James Corden impersonates rock icons in Apple Music's latest ad ahead of its Carpool Karaoke launch
Apple Music has enlisted James Corden to front its latest push in a tongue-in-cheek spot which sees The Late Late Show host tasked with developing a marketing strategy for the streaming service.
The two-minute long ad, which debuted at the Emmys last night (18 September) shows Corden pitching advertising ideas to a roundtable of executives including Apple Music's head of global consumer marketing Bozoma Saint John, its senior vice-president of internet software and services Eddy Cue and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine.
Highlighting Apple's specially curated playlists and 40-million strong song library, the exasperated execs listen to the presenter reel off a manner of ridiculous campaign ideas. "What about this?" he asks, "me, as every iconic music star in history," before images of himself dressed as Bowie, Slash and the Spice Girls flash up on screen. Other ideas include a cinematic meeting between Corden and an abandoned child, and a bizarre commercial concept which would feature the host "giving birth to Justin Bieber, who is giving birth to Anthony Kiedis, who is giving birth to a phone."
The cameo follows on from a deal that will see Apple Music commission 16 episodes of Corden's Carpool Karaoke, a popular segment from The Late Late Show in which he drives around singing with A-listers like Michelle Obama and George Clooney. The spinofff will be streamed on Apple Music, and while the Gavin and Stacey star isn't expected to host the specials, his show's production team will be involved in the process.
"We couldn't be more excited to be partnering with Apple Music on this exciting new series of Carpool Karaoke. The joy of Carpool is both the intimacy it creates, while seeing the love our passengers have for music. Where better to showcase that than with Apple Music?" said the Late Late Show team in a statement after the contract was inked.
Apple music is trying to woo more subscribers with the latest push. The service has just 17 million global users, and so is still lagging behind its closest rival Spotify which boasts 39 million.