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Very First iPod Ad Ever

youtube.com — Now apple uses slick ads with U2 and graphics. This is the very first iPod ad ever shown on TV.

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  • logic, on 10/12/2007, -9/+18That's actually a really funny ad. I haven't seen any other ipod ads, but using U2 sounds like a regression to me.
    • adamlazz, on 10/12/2007, -19/+12'I haven't seen any other ipod ads'

      You're not missing much.
      Great find. Great ad.
    • ZapWizard, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9Shouldn't they put a disclaimer?
      "Warning! Dancing like you see on iPod ads, such as swinging your iPod around in all directions, will void the warranty of your iPod and cause an early click of death."

    • AppleOSuX, on 10/12/2007, -25/+6Lame. The iPod was neither new or better than anything else at the time. Creative and other companies already had products out that beat this crap to the ground. So why did the iPod become so popular?

      Advertising. That's the only thing that Apple is any good at, and you all just can't get enough of it can you?
    • hyperpasta, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17^AppleOSuX

      The iPod came out in october of 2001. It represented 1000 songs in your pocket. Go find another MP3 player availible then that held 1000 songs AND fit in your pocket. Provide a link maybe. IF you can find one, then we can compare the two and see which was easier to use and had the best software.
    • mashmal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'm still on my 1st gen, and it's still as good as any other player... just not quite as svelte.
    • AppleOSuX, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2hyperpasta: Ummm, for ONE how about the Personal Jukebox with a 1200 song capacity, released in 1999.

      To get a clue, try this link: http://www.historicaltextarchive.com/s/mp3-players.php
    • mashmal, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5AppleOSuX, didn't I see you at the Charlotte City Council meeting a while back?

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA1hyqA6UTY
    • tomalakborg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Agreed! I think apple should get back to stuff like this - think different was one of the best ad campaigns ever. Remember: the best ads are unique, amusing, and have you entertained so you don't think of the product until it's over. Every time I see Bono I think of ipods and selling out. Every time I see Bono on tv I think "another ipod ad", and change the channel. You're damn right the U2 move was a regression. (By the way, I like U2, and respect Bono --- I just hate ad whores)
    • nilobject, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@AppleOSuX

      You're right! The Personal Jukebox was a wonderfully designed MP3 player with simple controls, an easy-to-use interface, and excellent computer integration.

      Not.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Jukebox

      Listen, AppleOSuX, 5.9×1×3.15 inches is not pocket sized. You're so full of crap in every post you make that it burns my eyes. Why everyone on Digg hasn't blocked you yet, I'll never know.
    • rspeed, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@AppleOSuX
      All of the hard drive based MP3 players were massive (Apple was the first company to use a 1.8" HD), heavy and horrendously slow. It would take hours to transfer music through USB 1.1. Did the iPod become popular because of marketing? Of course it did. EVERYTHING does, get used to it. But saying that the original iPod was anything short of revolutionary for the DAP market is absolutely idiotic. It blew everything else out of the water in every way but price.
  • cjurczak, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16I remember that ad clear as day now that I've seen it again...I know I wanted one from back then...
    • ditoa, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Yeah me too. I keep forgetting the iPod came out in 2001, its only 5 years ago yet you would think it was 10 considering how many different models we have had!
    • mentat, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Hell, I remember that ad too. What's even more wickedâ„¢ than the fact that the iPod is only five years old (that's OOOOOOOLLLLLDDDD in computer terms! Our family PC is a seven year old P3 500 MHz, which was damn good at the time, compare that to your dual-core 64-bit AMD chips at 2.4 Ghz), but it's how much the style of Apple's ads have changed. In 2001 they were still using the same "simple and clean" "think different" ads, where it was just white text in Times New Roman. Now, everything's loud, spashy, bright, vibrant, and in Arial. Man, judging by the styling of that ad, it looks like it was from back in the OS 9 days.

      I even remember owning a G1 iPod, for Windows. 5GB seemed like an enormous amount of storage. And the FireWire connection blew me away, being used to USB 1.1 slogging junk onto 32 MB MP3 players (The only other MP3 player I ever owned was a Rio 500). It was cool that I could take as many songs with me as I wanted without having to transcode them to 64 Kbit or even as low as 32 Kbit (22 KHz too) just to be able to fit it all. The days of LAME wizardry were behind me the moment that silver-and-white box was jacked into my PC.
    • elroy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13BACK IN MY DAY WE PUT PORN ON PUNCH CARDS
  • Night, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8Cool add, much better then the new ones.
  • eppitek, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Just as a point of reference, before I put this story on digg there were 7,322 views... its interesting to see the number of views increasing vs. the number of diggs...
    • logic, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2What is it now?
    • eppitek, on 10/12/2007, -4/+47,375 views.. so 53 views vs 8 diggs
    • tom6a, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4 7,375

      So, 50 views in the first 30 minutes. Of course, probably not all from digg.
    • ATLBeer, on 10/12/2007, -4/+37,571 4 hours after originally posted, 48 diggs and on the Front Page
    • r121, on 10/12/2007, -2/+27,660 Views now, 226 diggs
    • bluerpk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+317,968 views 558 diggs.
      That makes it about 10,000 views since the story has been posted.
      Approx 20 views per digg.

      Guess this supports the digg information freeloader theory posted here a while back.
  • tom6a, on 10/12/2007, -16/+2 deleted
    • FBMGriever, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4It's still there, pal.

      And boy does this bring back some good memories! I had completely forgotten about this ad :D

      Dugg ^^
  • PsycoMonkey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Wow! i remember that. Ohh how time has flown by
  • fr0z3nph03n1x, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I love the Propellerheads, especially this song.
    • TheOneGreatX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1what song is it?
    • sandig, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It's called 'Take California'.

      I agree, the Propellorheads are an awesome band. I only wish there was more music out there like them. 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' is musical genius.
    • AndFrom, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2"Take California" from the album Decksandrumsandrockandroll.

      Edit: sandig beat me by one second!
  • JazzFlight, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Just confirming, that was Jeff Goldblum, right?
  • sldSquirrel, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18OLD. No digg.



    ...just kidding, guys.
  • luckyjonny, on 10/12/2007, -14/+3Oooooooooh dear what a *****. If only the masses who strut around thinking their white earphones make them cool could see this and be appalled ...
    • HoboMaster, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Yeah, all those crazy people who like to listen to music while going places. God, those people are annoying. I mean, what kind of person walks and listens to music at the same time? Shame on them.
  • Linkage155, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6The song that the guy copied over was his 987th song out of 1000.
    Apparently, he would spent 1000 dollars on songs, or did he ;)
    • kodek, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1He probably did, as iPods were really expensive back then :)
    • appleswitch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Actually, your wrong In every way. The orignal iPod was introduced in 2001, but the iTunes music store diden't open untill 2003. He Imported the songs off CDs. Alot has changed In 5 years hasen't it, where were you?
    • kodek, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I think you're the one who's wrong because you're assuming that he bought the songs from the iTMS because he's saying they cost $1/song. What if he truly spent $1000 on those 1000 songs, but he bought CDs? Don't assume anything when you're trying to make another person look bad.
    • cyrix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5There were a bunch of CD's in the commercial. I'd think it would be safe to assume he ripped them.
  • Mexrocker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4oh man, I really do remember that ad and I just wanted an iPod so badly... 1000 songs... that thing is not much compared to what is out now... how times change...
    • mentat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I know, I know. I remember when having something like two hundred songs was a huge library. I thought "How could someone EVER have a thousand songs on their computer? What kind of voo doo storage system could they have?!" Now, I own a 60 GB iPod, and have over 1,700 songs. And I thought the 20 GB iPod would be more than anyone would ever need.
  • geoffmyers, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I love that ad. It's funny and great! :-D
  • xshaisu, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Jeff Goldblum has got some nice moves! :P
  • cardinale, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5This is better than any ad with U2
  • skoobisnaxs, on 10/12/2007, -15/+2That was a beta model, I dont think they EVER had a big firewire connection on the top like that, funny.
  • matthewconnelly, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I wish I could moon walk like that guy!
  • awhiteflame, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Also, for the interested, this is Steve Job's introduction of the first iPod as well.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=kN0SVBCJqLs
    • foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1WTF? CD players for $75??? Times have changed.
      Also, that charger dont ship with 5G iPods. Wish they did.
      I laugh at Jobs showing off .78 inches thick
    • baltakatei, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Even though Job's presentation is 5 years old, the Reality Distortion Field is still coming through strong. Pretty amazing considering the products he's talking about are obselete or overpriced in today's market. What is he?
    • thesilverfox06, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It does look kinda funny how he's showing off these features that seem obsolete, but it was pretty amazing then.
    • slopduck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The original model did ship with that charger. I'm looking at it right now. Still use my first generation iPod everyday.
    • foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"The original model did ship with that charger. I'm looking at it right now. Still use my first generation iPod everyday."
      Switch to nano
  • bigboludo, on 10/12/2007, -12/+4This shows up on digg about every three months.
    • Spaz007, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Lamest story on Digg... over and over...
  • flubba, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3ipod - 1000 songs in yo' pocket.
  • steve228uk, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2This was posted on MacTV ages ago!

    StEvE.
  • andrebrown, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5This was very effective for the first ad. It let everyone know what an iPod was and spread the word. Now they can just make ads, and since it's such a staple in our culture, everyone knows what it is. The idea now is just to keep the buzz alive.
  • xyqxyq, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Holy crap, I feel real old. I remember that commercial clear as day.
  • sych0, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5wtf @ 15fps

    • Ramble, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Buy a better computer you cheap hippy retard.
  • NumbCore, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I like this kid's comment that is on top of the YouTube page. Haha.

    "that thing was huge i got a nano its way smaller n holds the same amount"
  • zephc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Looks like he's running 10.1 (guessing by the Finder and iTunes icons, and that safari isn't in the Dock)
  • DirkBelig, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0I remember that ad and in retrospect it's a miracle that they sold ANY iPods with a spazzy geek guy dancing as their sales pitch.
  • TheBobman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Decksanddrumsandrockandroll is an AWESOME album, it was so stupidly ahead of it's time, it's a bloody shame the Propellerheads only ever made that one album (plus about a dozen singles) they had such promise...

    Anyway, if you're digging the track from the video, see if you can track down "Take California & Party - Propellerheads feat. the Jungle Brothers" it's vocal remix and it's twice as catchy!
  • TheNik, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1It reminds me of the newer Diet Coke commercials with the dude dancing/getting dressed to Bodyrockers.

    This is way better because of the Goldblum, though. :D
  • TeKoverride, on 10/12/2007, -1/+31000 Songs in my pocket!!!! That's soooo many!! I want it now!
  • MuddyPitch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Wow, nice find. I remember seeing that commercial over and over and over when it was first on.

    I don't think that's Jeff Goldblum, though, but maybe I'm mistaken. For a device that was marketed towards youth, I'm not sure Apple would attach an older face to the product rollout. No offense towards Goldblum, of course, that's just the way it is with these kinds of things.....
  • theBrink, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4That's not Jeff Goldblum people, pause near the beginning, I'll give you he has the hair/nose, but it's not him.
    • khag7, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3i dont think thats goldblum. do a google image search and compare the video (paused) and a pic side by side.

      edit: pause at 5 seconds, and it could easily be confused for Jeff, but if you pause at 28 seconds you'll see.. that is NOT goldblum. no way.

      and also an interesting thing to do is pause the video when the actor is looking at his iTunes library. theres some music in there i've never heard and will download just to see what it is.
    • YourTechSupport, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3That's what I was thinking. This guy's younger, and... you know, ALOT MORE ANIMATED.
    • HoboMaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, all that, and the fact that this guy's Indian.
  • rjcarr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4For the record, this is *not* Jeff Goldblum. JG is really tall, probably 6'4" and has always been skinny and in great shape. This guy does look like him, but is of average height and a bit pudgy, and looks to be a bit younger (iPod didn't come out that long ago, what 2001?).

    I had heard that a few times and just wanted to clear that up.
  • iCallShotgun, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0So, if I get an ipod, I can dance really creepy too? ALLRIGHT! Seriously though, I like the ad. And in fact, I have that generation of Ipod.
  • corsairstw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I definitely remember when this Ad came out. It was one of my favorites and probably still is!
  • LordKaT, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Isn't the iPod still a bit too new to be getting nostalgic over?
    • ash91, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2not in a world where technological advancements happen so damn quickly
  • NewPunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Oh man, that commercial rocked. I remember seeing that on tv a long time ago, brings back memories... Couldn't afford them back then, but now I've got my big beautiful 60GB with video. Gotta love iPods.
  • theBrink, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The Apple Music Event video is kinda funny, I remember wanting a RIO waayyyy before the ipod was available, I could only pray I'd ever have a Nomad, I had an iriver before the ipod, and they have 9 minutes explaining the basics of mp3 players like it's a completely new take on the concept.

    It's just funny that this stuff is readily available, ready to take off, but it takes an apple product and then everyone has one. Apple did a good job with the design of course, making it smaller, pushing more battery life, but did everyone wait for the Color TV before getting one? - ok maybe some did, but clearly not the majority as is the ipod.
  • sxtxixtxcxh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2:) i still have my 1st gen... and it's still kicking, even after all the hell i put it through. say what you want about the ipod, just leave the 1st gen out of it.
    • agentbillo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I still have my 1st gen too. I ordered it the day they were announced. The thing still rocks, still has original battery. The wheel rolls around on its own a little, though ;-)
  • nerditup, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is the ad! I was thinking about it the other day when updating my pod! +digg for refreshing my memory.
  • dknighton, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That iPod looks sooo freaking old now!
  • e3mw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That was only 5 years ago, too. I remember when it aired all the time.
  • mlmurray, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I remember this commercial. It didn't make me buy an iPod, but it did get me interested in the Propellerheads! The song in the commercial "Take California" is excellent, as is most of their stuff.

    A very effective Propellerheads commercial.
  • telielio, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0one word. awkward.
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