Apple Ad and Its Impact on Me

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One of the most visually and musically appealing ads I have ever seen was for an Apple MacBook Air. Normally seeing an ad more than a couple times sends my mind elsewhere, but this one never gets old. Watch for yourself, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7iI7YmIr30, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

The beautifully crafted visual of a thin laptop floating and flipping through the air and being carefully unveiled by a soft sheet reminded me a lot of an aerial silk dancer I once saw as a kid. The colors were natural and calming and the angles the laptops made were so satisfying to watch. The visual input first undergoes transduction via photoreceptors in the retina. This information then travels through the thalamus and into the primary visual cortex located in the occipital lobe. This takes up a substantial portion of the brain, so it is not surprising this is what stuck with me long after seeing this ad initially. From here, the visual information will travel through dorsal and/or ventral streams and be further interpreted in the temporal and parietal lobe to create a conscious experience by associating the present stimuli with past experiences. This where I subconsciously connected the beautiful aerial silk dance with the ad!

At the same time the visual stimuli was being processed, the auditory stimuli was processed as well. The song being played was "Trampoline" by Shaed and Apple could not have picked a better one! The angelic voice followed by a perfectly timed bass drop as the laptop becomes completely unveiled is goose bump worthy. This input passes through the outer and middle ear to reach the cochlea and undergoes transduction via specialized hair cells. This information passes through the brain stem and the thalamus before reaching the primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe. 

Along with the central nervous system, this ad targeted my peripheral nervous system! Specifically, the upbeat music and intricate visuals targeted my sympathetic nervous system since it slightly raised my heart rate, got my attention, and gave me goose bumps! 

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