Who is it that said all markets are conversations? Seth Godin? Robert Scoble? I can’t remember. But the new Amazon Kindle TV ad which debuted today immediately reminded me of the phrase.
In the ad, a nerdy guy at the pool can’t read an ebook on his spiffy new Apple iPad because of the sun glare while a cute, bikini-clad lady is just fine with her Kindle. The only points the ad tries to score are that the Kindle can be read in sunlight and costs only $139.
Here’s the ad (tip o’ the cap to Crunchgear via Techmeme):
I think it’s an effective ad since those are the two salient reasons why people still might want to buy a Kindle. It’s a lot cheaper and it works outside. Maybe the much lower weight (8.5 ounces versus 24 ounces) is worth mentioning as well and that is implied by the visuals in the ad.
Otherwise, the Kindle can claim few unique advantages. In part, that’s because Amazon has a pretty good iPad/iPhone app for reading Kindle ebooks on an iPad.
And in fact, that’s just what happened in our family. We have iPads, we had Kindles and we got a new Kindle. Now we use them all constantly.
But unlike a lot of the commentary, I don’t think this is Amazon going to war against the iPad. Instead, I think it’s a cheesy if perhaps effective attempt to surf in the wake of the iPad’s popularity and publicity. What better way to get more attention for your ad than to compare yourself to a product that seemingly everyone, everywhere is talking about?
UPDATE: Apple watcher John Gruber of DaringFireball fame appears to agree: “Taking the iPad head-on as an e-reader: cheaper and works in bright sunlight. Note also that the woman is holding her Kindle easily in one hand. Good ad.”
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