Apple Music Aims Squarely for Trump Country With This Gritty Brantley Gilbert Ad
Short Film Seems Designed to Broaden the Brand's Appeal to the Anti-Hipster Demographic
Editor's Pick
An argument could be made that Apple Music, like its mother brand, has cultivated a rather elite aura, given its exclusive deals with artists ranging from Future to Frank Ocean. An argument could also be made that that aura might be a turn-off to a huge chunk of America.
Enter country star Brantley Gilbert and this new Apple Music commercial, which seems designed to broaden the brand's appeal to the anti-hipster demographic. Directed by Anthony Mandler, the black-and-white film features Gilbert and his buddies motorcycling across the heartland (specifically, rural Tennessee) as he waxes eloquent (via voiceover) about "freedom" and "the open road."
The visuals -- an American flag draped on the side of a barn waves in the wind, a motorcyle filmed from above carves circles in the dirt -- underscore the gritty Americana feel. And the soundtrack -- snippets of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild," Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" as well as Gilbert's own "The Ones That Like Me" -- sounds unlike any Apple Music commercial you've heard before.
There's nothing overtly political about the ad, but the subtext reads as: This is Trump Country -- and Gilbert's fan base surely overlaps with President Trump's political base (see "Brantley Gilbert Got a Huge 2nd Amendment Gun Tattoo on His Back," via Billboard back in 2015).
Can coastal hipsters and heartland Harley riders find common ground on Apple Music? Stay tuned (or streamed).
Credits
- Date
- Jul 24, 2017
- Brand :
- Apple Music
- Client :
- Apple Music
- Director :
- Anthony Mandler
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