# Kindle Commercials



## jsadd (Jun 17, 2009)

This morning while I was flipping around getting the news highlights, I saw a commercial for the Kindle on MSNBC & CNN. Is this new or I have I missed them before?


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## KathyluvsKindle (Apr 13, 2009)

I saw the first one yesterday.


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## Tabby (Oct 7, 2009)

I haven't seen any yet, and I think it is new. Someone else mentioned seeing one on A&E.


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## Jasonmh (May 7, 2009)

As I was reading this thread I glanced over to the TV, and the Kindle ad was on!  This was on Fox News.


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## r0b0d0c (Feb 16, 2009)

Last night, watching some NBC television, the same Kindle ad came on about once/hour (lazy night of TV viewing, I saw it 3 times!) Before that, I'd NEVER seen a Kindle ad on TV.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I record most of what I want to watch and the skip through the commercials. . . .guess I'll have to start paying a little more attention.  

Advertising is good!  It would be great if they could figure out a way to do physical demonstrations at mall kiosks or something.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

I have not seen it yet. When I record something I will have to check the commercials.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I caught Clark Howard, the money expert, talking about e-readers yesterday, but he did not mention any brands, but was very positive about the future of e-readers.


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## kim (Nov 20, 2008)

yea, I saw one too.  I don't remember what station I was watching.  I must admit I wasn't very impressed with the commercial.  But it's nice to see the Kindle being advertised.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

I just checked You Tube to see if it was on there, it's not, but I found this... cute but  when the kid picks it up!!!


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> It would be great if they could figure out a way to do physical demonstrations at mall kiosks or something.


Us Kindlers just have to sit out in the open in malls reading.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

We should have a mall day like there was a Starbucks day earlier!

Betsy


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Just saw it... not sure what I really thought about it, but it's good to see how serious Amazon is about getting the word out.  They really do need to find a place to get this in the public's hands though.  I can't imagine it'd be that difficult to get kiosks open in some of the busier malls.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

In another thread, *Where are the Kindles?*, concerns about a physical presence in other states might require that taxes would need to be paid when purchasing the Kindle.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I wonder if Amazon doing that would require them to collect taxes on -everything-.  Of course it could just be a demo booth and they don't sell anything, it'd suck to miss the point of sale purchase, but it might be a loophole for the tax situation.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

If a business has any kind of a physical presence in a state, buyers have to pay state tax.  I bought something earlier this year on-line from another state.  The business has a small office here.  I had to pay sales tax.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Sandpiper said:


> If a business has any kind of a physical presence in a state, buyers have to pay state tax. I bought something earlier this year on-line from another state. The business has a small office here. I had to pay sales tax.


To clarify: If a business has any kind of physical presence in the state, the business is usually required to collect and pay state sales tax on a purchase of anything from that business from anyone in that state. If there is no physical presence, they are not required to collect the tax for the state.

However, most states have a "use tax": you're supposed to fess up at tax filing time and tell the state how much stuff you purchased from out of state on which you did not pay sales tax, and pay it then.

Just sayin. . . . . .


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## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

I saw a Kindle commercial a couple of times on the Fox News Channel tonight.  I didn't initially notice the Kindle in hand and thought it was a Target commercial.  I can generally tell which are Target commercials as soon as they start.  It was a Kindle commercial though and it mentioned Kindle at the end.  I think a more direct versus a quasi-subliminal commercial might be more effective, but I didn't major in marketing either.


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

Haven't seen a Kindle commercial yet but today was eating at BJ's Brew Pub and they have all these screens with sports running on them and I saw quite a long commercial for the Sony eReader on several of the screens.  That was a first.


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## skeeterman10 (Feb 26, 2009)

I woke up and turned on the weather ch. this morning and first on was a Kindle commercial! Didn't think it was very good.... well maybe I was still half asleep.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I saw one yesterday but didn't catch it until the end - at least they are getting the word out and taking the load off of our backs


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## Jason in MA (Apr 28, 2009)

Is this it?






I haven't seen it on television but I was curious if this was the ad. This ad was a winner in the "Your Amazon Ad Contest".

-Jason


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

That one does remind me of a Target commercial!


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

That's the one I've been seeing.  The song is kind of catchy, but don't like the whole stop motion thing.


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## Jason in MA (Apr 28, 2009)

It's almost like the ad is geared towards people who already know what a Kindle is, it's advantages, and where to purchase one. It really is not going to inform anyone who doesn't know what the device is. 

Given the fact that the Sony Reader, Nook, and soon other e-readers, are going to be in stores where someone can physically see and try, Amazon needs to make a concerted effort to inform and educate the public about the Kindle. They need to bring the Kindle into someone's living room with these ads — clearly this ad does not do this.

-Jason


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## Anju   (Nov 8, 2008)

I didn't care for this commercial, don't think it was the one I saw.  Anyone else notice it was a K1?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Both the videos in this thread featured K2's. . . . .


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Both the videos in this thread featured K2's. . . . .


I wulda swore the second one was a K1  oh well, it was definitely a kindle that's the important part


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## melissaj323 (Dec 29, 2008)

Jasonmh said:


> As I was reading this thread I glanced over to the TV, and the Kindle ad was on! This was on Fox News.


I saw it last night on Fox News too, I made my husband rewind it so I could see it while paying attention! I was reading my kindle while he was watching tv.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

In that second video posted, that's the one I keep seeing but at the end instead of "Amazing Kindle" it just says "Amazon Kindle: Books in 60 seconds" which is really the only advantage or feature they advertise.  I really wish they would have focused on all the keen features that does make it special...  I tend to watch recorded television and fast forward through commercials and I've still seen this one enough that it annoys me ><


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## happyblob (Feb 21, 2009)

Jason Shaffer said:


> Is this it?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yep, that's it. Made by Angela Kohler. I kind of like the song.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

If it is the one with the girl doing all the stop-motion stuff, I didn't much care for it. Nice and artistic and the girl was easy on the eyes, but I would have preferred a more direct ad about the Kindle. SHOW THAT SCREEN! Emphasize the portability, ease of use, and cost savings of e-books!

Heck, I bet a few million would be sold as x-mas/b-day gifts to spouses if they ran an ad showing the sheer VOLUME of books that can instead be on a Kindle. I know that is what convinced my wife to get one for me! Avid reader pack-ratism FTW!


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

I haven't seen it on TV, but I think it's cute! There's more about the winning ad at this link... Your Amazon Ad Contest.


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## Jason in MA (Apr 28, 2009)

OK, so I finally saw it on television a few minutes ago. Looking at it from a different perspective, being caught off guard and not expecting it, I really do have the same opinion: it simply is not a direct enough message. You don't have any idea what is being advertised and why until the very end, and honestly if that type of music isn't your thing, you will not be inclined to watch it all the way through. If you're not looking at the screen when the branding finally appears, you're not going to hear a single thing about the Kindle. 

They need to be much clearer about what the Kindle is. They need some form of speech that actually says "Kindle" at some point. They really need a better ad. Maybe they can kidnap some folks from the Apple marketing department. That's how you market technology.

Jason


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

Jason Shaffer said:


> OK, so I finally saw it on television a few minutes ago. Looking at it from a different perspective, being caught off guard and not expecting it, I really do have the same opinion: it simply is not a direct enough message. You don't have any idea what is being advertised and why until the very end, and honestly if that type of music isn't your thing, you will not be inclined to watch it all the way through. If you're not looking at the screen when the branding finally appears, you're not going to hear a single thing about the Kindle.
> 
> They need to be much clearer about what the Kindle is. They need some form of speech that actually says "Kindle" at some point. They really need a better ad. Maybe they can kidnap some folks from the Apple marketing department. That's how you market technology.
> 
> Jason


I agree, but you need to keep in mind that this isn't a commercial put out by Amazon or Kindle marketing. It was a contest winner, the contest was to create an Amazon ad. It just so happens that the winning ad was about the Kindle.

I would really love to see ads created by Amazon, I'm sure that they'd do a better job at featuring the Kindle's fine points.


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## Jason in MA (Apr 28, 2009)

True, and that is something to keep in mind. I really just think that if Amazon is going to spend the advertising money to have an ad playing across multiple networks, and during the most important advertising window for the holiday season, they need another ad. That's not to say this one shouldn't continue to air, there just needs to be a more direct ad to augment it.


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

I don't I've ever seen a Kindle commercial to be honest on TV.


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## RavenclawPrefect (May 4, 2009)

If I didn't know what a Kindle was, I don't know that the commercial would spark enough interest for me to go see what it was.  Luckily, I *do* know what a Kindle is


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## carlobee (Jul 21, 2009)

ooh. wow. i can't believe i only saw these ads here in the boards!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I saw it on TV Tuesday night and would not have noticed that it was a kindle ad if it were not for having seen the video online that someone here posted the link to.  Then at the very end in big letters it says Amazon Kindle.  If I hadn't recognized the commercial from the video, I probably wouldn't have had my eye on the TV to see the "Amazon Kindle" at the end.  The kindle itself is almost camouflaged during the music.  I see it twice, but considering that a lot of people don't know what a kindle is, they need to do better than that.

Reminds me of ipod commercials (the music anyway), but the ipod commercials prominently show the ipod with the white earphones.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?ie=UTF8&docId=1000447971

What does everyone think?

L


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

I think it's cute.  There's another thread about it.... Kindle commercial.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

For some reason the first time I saw it I thought it would be another Target commercial. Until the saw the Kindle


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## mwb (Dec 5, 2008)

Makes me want to buy a Kindle... wait I already did.

More seriously very cute.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

cagnes said:


> I think it's cute.  There's another thread about it.... Kindle commercial.


Oops, I missed that. I'll merge them together. Thanks!

L


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## cjonthehill (Oct 21, 2009)

I like it!  It grabs your interest visually and with the catchy little tune.  Although it doesn't give a lot of information, it would make me want to find out what a Kindle was all about.  Kinda like dangling a worm on a hook to a fish.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

DH and I were sitting here watching a show on *The States* this morning on the History Channel.
This Kindle commercial just played.. He said, "that was kinda lame"

He is not a Kindle convert, even though he is a massive reader.


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## judybird (Oct 14, 2009)

It could have been better; they should have let some of us true kindle lovers make one.


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## LisaW. (Jun 1, 2009)

I haven't seen it on TV, but I saw it a few days ago on booksontheknob.blogspot.com and loved it. It's catchy and cute. Also, see the other post *"Fly Me Away" Download the Winning Kindle Ad Song (Free)* at http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,15391.0.html about downloading the song for free.


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## angelad (Jun 19, 2009)

LisaW. said:


> I haven't seen it on TV, but I saw it a few days ago on booksontheknob.blogspot.com and loved it. It's catchy and cute. Also, see the other post *"Fly Me Away" Download the Winning Kindle Ad Song (Free)* at http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,15391.0.html about downloading the song for free.


It will probably start popping up in more and more places on the internet.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I saw it for the first time on a news channel (Probably CNN but not positive) this afternoon.  It reminds me of the ads for the Palm Pre smart phone which Pre-lovers called "creepy".  Seems to be a fad in advertising right now to try to get curiosity about a device and establish a vibe for it, rather than be all left-brained about features and advantages.  My suspicion is that Amazon probably would like to let people who are uninformed about eReaders think that the Kindle is the only (or at least the greatly dominant) choice for an ebook device, and if they start touting features they invite people to compare it to competitors.


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## Chris W (Aug 17, 2009)

Finally saw the ad on TV while fast forwarding my TiVo last night (I'd hunted it down online prior). I think it's great that Amazon put a contest winner's ad into a big national campaign. I think it's artsy, I don't think an amateur wants to try to churn out a technical feature ad. Plus, most ad campaigns only use those in conjunction with brand aware awareness, stylistic ads as well. I think it will get people to go to the website where, voila, they'll be able to research all the features.


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## legalbs2 (May 27, 2009)

I did not get much out of the commercial.  If you knew nothing about a Kindle or an ereader, you would not have known what the ad was selling.  I was not impressed.  We KindleBoarders could make a fantastic ad!!!!


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## Nytngale (Dec 20, 2008)

I think the ad is very similar to the initial "teaser" ads that iphone used before it was released i.e. catchy music with a little visual that was enough to grab your interest. Hopefully, Amazon will be following this initial campaign with something a bit more specific if they want to be competitive for the Christmas season. Wonder if they did this intentionally to get a jump on the Nov. 30th release date for the Nook from B&N??


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## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

legalbs2 said:


> I did not get much out of the commercial. If you knew nothing about a Kindle or an ereader, you would not have known what the ad was selling. I was not impressed. We KindleBoarders could make a fantastic ad!!!!


I thought the ad was too indirect. It would not make me want a Kindle. I have bought lots of stuff from Amazon over the years. It was Amazon's home page with videos that got my interest. The ad appears to have a "target group" in mind, IMHO. I'm not quite sure what that group is though. It could be the same "group" that Target targets (Oops! That sounds awkward.). The commercial is a pretty big gamble for Amazon, IMHO. This is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Stores are already saying the are having "black Friday" sales before "Black Friday" is even here. I think a series of very short commercials would be more effective.......Say one showing large fonts, one showing buying and cost, one showing easy to hold, etc..FWIW


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

Ha, saw the first one too on Thursday night. It has avoided appearing infront of me until this day.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

I love it!  I think it is very well done for an amateur and I hope she gets a lot of notice for it. I love when she changes into the dress and then reads on the bike and tumbles away. I think it will get more than a few people to click on Amazon to find out more... adding the tag line "Get books in 60 secs" will also help that. I do not think you can explain it all in 30 or 60 secs but it is a good attention grabber imo.


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## Jaasy (Feb 28, 2009)

Being a TOTAL Kindle lover, I want something BIG, BOLD, and ABSOLUTELY OUT THERE for advertising Kindle!!!  Nothing I've seen yet is good enough for it!!  JMHO...


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## TC Beacham (Nov 23, 2009)

I guess we're the best ads for Kindle; everywhere I go people ask me about it!

But the commercial I've seen on TV (is there only one?) forced me to pay attention. I tend to multitask and ignore commercials, but found myself watching instead of just listening because I didn't know what they were advertising. I really like it!


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## DailyLunatic (Aug 4, 2009)

TC Beacham said:


> I guess we're the best ads for Kindle; everywhere I go people ask me about it!
> 
> But the commercial I've seen on TV (is there only one?) forced me to pay attention. I tend to multitask and ignore commercials, but found myself watching instead of just listening because I didn't know what they were advertising. I really like it!


My wife mentioned this ad to me about a dozen times before I actually saw it. Figured out why a few days ago. If not for my wife and her knowing that I am interested in a Kindle I would still have not seen the commercial.

Like you I multitask and when the ad came on, I tuned out. Ad would run, and wife would say, "That was the Kindle ad I told you about." I look up and, "Darn! I missed it again."

So I guess I disagree. If I don't know what they are advertising, I'm not interested in expending that much energy to watch a commercial just to find out.

Sterling
92.5% Pure


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

While I totally 'get' the ad and happen to like it-that reaction is because I already own one.  I wish Amazon was more straightforward like the Sony commercials that they repeat (over and over) on football Sundays.  They explain what the Sony reader is clearly and with humor, without banging you over the head with techie details.


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## happyblob (Feb 21, 2009)

It's not that bad for a commercial. It tries to sell the feeling not the product itself. And it's obviously targeting the women crowd, which is smart. Amazon knows its stuff.


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