Black figures dance against a bright, flat color, and the only detail on them is a white iPod and a pair of white earbuds. There is no list of features on screen, only the music and the movement. That is the iPod “Silhouettes” campaign, which began in 2003.
The idea came from Chiat/Day art director Susan Alinsangan, director Lee Clow and James Vincent, a former DJ and musician. The backgrounds were lime green, yellow, fuchsia, bright blue and pink, and the songs changed often, with artists including Daft Punk, The Black Eyed Peas, U2 and Coldplay. The video above is one spot from the series.
According to Wikipedia, Steve Jobs was skeptical of the silhouette idea at first and approved it after the tagline “1,000 songs in your pocket” answered his concerns. The campaign moved the message from specifications to emotion, and the white earbuds became a symbol of the brand.
It also changed what a commercial could do for music. Feist’s song “1234” reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 after it appeared in an iPod ad. The campaign proved that a product ad could sell an experience, and it is still one of the best-known examples of it.
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