Apple is back with a new tearjerker of a Christmas ad, entitled “The Song.” Like last year’s Emmy-winning TV spot for the holidays, the company has chosen to showcase how its products make people feel, rather than what they do.
This time around, a young musician uses Garageband on her Mac to make a song for her grandmother. Expect to start seeing this on TV quite a bit over the next couple of weeks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRsPnzcZ1VY
While still touching, the ad lacks the clever storyline and same level of cultural relevance as “Misunderstood,” last year’s holiday ad. It’s certainly not bad, but it didn’t resonate with me the first time like last year’s storyline did. You can’t really beat the introverted young boy surprising his whole family with a home video shot on his iPhone.
This ad will probably do well, but it will be interesting to see if Apple gets another Emmy nod.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
8 responses to “Apple strikes a sentimental chord again with new TV ad for the holidays”
I’ll be honest, I cried. Not Proud but true
The Rock of Gibraltar is made up of sandstone and limestone which is much more durable than clay.
I thought it was a nice video but I’m not any expert in judging precisely how good it is in relation to past videos. Does it have something to do with some “tear” factor which might make it more appealing to the critics? I didn’t cry but it was touching.
I’m sure Ira & George Gershwin realized that when they wrote the tune in 1938.
However, this story is about the discovery of a recording made by the heroine’s grandmother during the Korean War using a “Voice-O-Graph” machine to record her singing the Gershwin classic to send to her military husband, who it appears never returned from Korea. Our heroine creates a duet, using new technology, of her grandmother & herself singing the song suggesting her love is equally strong.
As are many Apple ads, there’s more under the surface than first appears.
I thought it was a very good ad, very touching. I also think it’s ok to enjoy this ad and the one from lat year as well. It’s not necessary to constantly compare and contrast artistic creations for the sake of ranking which is better. These are different.
At least this is better than Microsoft’s ads that just cherrypick details and give Apple free advertising!
Well made.
This was a great commercial, I saw it during Saturday Night Live and had to rewind it so I can watch this commercial in full. Even though it didn’t hit me as hard as last years commercial, it still got me. Good Job Apple.
Wow that was a really touching advertisement good work Apple