This ad is an example to show that if there's one technology company that has got its product placement and branding spot on, and in coherence with product design, it must be Apple. Don't get me wrong - am no Apple fanboy. In fact, far from it. I don't use any iDevice, but that does not stop me from appreciating the company when it gets something right.
This ad exudes confidence. Confidence that the company has that it does not need to sell the merits of its product (that the 4S has very little in terms of merits in today's smartphone world is another matter). It only needs to say, 'hey, this is available and is available for somewhat lesser money now'. No celebrity, no girl in short shorts, no clever lines (or an attempt at that), no comparisons to competing products, no nothing. Forget hard selling, this one barely qualifies as soft selling.
Apple can pull this off because its army of users who play brand ambassadors and tech media that has glorified the company's products have continually sold the idea of iPhone to the masses, and that's got nothing to do with the ad. What impresses me though is that the ad is made to exploit this rather unique advantage and the creators have not yielded to the common temptation of talking too much or coming out too strong in an ad.
iPhones, like most other Apple devices are a show of opulence, of style but a somewhat subdued style, it is rich because it is, but not obscenely so (the iPhone Gold and the 5C are unfortunate exceptions). This ad is full page - an excess, if you will, its design and copy are simple and to the point, and for today's ad standards, rather neat looking. Just like the iPhone, the fans would say.
An aside: as much as I like the ad, I don't get the point of buying a two generation old device for what is effectively Rs 25,000 /- (approx).