Apple iPad 2 'If You Asked' Ad Inspires, Pulls Heartstrings

Break out the tissues. Apple's back with another weepy and inspiring iPad 2 ad guaranteed to put a lump your throat. Building on the "We Believe" spot from earlier this month, the "If You Ask" ad recruits actor Peter Coyote again for the narration. There's nary a swipe, tap or human hand in sight this time; the iPad shows its chops alone in the home, music studio, hospital, office, classroom and bedroom.

Here's Coyote's gravelly voiceover:

If you ask a parent, they might call it intuitive. If you ask a musician, they might call it inspiring. To a doctor, it's groundbreaking. To a CEO, it's powerful. To a teacher, it's the future. If you ask a child, she might call it magic. And if you asked us, we'd say it's just getting started.

WATCH

Of course it's magic, but then again, so was Apple's Newton in the '90s. Is it so much to ask for a dose of humor or fun?

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What do you think of Apple's new "If You Asked" ad?

Inspiring

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Comments

[lilylee86]

10:30 PM on 05/05/2011

Ipad still has a big space to develop..
joyfax

[Ramon Moreno]

08:10 PM on 05/05/2011

Droid.

[Parshwa Shah]

06:57 PM on 05/05/2011

Not as good as the Apple iPhone or iPad commercials.

www.irepairworks.com

[standup49]

10:19 AM on 05/05/2011

The ad is accurate. I do not own an iPad, but when I see how people from children to seniors and people from different walks of life and professions interact with it, its really quite amazing. The software and interface really is a paradigm shift from the desktop computer. Tablet computers are the future.

[Ramon Moreno]

07:51 PM on 05/05/2011

Harder, faster, polish that apple -

[Vendetta101]

06:14 AM on 05/05/2011

When do the islaves go on sale?

[Onutz]

01:08 PM on 05/05/2011

((When do the islaves go on sale?))

"islaves", that's pretty clever.
Of course it would be much better if people only used devices approved by robots, drones and droids.

[Ramon Moreno]

07:52 PM on 05/05/2011

Droid rules.

[ResearchtheFacts]

11:51 PM on 05/04/2011

They showed this awful commercial on TV while I was watching a show.  Failed to show the factory or living conditions of the workers that this commercial advertising puts pressure on those being abused to produce. Its all about making more money at whatever cost even human lives. The corporate benefit package is they took away their tea kettles and hairdryers so they couldn't use them to end their own lives. That was the answer to the workers being disgruntled about being worked 12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week to produce these products they keep shoving at us.

[DrReve]

06:04 PM on 05/05/2011

Really? And the tech companies that use Foxcon (HP, Gateway, Apple, etc) are too blame for this??? Not the government, or local policies for workers, or the workers themselves? Nobody is holding a gun to their heads. Yes, I could only imagine how tough the work is, but they are not forced to work there. It's a sad situation that they might not have many alternatives; for multiple reasons. BUT, if it weren't for these tech companies many would have no food or shelter and that would be a worse situation (a tough choice, but one nonetheless).

[ResearchtheFacts]

11:52 AM on 05/06/2011

Slavery as long as it is not in America. Hey, let's disguise what it is by giving them 50-70 cents an hour. We will still work them from sun up to sun down. You can feel good about it and sleep at night, but I pass.

[motlee2]

11:13 PM on 05/04/2011

Maybe Huffington Post's iPhone app should make a commercial for Apple, because it's a fu**in joke.

[macmanchgo]

10:17 PM on 05/04/2011

I can show you about a thousand animated powerpoint emails with galloping unicorns from my cousin in Ireland that will make that look like an episode from the Sopranos. This Ad is wonderful, like most of the Ads from Apple.

[Onutz]

01:12 PM on 05/05/2011

((I can show you about a thousand animated powerpoint emails with galloping unicorns from my cousin in Ireland that will make that look like an episode from the Sopranos. This Ad is wonderful, like most of the Ads from Apple.))

Are you sure we don't need more ads with cute little marching robots, drones and droids? ; )

[frank day]

10:03 PM on 05/04/2011

Chicks love this stuff.

Chicks love apple.

[hypnotoad72]

08:17 PM on 05/04/2011

Schmaltzy drivel.

Not much left to say.

Except for this:

Let children read real book and let their imaginations create the visuals.  Spoon-feeding them imagery that can interactively react to touch isn't a viable substitute, even if the iPad has relevant uses in other fields.

[JohnTheMac]

10:36 PM on 05/04/2011

so, ban all pictures in children books? All those classic illustrated books I grew up with?
What about comic books. They seem to spoonfeed imagery too. In my imagination, Superman is 12 feet tall....

[Comeplayinmyreality]

05:33 PM on 05/04/2011

they are just trying to sweeten their image a bit from the lastest fiascos is all.

[ResearchtheFacts]

04:20 PM on 05/04/2011

If you ask human rights advocates they would say deplorable... Latest is Foxconn who produces the product that commercials like this is creating demand for--their company loyalty program is workers have to promise not to take their own lives.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-05-02/news/29496258_1_foxconn-scholars-against-corporate-misbehaviour-factories

[hypnotoad72]

08:20 PM on 05/04/2011

undefined

[ResearchtheFacts]

09:45 PM on 05/04/2011

Perhaps, this will help you to further may the connection. Apple advertises its products and to keep up with an almost insane level of demand Foxconn the Apple product maker, often involved in stretching workers to the breaking point.

[hypnotoad72]

08:20 PM on 05/04/2011

Having read that article, I'm speechless.  Thank you for posting it.

Faved by a fan.

Mind if I put up a couple of articles, in case others haven't seen them, re: Foxconn and the suicide issue?

http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-iphone-factory-foxconn-holds-creepy-anti-suicide-rally-2010-8?op=1

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/government/is-apples-suicide-factory-outsourcing-to-even-cheaper-chinese-peasants/9537
(the article mentions other OEM companies like HP and Dell, but the article's URL and the known attention-getter ("Apple") often tends to be "the" name to use...  and the woman pictured in that article was probably forced to sign first.  :(  )

[ResearchtheFacts]

09:33 PM on 05/04/2011

Wow, it almost makes you want to cry.  The first picture on the business insider was bad enough but the zdnet one was heart wrenching. They look like they are living in absolute misery. Doing this to other humans is not ever worth having an iphone, ipad or ipod and the fact that Apple is still advertising to increase the demand on these enslaved workers beyond heartless.

[FalstaffsMind]

04:11 PM on 05/04/2011

The iPad is an amazing bit of technology. And it is just getting started. The iPhone due to the screen size constraints could never handle a particularly rich application. The iPad opens the door to apps that can truly integrate into business, public safety, education.. really anything. Lots of people do jobs that are 'field-based', many of which have some level of computerization. Consider just this one niche: Many communities have lots of trees on public lands. Somebody has to monitor the health of all those trees, record when trees need pruning, have a disease, die, schedule crews to handle pruning, disposal and replanting etc. It's a big job that nobody thinks about. It's an absolutely perfect niche for an iPad app. There are literally thousands upon thousands of niches like this.

[hypnotoad72]

08:26 PM on 05/04/2011

Sensors can be used for watering and the rest of it -- an iPad isn't the panacea.  Especially as to keep the iPad powered up all that time to ensure the signals go off at the right times - does the iPad pick up the sensor in the field?  Why can't other devices?  Or is the iPad the sensor, in which case it'd be a real fun job keeping it powered up 24/7...  

I do agree there are businesses used - they'll probably save a CEO the cost of a few secretaries having to fetch files and folders.

As for education - making "Alice in Wonderland" interactive will only have the kid pressing on the screen to make the bunny rabbit jump up and down so the kid can giggle in return.  That isn't education.  Not by any measure.  Unless you're teaching a kid to press on the screen to make the bunny rabbit jump up and down.

There are lots of niches, but there are lots of products out there right now.  To pick up data from sensors, there is no need  for an iPad.  Indeed, a laptop would be better because you'll be developing upper-body strength by having to carry it around.

[Onutz]

01:40 PM on 05/05/2011

(("Alice in Wonderland " interactiv e will only have the kid pressing on the screen to make the bunny rabbit jump up and down so the kid can giggle in return - there is no need for an iPad.))

You're absolutely 100% correct.
There is no need for children to giggle.
There is no need for me to use anatomy apps to rotate the skeleton 360 degrees.
To learn that the elbow is called the Olecranon Process which connects to lateral and medial humeral epicondyles.
There's no need to read a book about Jackson Pollack and cross-reference the material with wikipedia and Netflix movies.
There's no need for my mom to yelp with joy and amusement.
There's no need for any of this time wasting idiotic stuff. It just makes you stupid!

Apparently, what this world really needs are more robots, drones and droids.

[1other1]

04:11 PM on 05/04/2011

Brilliant.

[ResearchtheFacts]

04:21 PM on 05/04/2011

Yeah, take a look at the brilliance....definitely changing lives and not for the better.

http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/2010/11/03/a-look-at-life-inside-foxconns-iphone-factory/

[hypnotoad72]

08:29 PM on 05/04/2011

Another great article, thank you.

[JohnTheMac]

10:54 PM on 05/04/2011

That's great! No suicides since the nets went up and the "no suicides" pacts were signed.
Glad that worked

[Carbon Forteetoo]

03:46 PM on 05/04/2011

I just want one so badly now. But I'll wait until I need one.