In Apple parody, Florida says 'there's no app for this'

Everyone and their band seems to be leaping on some kind of wagon with an Apple logo and attempting to rob it of its jewelry and gold coins.

The latest to try to capitalize from poking a little fun at Apple's treasure chest are the Florida Keys and Key West.

In an ad that would feel like it was for the iPhone if it was executed with slightly more style, the Keys hope to persuade you that "There's no app for this."

"This" refers to the fun of wondering if a disgruntled local houseboat resident who believes tourists are venal vermin might ruin your vacation.

No, wait, I think I have read one too many Carl Hiassen novels, in which pretty much every resident of Florida is trying to cheat every other resident of Florida (or unsuspecting visitor) out of house, home, dog, wife or, well, life.

So, in fact, what I meant to say was that the Keys believe that no iPhone app can substitute for a real Florida Keys experience, in which the sun will set beautifully, the canoe will never capsize, and no shark will ever approach you as you snorkel your way to a new level of consciousness.

If you were to choose an app over a vacation, one imagines that several schools of psychiatric medicine had already given up on your ghost.

I am concerned, though, that should someone from Apple be making like Grumpy the Dwarf, they might be upset at the Keys' use of the iPhone's rather characteristic finger wipe.

[BtmnHatesRbn]

Huh?

[Gold_Storm_Mac]

lol

[mrcjacobs]

They're saying there's no app that can replace the real thing. I.E. get up off your keister and put your gadgets down and participate in real life.

[slickuser]

nice ad!

[slickuser]

But they have a map for that

[baconstang]

They for got the hurricane app.

[Gold_Storm_Mac]

pretty soon there will be one (an app). the future is bright. Augmented reality.

[Splashes]

Cute commercial. As for what Apple thinks of this, I'm sure they're laughing all the way to the bank. First, someone else is paying to advertise for Apple, and second, the more the iPhone is referenced in pop culture, the more it will be perceived as the norm.

[Dleon84]

I agree with everything you said. Bravo!

[Vegaman_Dan]

Keep in mind that Apple is suing Verizon for using the same theme in their own commercials- "There's a map for this."

If Apple is going to be consistent in their legal case against Verizon claiming that the ad might mislead people into believing it was an Apple ad, then Apple will need to sue the state of Florida as well. If they don't- well, then they'll lose any chance of legal challenge.

[6stringluke]

Vegaman_Dan,

2 things I see wrong here. Firstly, you assume that they did not have Apple's permission to use the phrase. They might have, which would make all talk of litigation moot.

Secondly, while Verizon is a competitor, and was using a very similar phrase to market their competing product, I doubt that we're going to see the Florida Keys come up with their own smartphone.

[solitare_pax]

It's like the "Got Milk?" campaign - all of a sudden, everyone was using "Got (fill in the blank)?" on their stuff.

Besides, there's a pretty big difference between Verizon (a competitor) directly bashing AT&T's service for the iPhone and a vacation destination that doesn't even mention the iPhone.

[baconstang]

Here's the best parody...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_IAN081P8I

[ghostofitpast]

Is there an app for Florida's overcrowded prisons and the conditions that created them?

[sharmajunior]

No and there's no app for all those illegal South American, Carribbean and white people living there either.

[faceless128]

is there an app for disneyworld and universal studios?

[shycelticwitch]

no, but there's an app for navigating around cars that don't appear to have a driver behind the wheel... (commonly referred to as "blue hair syndrome".) If Miami-Dade area is Florida's "gold' coast, then the central gulf coast is Florida's "silver" coast... and we aren't talking precious metals here.

[Dave_Wright]

Love it, Love It...

Put the F@$$#%% smart device down, go live and enjoy life.. Needed to be said .... Thanx for this...

[davidmcelroy_dotmac]

It's a good idea for an ad, but the execution is awful. It doesn't match the visual style of the Apple ad enough to really evoke it better, especially with the finger movements. If you're going to go to the expense of producing and running a spot such as this, it ought to match the original better, IMO.

Also, I wouldn't call this a parody, because it's not copying the Apple ads for a comic effect. It's more of a matter of mimicking the Apple ads to make an unrelated point. The Verizon/Droid teaser was a parody. This one isn't.

[montex66]

I wouldn't exactly call it a parody since it isn't actually poking fun at Apple or the iPhone. It's really more of a situation where the tourism board is capitalizing on the pop culture influence created by the iPhone and Apple's advertising efforts.

[Dleon84]

Apple (or the ad agency) should sue whoever produced this poorly executed tranny-copyright infringement-mess. Shame on Florida... once again.

[PandaSage1221]

Oh, I *love* that! How creative. Yay for sunshine and the real world.

And yeah, there's definitely no app for those gorgeous Florida sunsets. Pictures can't fully capture their beauty.

All I can say is: "Meehhh."

[dzankizakon]

Genius. Brilliant ad.

[buzzfoster]

Florida is right. It would be difficult to design an app where everything that grows will stick you and everything that flies will bite you in a temp of 100 degrees and humidity at 100% - all the while worried like the 3 pigs that hurricane Big Bad Wolf is gonna blow your house down.

[Lazlo666]

good article and great ad.

[creativedir]

good ad idea.. i'm sure done on the cheap. kudos Florida

[bsharkey]

this is great... maybe even better than the Droid ads of late.