Netflix’s Apple Watch spoof is so good you’ll wish it were real

BY BREE BROUWER

The Apple Watch is now available for pre-order, but Netflix would rather see you invest your hard-earned dollars on a more video-friendly device. The streaming video service created a spoof ad touting its Netflix Watch device for subscribers addicted to the platform’s content.

Netflix’s Apple Watch spoof ad begins by touting the “total freedom” offered by the Netflix Watch. Various Netflix users are then seen sporting a huge timepiece—which is nothing more than a smartphone strapped to a large wristband—and watching their favorite flicks and TV shows, wherever they are. The ad finishes with the declaration that “life is too short to waste precious time not watching Netflix,” and unveils the tablet-sized Netflix Watch+. 

Netflix is not alone in its quest to make fun of Apple’s new device. On the same day Apple announced the Watch in September 2014, YouTuber Jack Douglass of Jacksfilms pointed out the device’s list of problems (many of which were marketed as features) in a spoof video of his own. Douglass’s ultimate hangup with the product was his utter confusion as to why Apple didn’t just name it the iWatch.

Though Netflix’s video may have been more appropriately released on April Fools’ Day, the streaming service’s ad has struck a chord with online video audiences nonetheless. The clip currently has over 150,000 video views on Netflix’s YouTube channel, with more than 1,500 thumbs-up votes and only 75 downvotes.

Screengrab via Netflix/YouTube