You can't get an Apple Watch yet. But Pharrell can.
The gadget opens for pre-orders this Friday and hits stores on April 24. But on Monday night, Pharrell Williams, the hip-hop producer and impresario, was spotted sporting one (the pricey Edition issue) on NBC's "The Voice," which he co-hosts. He also put out a one-word review of the product to his 4.8 million Instagram followers: "Woah."
Apple has doled out its first wearable product to a select few to drum up attention before its release. The brand has handed them out to fashion periodicals, who slotted the device on model's wrist -- without pay, Apple has insisted -- beginning in October, in Vogue China. Supermodel Christy Turlington Burns has worn the fitness-focused Sport edition for a month and blogged about it for Apple. CEO Tim Cook also sports one out in the wild, most recently at a Duke University basketball game.
Tim Cook poses for selfies with Duke students. "Sign my iPhone!" one yells. pic.twitter.com/0OJRN6Lbn8
— Ben Cohen (@bzcohen) April 7, 2015
But celebrities may be Apple's preferred vehicle for giving the Watch exposure. For one, Apple loves them. The Cupertino brand has slipped earlier products into broadcast TV -- the iPad first appeared on "Modern Family" -- but it tends to rely on manicured marquee ambassadors. Sometimes to its detriment (see: the flat Siri star-studded ads from 2012; Bono).
Google attempted a similar approach for its first wearable, handing out the Glass headwear to model's for a big Vogue spread. You will find very few Google Glasses on Instagram now.
