Larry David Promoting Siri

Speaking of Larry David, remember the never-shown (and now, alas, deleted from the public internet because of copyright takedowns from Apple (archive)) 10-minute video that was supposed to open WWDC 2014, featuring Larry David as an App Store reviewer? When it leaked, briefly — but long enough for me to snatch a copy — in 2021, I wrote:

The whole video is funny in exactly the way Curb is funny, but Curb Your Enthusiasm -style humor is not Apple-style humor — and the difference has only widened since 2014. I don’t know how this project got so far, but the humor is such that I don’t see how Apple could possibly have used it, even in 2014. One joke that might have played as funny in 2014 but wouldn’t in 2021 is the central conceit of the video — that Apple’s head of app review is a capricious jerk who makes approval decisions based on inscrutable whims.

It really was hilarious, but also seemed to prove that Larry David’s humor isn’t compatible with Apple’s brand.

But, here we are in 2024, and Larry David has created a minute-long commercial for Siri, embedded right in an actual episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. I wouldn’t think David would go for shameless product promotion like this,* but in this clip he patiently and thoroughly shows exactly how effective, accurate, and effortless Siri is to use in day-to-day life.

I’m surprised Apple hasn’t yet put this clip on their official YouTube channel.

* Then again, I wouldn’t have thought he’d do commercials for cryptocurrency scams either.

★ Thursday, 29 February 2024