Historically, Apple hasn't been all that active in the world of online video. Not because it can't, but because it doesn't really try all that hard. Up until recently, Apple hadn’t even bothered to upload any videos to its corporate YouTube channel. And when it did, with its recent series of iPad ads, the comments were disabled. However, despite Apple’s relative ambivalence about social video, the online video audience is anything but ambivalent about the brand. Indeed, fans have posted hundreds of copies of the iconic “Get a Mac” and “iPhone” ads.
But when a purportedly next-generation iPhone is ‘found’ in the wild, and videos emerge of the device, all bets are off. After being cleverly disguised and apparently forgotten in a bar in San Jose, technology Website Gizmodo managed to get its hands on the device in question, thoroughly reviewed it, produced videos of it, and concluded that the phone was indeed authentic and may very well be an advanced prototype of the next generation iPhone.
The Real Deal? Gizmodo Unveils the Next iPhone
To put the hype into perspective, this 10-second clip on YouTube was yesterday's most-watched video in United States, Australia, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Israel, Sweden, and dozens of other countries. Not surprisingly, the social video community has jumped in enthusiastically, spreading over 450 associated clips that altogether have produced over 3.5 million views and 9,000 comments in just the first 72 hours.
We knew this was a lot of views in three days, even for a company with a profile like Apple, so we wanted to benchmark this leaked iPhone video phenomena against the online video performance of the launch campaign for the iPad, one of Apple's most anticipated products of all time.
As the chart shows, the initial online video interest in Gizmodo’s iPhone scoop has far exceeded that of the iPad launch... to the tune of 1.8+ million views in the first 72 hours alone.
Many factors appear to be driving the interest in these sneak peak videos, including speculation of the origin and future of the device (is it really the next generation iPhone?), a rare glimpse through the veil of Apple’s legendary secrecy, the controversy surrounding how Gizmodo acquired the device, and more. Whatever it is, the hype surrounding the next iPhone in online video is real.
