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Apple airs touching holiday commercial featuring the iPhone 5s and AirPlay

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImlmVqH_5HM]

As is tradition, Apple is airing a new holiday commercial this evening, this time highlighting the iPhone 5s, its movie making capabilities, and AirPlay with the Apple TV. The ad is set to the tune of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”. As you may recall, last year Apple highlighted the iPad and FaceTime, with an ad set to “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”. In 2011, Apple featured Siri and the then-new iPhone 4S.

This year’s ad takes an entirely different approach, focusing on the iPhone and real world usage scenarios for it. Apple has also posted the full length video depicted in the advertisement, shot entirely on an iPhone 5s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEGLhdaFBSE&sns=tw

 

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Comments

  1. Scott Bell (@TechShizzle) - 11 years ago

    Nice catch.

  2. Dell Mar - 11 years ago

    Beautiful. Nice to see Apple has its advertising back on point.

    Rule number one, never co-brand. Not with a celebrity nor with a supplier. If you need somebody else to sell your product, then something is wrong with your product. Fix it or you should go out of business.

  3. Who sings that version of the song? I could have sworn it was Cat Power? Tried to Shazam it with no luck :(

    • lofye - 11 years ago

      It’s Serena Ryder :) I’d recognize her voice anywhere.

    • Caspar - 11 years ago

      It is definitely Cat Power. It’s been recorded especially for this ad so not released elsewhere yet.

  4. Sherry M Smith - 11 years ago

    Great commercial. Tear jerker for sure. Way to make the emphasis on family during the holiday season. Way to go Apple!!!!!!

  5. Angela Newman - 11 years ago

    Who is singing in the commercial?

  6. This is the..

    “I want people to think Apple is a loving community rather than a business.” Commercial.

    • acslater017 - 11 years ago

      Of course they are trying to sell a product. It’s portraying how Apple products (iPhone 5s and AirPlay) enhance our everyday lives. And yes, shining the Apple brand a bit.

      But as far as commercials go, it’s tasteful, touching, well shot, and subtle. So good for them.

  7. Eddie Lee Hines - 11 years ago

    Apple and Publix do it right…they do not try to bombard you with low prices or specs…they just show you life, and how it is enhanced by using their product or shopping at their store.

  8. ronie678 - 11 years ago

    Reblogged this on Ronak's Apple iNews.

  9. Alex Do - 11 years ago

    this is awesome. Put Nokia’s, Microsoft’s, amazon’s ads to shame. Great ad.

  10. techvediccareers - 11 years ago

    It’s very nice.

  11. Scott Adams - 11 years ago

    Real men don’t cry…just something in my eye…that’s all.

  12. Thomas Massengale - 11 years ago

    I’d like to know who it is too. I can’t find any recording by Cat Power of this song, but if that isn’t Chan Marshall, then it is somebody trying to make us think she is Chan.

    • lofye - 11 years ago

      It’s Serena Ryder

      • EDWARD SNOWDEN - 11 years ago

        ???..can you source that claim….stating something 3 times here in comments doesn’t make it fact

      • lofye - 11 years ago

        I have no source for the claim, except that I have all her albums, and have met her in person, and heard her sing live many times. It’s Serena Ryder’s voice.

        If you go listen to Christina Perri’s “have yourself a merry little christmas” on iTunes, and compare it to the commercial, you’ll see that the voices are nothing like. Unfortunately, Ryder doesn’t have that song on iTunes.

        p.s. thanks for the NSA leaks, “edward snowden”

  13. Alex (@Metascover) - 11 years ago

    Nice clever ad. But I don’t like that they are crying at the end, and the tone is too solemn.

    • Alice West - 11 years ago

      Seriously? I’m blubbering like a baby. I would say the tone is more “wistful” than solemn. Sheer genius. It shows the “true” spirit of the holidays and the fact that a teen got it. Not the age group known for showing depth and emotion. As someone else said, the emphasis is on how the product will enhance your life without being intrusive.
      Well done, apple

  14. This is what I call an ad! Very good idea. Not those bulls*its from microsoft and samsung who are just showing how better Apple is. Happy holidays!

  15. Michael Napier (@NapMan) - 11 years ago

    I caught this last night. I thought it was really well done and very touching.

  16. Jason Ennis - 11 years ago

    Are you sure about that? https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/very-merry-perri-christmas/id561546994 I think it’s Christina Perri. If not, the recordings sounds very similar.

  17. Jason Ennis - 11 years ago

    My bad, not the same song. Sorry guys.

  18. Maureen Mahoney - 11 years ago

    Absolutely one of the best commercials ever. Can’t view it without getting teary. The best thing is that I can actually remember the product being advertised, unlike many of the good commercials.

  19. Scott Adams - 11 years ago

    If you want a shock to the system…compare Apple’s new holiday ad with the new Microsoft/Nokia “reply”. Warning: nausea medicine recommended.

    http://youtu.be/Q7xVrI-tUIQ

  20. Krakatoa77 (@krakatoa77) - 11 years ago

    This is a marketing lie! Technology makes us less personal and avoid relationships!

  21. As for the song in the commercial, the definitive answer is that Cat Power is singing it. I used the enhanced Shazam app and it came up with Cat Power instantly. Then I listened to the song on iTunes and it is clearly a match. Christina Perri also has a beautiful version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, but it is clearly NOT her singing in the Apple Christmas ad.

    • Scott Adams - 11 years ago

      Cat Power it is. I tried Shazam a few days ago and it couldn’t find it, until today…nor could I find the track on iTunes until I looked again. Might have just missed it I guess. In any case, a nice 69 cent investment for the season. Cheers!

  22. What app does he use in the ad to make the film?

  23. Lee Ann Daugherty - 11 years ago

    Love it, my favorite Christmas commercial this year. That shy, outsider kid, the member of the family who always seems to be in the fringes hunched over a piece of technology that distances even more? He or she just found their means of communication. Set against the most poignantly yearning of Christmas songs, this ad evokes what all long for this season, a sense of belonging. Brilliantly done.

Author

Avatar for Michael Steeber Michael Steeber

Michael is a Creative Editor who covered Apple Retail and design on 9to5Mac. His stories highlighted the work of talented artists, designers, and customers through a unique lens of architecture, creativity, and community.

Contact Michael on Twitter to share Apple Retail, design, and history stories: @MichaelSteeber

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