The Rock's new Apple ads are a lot funnier than 'the movie'
Commentary: After The Rock hyped a three-minute ad as a movie, Apple releases three short ads that are somehow more amusing.
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
Sometimes, less is more.
Sometimes, the trailer is a lot better than the movie.
And I'm not specifically referring to this year's "Baywatch" movie starring The Rock.
I am, though, moved to the thought because Apple and The Rock released a movie before the trailers.
Should you have missed the momentous event a couple of weeks ago, The Rock himself hyped a three-minute Apple ad, in which he starred, as his new "movie," co-starring Siri.
It was more an ad for The Rock. As for Siri, hers was little more than a bit part.
On Tuesday, however, Apple released three 15-second ads that were clearly shot at the same time as the (non-)movie and, to my addled soul, they're rather funnier.
In one, The Rock is a chef and makes a joke about French being a much nicer language than, well, American.
Another ad shows the possible future presidential candidate saying, "Hey Siri, remind me to dominate relentlessly today."
Just that sentence makes the ad worthwhile.
A final ad has The Rock in space, doing what all stars love to do: taking a selfie with the help of an assistant.
There's a more than passable joke at the end.
Perhaps I'm struggling with my attention span these days, but these pithy affairs seem far more palatable than the "movie."
I do have trouble seeing how Siri becomes anything more than an occasionally witty character in these ads.
Is there anything special about the things she can do for The Rock?
Perhaps Siri's jokes are her best asset.
Indeed, I just asked her if she thinks she's funny. "I'll take that as a compliment, Chris," she replied.
"Hey Siri, What makes you so special?" I continued.
"OK, I found this on the web for 'what makes you so special," she replied. (The first link was to a self-help guru.)
I made a final attempt to break through. I asked her what made her better than Amazon's Alexa.
"I only try to best myself," she replied. Still some way to go, then.