Amazon bashes iPad Air in new ad for Kindle Fire HDX

By Trevor Mogg December 2, 2013

amazon appstore christmas offers kindle fire hdx — Image used with permission by copyright holder

With the holiday shopping season well underway, major tablet makers have been rolling out ads to knock the iPad Air in a bid to wrestle a few sales from Apple in the run up to Christmas.

Amazon is the latest company to have a go at the Cupertino company’s big-selling tablet, with the release over the weekend of a 30-second ad (below) comparing its largest Kindle Fire HDX tablet to the Air.

The ad’s format is simple – some guy with a British accent praises the iPad on a particular feature, followed by a narrator with an American accent noting how much better the 8.9-inch Kindle HDX is on the highlighted point.

It’s not sure why Amazon has gone for a Brit accent for the Apple role; if it’s supposed to be an impersonation of Jony Ive – the tech company’s British design guru who usually appears in promo videos following the launch of a new Apple product – then it’s a pretty poor one.

First up we have the Apple guy telling us how great the iPad’s display is, followed by Amazon’s rep noting that the HDX 8.9 has a million more pixels.

Next we hear that the iPad Air is “astonishingly light”, before we learn that Amazon’s competing tablet is “actually 20 percent lighter” than Apple’s offering.

Then, somewhat bizarrely, we’re told, “But the iPad is only $499.” We’ve never heard anyone describing an Apple product as costing “only” whatever it costs. The Kindle HDX 8.9 costs $379, by the way.

Following this final piece of information, the iPad Air slinks out of view, ashamed at being shown up by Amazon’s recently revamped and far superior Fire tablet.

Microsoft, too, has been bashing the iPad in a slew of ads rolled out in recent days. Like Amazon’s latest ad, each one highlights areas where it claims its revamped Surface tablets excel over Apple’s offering.

Do you think Amazon and Microsoft are taking the right approach by including the iPad in their respective marketing efforts of should they instead focus solely on their own tablets in ads without making any reference to the competition?

By the way, if you’d prefer a less bias overview of both tablets, do take a moment to check out DT’s reviews of the iPad Air and Kindle HDX slates. And while you’re at it, you might also want to check out the Surface 2 and Pro 2 reviews, too.

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