Apple has recently launched its annual holiday ad, such perfect timing for Thanksgiving. Entitled, "The Surprise," this campaign puts emphasis on two young girls spending too much time playing with an iPad device. More so, the ad focuses on a household traveling across the country to visit their mother's Dad. As in most families, parents in this ad hand the kids an iPad the moment they start fighting.
The 3-minute ad continues, showing the family arriving at grandpa's house. As we watch the ad, we discover that the wife of the grandfather just passed away. Both the mother of the kids and their grandfather are still mourning. And, while the parents tell their children to watch or view something on their iPad, the kids end up using the device to build a heartwarming slideshow via old family photographs. Apple's holiday ad, also in time for Thanksgiving in the U.S., is now available for viewing on Youtube.
An Ad for Families
The Apple holiday ad begins with a family with two complaining kids while on their holiday trip. The kids start fighting until they are shown an iPad device. As the family arrives at their grandpa's home, currently mourning over his wife's loss, the girls spend time swiping through old family pictures through the iPad. Eventually, as they put together the slideshow of their family memories, the girls present the said slideshow as their Christmas gift for their grandfather.
Created for families, aside from sending a message of cherishing precious moments of the past, the ad also shows off some capabilities and features of the iPad like creating and showcasing of the said image slideshow. One of the highlights of this Holiday ad is a Michael Giacchino song, entitled, "Married Life," which was also used in the popular Disney Pixar movie, "Up."
"The Surprise"
A Mark Molloy creation, "The Surprise," is quite reminiscent of its 2013 Apple Holiday ad dubbed, "Misunderstood." The said 2013 ad ended up garnering the Emmy for that year's best commercial. Moreover, in the said spot, a teen who appeared glumly captivated by his iPhone resulted in similarly creating a film for the family's enjoyment. Where "Misunderstood" highlighted effortless storytelling with nearly no dialogue, "The Surprise" comprises of more prompts setting up the twisted finale. In addition, parents are sure to cringe a bit, to acknowledge, if not completely in compassion, at the disposition of "digital babysitter," although parents aren't to be blamed a bit, given the situation.
This year's Holiday Ad by Apple has its own attractions, though. Grief, as seen in the video, is a complex emotion for a holiday ad. However, from the perspective of storytelling, it improves a typical theme for the holiday—the split between disillusioned grownups and innocent children. Moreover, this ad's line, "Make someone's holiday," has a double meaning, but its meaning is a nice touch, as well.
And, whether the kids of this age really use the iPad in such artistic manners is still debatable. It is undoubtedly possible to do so. And, seemingly, at this time of the year, and within the featured family's life in the ad, in particular, possibilities are said to be everything.
