, I guess they'll have Big Blue carry their boring
productivity message and Apple can focus on OMG FUN! stuff.

~~~
source99
Why did this get down voted?

~~~
pistle
Not only that, but a few are digging into older posts to put those down as
well. I just don't know what I'll do with my diminishing pool of anonymous
internet cred.

