Palm Pixi Ad Debuts, Is Creep-Free

Pixi adWhat do the Palm Pixi, motion sickness and singing munchikins all have in common? They're all featured in Palm's latest ad campaign, which spotlights their new $99 smartphone set to debut this coming Sunday. A noticeably more energetic effort than the universally-reviled Pre ads, the upbeat 30-second spot crams in all the selling points: messaging, multitouch, multimedia, the accelerometer, social networking, the "Artist Series" swappable back covers, you name it.

The ad premieres on Monday 16th. Video's after the break.


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oh!

2xs @ 11/12/2009 1:34:33 AM # Q
it works! and I had no fear while watching it :D
Palm Professional -> Palm III -> Palm Vx -> Palm m505 -> Palm TT2 -> Palm TT3 -> Palm TX -> Treo680
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Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images

SeldomVisitor @ 11/12/2009 3:22:38 AM # Q
I didn't see much else - interesting they would stress images so much on an image-deficient phone with a dinky screen. The ad is, yes, heads and shoulders above The Borg Queen ones.

I'd bet the Pixi will sell more than the Pre at much lower gross margins - it'll be interesting, too, if the Pixi repeats the successful/unsuccessful Centro experience.

Oh good grief, I missed the small print originally
SeldomVisitor @ 11/12/2009 3:33:36 AM # Q
Wanting to see other comments on the ad, I surfed over to Precentral. There was one similar to my own - "I missed seeing anything other than images" - and the 2nd pointing out that the speed of the device had been visually "adjusted" (read that as "increased", of course). And the images were simulated, too. Be Careful Out There! (maybe this won't sell as much as the Pre...once folks see the actual images and speed).


Not stereo?
SeldomVisitor @ 11/12/2009 3:38:38 AM # Q
The ad clearly shows the two speaker openings on the back of the Pixi repeatedly.

Here's what Palm Facebooked about them:

== "Q: The Pixi has two speakers located on the back. Are they stereo
== and do they sound better or worse compared to the Pre's one speaker?
== (From @Blayze04)
==
== A: Palm Pixi has two speaker vents, but one speaker..."

RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
abosco @ 11/12/2009 6:42:45 AM # M Q
Read the fine print on the Apple commercials. They sped up the iPhone as well. Did you really think Palm was going to do something without Apple doing it first?
RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
SeldomVisitor @ 11/12/2009 7:17:59 AM # Q
> ...Did you really think Palm was going to do something without Apple doing it first?

Lol!

----------

I don't actually follow Apple nor the iPhone (gasp!) so didn't know that about its phone commercials.

Whatta racket!

And Caveat Emptor, huh?


RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
CFreymarc @ 11/12/2009 8:40:24 AM # Q
Works for me. Better than some blond Mona Lisa reciting girl talk.
RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
SeldomVisitor @ 11/12/2009 8:56:19 AM # Q
I actually LIKE The Borg Queen ads!

I sincerely think they do an a-MAZ-ingly BAD job of marketing the Pre ("The WHAT!?" would be the question on my lips if viewing these ads sans any other info).

But the ads themselves were fun to watch!

And talk about!

Hey!

The marketing company who came up with these ads says they were a great success because everyone was talking about the ads!

HA HA HA!

HA HA HA!

Oh, y sides hurt!

HA HA HA!

Ahem...pardon...

RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
bhartman34 @ 11/12/2009 9:03:40 AM # Q
SeldomVisitor wrote:
Wanting to see other comments on the ad, I surfed over to Precentral. There was one similar to my own - "I missed seeing anything other than images" - and the 2nd pointing out that the speed of the device had been visually "adjusted" (read that as "increased", of course). And the images were simulated, too. Be Careful Out There! (maybe this won't sell as much as the Pre...once folks see the actual images and speed).

It's pretty typical that images are simulated and speeds increased in these commercials. Almost any commercial for an electronics product where you see the screen will have that kind of disclaimer.

I see two things here that are improvements from the Palm Pre commercials:

1) No creepy Palm woman.

2) The ad actually shows the phone doing things. It took forever for Palm to actually get the idea that people wanted to see that with the Pre.

There are two areas in which I think they could've improved the commercial:

1) Lose the time-lapse method. If they showed less video of people staring adoringly at the phone (with the damn camera shooting the back of the phone), they could reduce the motion-sickness effect and actually have a great showcase of what the phone can do.

I'm getting the feeling that Palm is letting someone working towards a Film Studies degree create all their commercials, rather than letting a marketing professional do it.

RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
Gekko @ 11/12/2009 9:14:47 AM # Q
RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
SeldomVisitor @ 11/12/2009 9:15:21 AM # Q
I thought (and mentioned above) that it was interesting that Palm stressed displaying images so much on the phone (as the "heads together viewing rapturously" montages suggest, IMHO).

RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
SeldomVisitor @ 11/12/2009 9:17:04 AM # Q
Lol! I just re-viewed the ad and, for the first time, noticed the singing munchkins mentioned by others...HA HA HA!

RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
bhartman34 @ 11/12/2009 11:11:35 AM # Q
I just realized I combined my "two" negative points into one. D'oh!!
RE: Uh...I saw spinning flashing lotta images
CFreymarc @ 11/14/2009 8:05:47 PM # Q
My personal theory about the Pre ads not showing much of the Pre working is that the Pre wasn't working in any stable way when the commercial was shot.
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Pixi Ad

Amroth @ 11/12/2009 3:23:49 AM # M Q
As a Verizon guy and a Palm guy I always wanted a Treo Pro that ran WebOS. Since VZW doesn't seem to be going for the Pixi (for now) at least I don't have to deal with the inner turmoil of wanting a phone called 'Pixi'. I just don't think I could handle the ridicule...
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Better!

mikecane @ 11/12/2009 10:20:57 AM # Q
Better ad. I like that it shows what it can frikkin DO.

I finally got to fondle the Pre again. Also an HTC Hero. In order of fondlage:

Hero: It's no iPhone. Nothing has the smoothness or SNAP of the iPhone. WTF is up with SIX CHOICES below the screen? Why should I have to think if I should hit Menu or Back or WTF? GREAT camera. Really, seriously great. The phone was LIVE (thank you, Sprint!) so did some VERY light web access. Was OK. Again, no iPhone. All in all, I came away no liking it.

Pre: Yeah, that camera is still Teh Suck. That slider just plain SCARES me. Keyboard is just too damned small. Screen seemed so too. Kudos for new visual cues on home screens in webOS 1.2.1 (what it had). Got to try the app store and *downloaded* a freebie -- that AA book sample. eBook was not enjoyable to read. Overall smoother experience than the Hero, but still NO iPhone. Slicker than Android overall, and that could help them. I just LOVE the Cards, btw.

"Nothing else is an iPhone" should be Apple's next ad tagline, because it's true.

I would have fondled a damned Droid too, but I forgot where the Verizon Store was.

Went into T-Mobile to fondle the HTC myTouch, but ALL their demo models are DEAD ersatzes! FAIL!

Next week I plan to fondle the Pixi. And remember to go try the damned Droid too.

RE: Better!
mikecane @ 11/12/2009 10:23:52 AM # Q
Oh, one other thing about the Pre. I kept getting *stuck* at places. I could find no way to back out of a screen.

All of you are thinking me an eejit -- but it's true: I FORGOT THE BACK GESTURE!

I wonder how many ordinary non-geeks that happens to and they give up and get frustrated?

While I was doing the Pre, a pair of cops came in to molest the Hero. The guy was raving about how "iPhone"-like it was. LMAO.

RE: Better!
Gekko @ 11/12/2009 1:40:20 PM # Q
>Hero>WTF is up with SIX CHOICES below the screen? Why should I have to think if I should hit Menu or Back or WTF?

agreed. not very intuitive. now i'm looking at WinMob 7 or iPhone - hoping they both come to Sprint by June 2010.

RE: Better!
sbono13 @ 11/12/2009 3:29:40 PM # Q
"I FORGOT THE BACK GESTURE!"

My sister-in-law had her Pre for a week and didn't know about the back gesture. Once I taught it to her, she said that it made her "100% happier" with the Pre :).

I saw her again 2 months later, and had to teach her about the context-sensitive drop down menu.

There are definitely things about WebOS that are not discoverable. Didn't even bother with cut-and-paste, opening weblinks in a new card, saving pictures from webpages, downloading apps, etc.

RE: Better!
nastebu @ 11/12/2009 3:54:44 PM # Q
It is a much better commercial. I find it a little too dizzy-inducing, but it does make the phone look fun and attractive and should appear to diverse target markets, which the pixi is reaching out to.

The Droid "iDont" commercials, with that super masculine horror/sci-fi thing going on, made me a little more sympathetic to the creepy Pre spots. They were trying to make a broad audience look at the Pre as something fresh. Ugh. Such a wasted opportunity.

RE: Better!
mikecane @ 11/13/2009 5:50:42 AM # Q
I haven't seen a single iDroid spot on TV. Apparently they're not aiming at me. Have seen iPhone, iPod, Pre, though. Oh, and HTC ... is it Hero that has the former SNL members or is that the myTouch from T-Mob?
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is coming out next month

pmjoe @ 11/12/2009 8:48:25 PM # Q
Were they singing in this ad?

All I get from this ad is than it looks too small and the screen looks tiny.

RE: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is coming out next month
Gekko @ 11/12/2009 9:06:50 PM # Q
RE: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is coming out next month
SeldomVisitor @ 11/13/2009 3:17:52 AM # Q
I believe I still have a 45RPM vinyl record with that song.

Yes, it was bought new when released.

Giggle.

RE: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is coming out next month
Gekko @ 11/13/2009 3:48:03 AM # Q
RE: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is coming out next mo
pmjoe @ 11/13/2009 6:44:13 AM # Q
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