Palm Pre Goes Against the Flow

When you think of traffic lights, reincarnation, mind reading, and jugglers, do you think of the Palm Pre cellphone?


That's the range of topics translucent skinned actress Tamara Hope (playing a character Palm is calling "Anima") discusses in a strange series of Palm Pre cellphone commercials. The ads with the blonde actress speaking softly about the metaphysical properties of the Palm Pre have gained attention, although it may not be what the phone maker intended, if Twitter user comments are any indication. The Palm Pre ad campaign has already spawned several parodies. The surreal talking head Palm ads offer a stark contrast to the more conventional Sprint Now Network commercials (one featuring the song "Doorway" by Io Echo) that also highlight the Palm Pre.

Created by ad agency Modernista, the new Palm Pre commercials followed a slightly different launch commercial called "Flow" (which used the song "Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun" by M83) that featured the blonde actress along with a group of dancers (clearly "inspired" by the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics), helmed by film director Tarsem Singh.

Gary Koepke, the Palm ad campaign's executive creative director, responded to charges the Palm campaign is too "creepy":

"We weren't trying to creep people out, but one thing I have learned now in this digital age is people can be as rude as they want as long as they don't have to look you in the face," Mr. Koepke said. "The Pre is probably being talked about more than other phones right now because of the marketing and advertising, and that's a good thing. Could the ads work harder to show exactly how the phone works? Yes, but we knew it would be polarizing people to have a woman not shout at them and tell an interesting story."

Although a new ad for the Pre seems to appear every day, music used in Palm Pre tv spots include: "Doot Doot" by Freur, "Tunnel" by The Dining Rooms, "Buildings and People" by Marconi Union, and "Knuddelmaus" by Ulrich Schnauss.