When Apple unveiled the original iPhone back in 2007, the company made waves not only with the groundbreaking product itself but also with the classic ad titled “Hello” that heralded its arrival. Featuring clips of movie and TV characters answering phone calls interspersed with shots of the sleek new iPhone, the ad built a sense of pop culture momentum around the device while highlighting how it would enable a new era of mobile communication.
Now, all these years later, Apple is employing a similar strategy as it prepares to unleash its first foray into augmented and virtual reality hardware, the Vision Pro headset. The company’s inaugural ad priming the public for this futuristic accessory’s launch takes more than a few cues from the memorable iPhone spot that preceded it 15 years ago.
Titled “Get Ready,” the Vision Pro ad shows various movie and TV moments of characters placing different vision-altering devices across their faces, from VR goggles to creepy masks. We see clips featuring tech-assisted perception from films like Iron Man, Up! and Star Wars strategically edited together to portray a sense of momentum and public readiness around strapping an advanced viewer onto one’s head.
Just as the rapid-fire scenes of answering phones and voicemails served as a cultural zeitgeist for welcoming the iPhone and its revolutionary capabilities, this slick new ad aims to accustom audiences to the idea of welcoming more immersive digital realities enabled by emerging augmented and virtual reality hardware and experiences in the Apple mold.
And given the Vision Pro’s steep $3,499 price tag, Apple will have to replicate plenty of that iPhone magic for its new headset to stand a chance of conquering the mainstream. Fortunately, the company knows a thing or two about priming high-end products promising digital transformation to become objects of mass tech desire.
We’ll soon find out if lightning can strike twice when the Vision Pro makes its consumer debut on February 2, after preorders open on January 19. One thing is clear: Apple won’t let history get in the way of authoring its future innovations—even when there’s wisdom to draw from the past.
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