Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Pulls No Punches on the iPad Air
The ad campaign features a voice-over mimicking design guru Jony Ive.
Dec. 2, 2013 -- Retailers and manufacturers alike are vying for everyone's attention after Black Friday, and Amazon is no exception. In addition to a sneak peak of its futuristic drone delivery system, Amazon is also focusing on the present.
The company recently released a commercial directly comparing its Kindle HDX Tablet to the iPad Air, complete with a voice-over that sounds suspiciously like Apple's VP of Design Jony Ive.
As the British narrator touts the iPad Air's qualities, Amazon's own narrator rebuffs him at every point. Amazon is quick to point out that the Kindle Fire HDX tablet has higher resolution (boasting a million more pixels) and both weighs less and costs less. At the end of the commercial, the iPad narrator puts his device down dejectedly.
Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group, said that it's only natural for Amazon to take a jab at the iPad. "The iPad Air is the gold standard of tablets at the moment," he told ABC News. "It sets the overall trend and so challengers by nature will want to compare themselves to it."
This is far from the first time tech companies have thrown down the gauntlet and insulted each other by name. Motorola recently criticized Samsung for making smartphones that used outdated technology. And Microsoft's Scroogled ad campaign takes plenty of jabs at Google, from Chromebooks to privacy policies.
But Enderle sees this particular ad campaign not as a way to convert iPad owners into Kindle buyers, but a way to convince gift givers that don't know which tablet to buy for that special someone.
"When you buy a gift for someone else, it's value plays a bigger role in the decision-making process," he said. "The angle that Amazon is taking is that the new Kindle does more for less money."