“Biggest middle finger to Coca-Cola”: Apple TV’s new intro was made entirely in-camera. Fans noticed

As brands increasingly rely on generative AI to crank out low-cost marketing visuals, Apple recently went in the opposite direction.

Did Apple TV use a practical set for its new intro?

An X post by DiscussingFilm shows a behind-the-scenes clip of the Apple TV intro production.

First, frosted glass panels with the Apple logo and the letters “TV” are placed in front of a projector screen. A human crew shines light strategically on the letters, as a camera captures the scene.

A projector screen changes the fluorescent background color of the logo, as the glass panels appear to spin.

The intro music is produced by artist Finneas. He says he hopes the jingle will become a recognizable mnemonic to Apple TV viewers, per Variety.

What do viewers think of the intro?

Viewers praise Apple’s newest intro just days after social media users criticized Coca-Cola’s new AI-heavy Christmas ad, which they say lacked its usual warmth.

“I don’t like either company. But this is potentially the biggest middle finger Coca-Cola could possibly receive for generating AI ads,” one X user says about Apple’s new intro.

“Shame they went to all this trouble when 100 people and 70,000 AI prompts could have made the same thing but shitty,” another jokes.

“And after we watched the new AI ad by Coca-Cola, here is Apple…,” a third posts.

“I see you AppleTV, I’m going to remember this,” a fourth user remarks.

Others say there’s a clear difference between AI-generated ads and those produced by a team of human creatives.

“Genuinely cool as [expletive] to see a megacorporation give artists the time and funding to go all out like this for something that sadly most would simply generate with AI these days. Looks leagues better than that slop and shines with soul it can never replicate,” an X user says.

The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.