Continuing what appears to be a series of musical advertisements for the iPhone, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) released another ad ending with the slogan “You’re More Powerful Than You Think” today. Using a humorous, catchy, almost martial-sounding song from the early 1960s entitled “Go, you chicken fat, go!,” Apple shows a series of dynamic, fast-moving exercise and sport clips highlighting the Cupertino company’s flagship smartphone.
The song, “Chicken Fat,” was created initially in 1961, and was sung by the actor Robert Preston Meservey, who also appeared in numerous Westerns of the period. The song was commissioned by John F. Kennedy’s government, specifically by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, a bureau which was freshly opened in 1961. The song was intended to be played while schoolchildren performed calisthenics, and in fact an LP disc was sent to every public school in the United States, where “Chicken Fat” was played every morning over the PA system.
Apple’s (AAPL) version is shorter than the original, omitting many verses in order to fit into a 1 minute, 1 second ad. Given that the original “disc jockey” version was 2 minutes, 12 seconds long, and the “school” version was 6 minutes, 30 seconds long (with numerous repetitions that would be tedious in an ad), this move was inevitable. The result is still peppy, energetic, and laced with considerable humor.
The ad, which is available on YouTube, has already drawn over 318,000 views, with 96.6% “Likes” from those who have voted on it. This makes the latest ad, entitled “Strong,” more popular than the previous ad, “Powerful,” which received only 90% likes. The ad is also 30 seconds shorter than the first one. It opens with a middle aged man looking at his iPhone, then jumping up on the bed to the opening bars of “Chicken Fat” and dancing frantically until his newly-awakened wife throws a pillow at him. The ad continues with images of people swimming, jogging uphill, weighing themselves, playing golf, and so on, to the final screen “You’re More Powerful” and the exclamation “Dismissed!”
In issuing this ad, it is clear that Apple (AAPL) is completely ignoring the cease and desist letter aimed at it by James de la Vega, a flamboyant and talented street artist from New York City. The Big Apple native, who styles himself as “God’s Greatest Prophet” on his Facebook page, claims full ownership over the phrase “you are more powerful than you think,” asserting that other companies have approached him for licensing rights to use it. Apple has yet to respond to this claim and continues to use the phrase without seeking Mr. de la Vega’s permission.
