N.E.R.D. “Rock Star” (Jason Nevins Remix) iPod Commercial (2003)

Now for Windows

On 13 November 2003 Macworld reported a new silhouette commercial in prime-time rotation, set to a remix of N.E.R.D.'s "Rock Star". Like the two earlier spots, it shows silhouetted figures dancing with iPods on multicoloured backgrounds. Its ending reflects Apple's October 2003 launch of iTunes for Windows: the titles read "iPod + iTunes", then "Now for Windows", and the Apple logo appears above "iTunes.com".

A remix Apple could not sell

Unlike the songs from the "Hey Mama" and Jet commercials, the remix did not appear to be on sale in the iTunes Music Store when the spot aired, and Apple did not link to it from its online ad gallery. In February 2004 MacTech noted that the remix, credited to Jason Nevins, and Feature Cast's "Channel Surfing" from the following commercial were still missing; both were available by March 2004.

Original and remixer

N.E.R.D. – Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley, from Virginia Beach – began as a side project of the Neptunes. "Rock Star" comes from their debut album In Search of..., first issued in Europe in August 2001 and re-released in March 2002 with live backing by the band Spymob. Released as a single on 29 July 2002, it reached No. 15 in the UK. Jason Nevins, a producer born in Los Angeles, is best known for his 1998 remix of Run–DMC's "It's Like That", a No. 1 hit in the UK and many other countries. His "Rock Star" remix later turned up in video games including Burnout Paradise and Forza Motorsport 2.