Score a symphony on your iPad? No problem, says Apple’s ‘your verse’ campaign

Apple really wants you to think that that the iPad is useful for more than just consuming content. That much is evident from two new TV spots, released as part of its “your verse” campaign.

The ads, which come with an accompanying section on the Apple website, feature Essa-Pekka Salonen — principal conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestra in London — and Chérie King, a travel writer who also happens to be deaf.

The campaign isn’t just about the ads though. In a bid to show that your iPad is useful for more than just reading emails and playing games, for example, Apple teamed up with Salonen and his colleagues in the Philharmonia to develop The Orchestra app for iPad.

According to Salonen’s section of the site, “The Orchestra harnesses the power of iPad Air to provide users with an interactive, immersive look at all the elements of an orchestra”.

The site also includes sections detailing which apps that two highlighted creators use. Salonen apparently uses the Notion app to “write bits and pieces of music — chords, melodies, rhythms. Or sometimes he uses Notes to describe moods and feelings in words that he later translates into music”.

King meanwhile apparently uses multiple apps — from travel guides to maps to language and translation apps — “to connect with people and explore every destination to the fullest”.

Of the two, King’s spot is certainly more effective at showing off how the iPad can be used in a variety of ways and, more especially, how it helps her do her job better.

Thing is, the ads might be great at showing off the potential applications of the iPad, but I hardly think it’s cynical to suggest that they’ll result in a sweeping wave of creativity among iPad users.

In fact, the spots are a little like all those DIY projects people post on Pinterest: inspiring and pretty to look at, but a hell of a lot more effort than most people are willing to go through.