33 year old Casey Neistat tells stories. He previously worked for HSI productions as a commercial director, but nowadays he makes his living off of freelancing. Him and his brother gained traction through the HBO series “The Neistat Brothers,” but the show ended promptly due to artistic differences. While his brother pursued a career in independent film-making, Casey threw himself into the marketing world.

(source: Casey Neistat for J. Crew)

From his interview with AdWeek, he reveals that he “never tells clients what [he’s] doing explicitly” in order to maintain his voice in his digital content. Nowadays an increasing amount of companies are looking to expand their online media presence, which gives Casey an endless amount of clients, ranging from Nike to Mercedes. Neistat’s creativity flows through each video. His personal brand is built through his non-advertisement related content. His candid style is incredibly distinct, with casual voiceovers and jump-cuts. The public loves it, considering that his most-viewed video is at 13 million views. Companies are slowly beginning to see that consumers want real people associated with their products in order to be convinced.

What Neistat stated about the downfall of Apple advertisements is understandable, however I have still found myself enjoying the new iPad commercials. Featuring the composer Esa-Pekka as the face of their products appealed greatly to myself, as well as other music lovers. Nonetheless, I feel that Neistat spoke a certain truth about the lack of risks that Apple has taken in terms of marketing. It simply does not exude creativity. The belief that “the product will sell itself” is true in terms of sales of the iPhone6, but Apple is no longer an innovative leader in the world of advertising like it was before.

Would Casey’s directorial style fit in with Apple’s minimalist platform? Maybe not, but considering the disparity in Youtube views between Neistat’s branded videos (Nike Fuelband shown below) and Apple’s originals, it might also be time to make a change and evolve with the world of digital media.