>> "I find these ads ridiculously pretentious"
To the extent they are emotionally manipulative I'd agree, but they're light years better than the choreographed hip-hop dancing in the Surface ad. Little to none in the 'product knowledge' category. In the MS ad I see dancing, the "kickstand on the back of the device, the cover/keyboard, and fleeting glances at the screen. Surface has a user interface (Metro) that MS just removed from it's desktop OS. That's a loud message. MS nearly apologised for Metro on the desktop but they expect people to want this on a tablet?
Even in the Apple "signature" ad I can draw the conclusion of using Apple products to video chat, listen to music, take pictures and do creative things. The commercial is sappy but it does tell people something.
Apple's emotional advertising is due to their stock price taking a pounding. They have no new killer app or product in the wings. A new iOS and that strange little Mac Pro aren't going to find love on Wall Street. Apple is in a position of selling you stuff you're seen many times and have very likely used or own in an earlier form. There are no suprises or "one more thing" to spring on you. I have to guess it's becoming hard to sell iPods/iTouch devices.