Apple's new iPad Mini TV ad: Old-style Apple
Apple's new iPad Mini ad is, at least, not a dull demonstration as were the original iPad ads. It's a little more classic than that.
Looking back didn't do a lot for Lot's wife, but it might do a little for Apple.
The new iPad Mini ad, shown at today's unveiling, offers a certain charm that's been largely missing from much of Apple's recent advertising.
This, at least, offers a simple idea, simply done.
A subliminal message that might emerge for some is that what you can do with two fingers on your regular iPad, you can do with one on your Mini, but that wouldn't be the intent.
Sir Jonathan Ive -- as he's known in Britain's snootier newspapers -- declared today that this new Mini isn't a shrinking, but a "concentration."
So here we have a finger concentrating very hard on making sure it hits the right notes, and harmonizes with its larger antecedent.
The ad tries to tell you everything by telling you nothing. You look and you feel, and listen. Perhaps you get the idea that large or small, the iPad could be your playful companion.
Somehow, this very simplicity looks back toward classic Apple ads of old -- the ones that didn't need to try too hard.