Every year, Apple releases a holiday ad just in time for Thanksgiving. These ads are a bit more interesting than your average product advertising as the company uses this opportunity to promote different values. This year, Apple wants to tell everyone that they should be nice to everyone around them, beyond their families and friends.
Directed by the same director as the 2013 holiday spot that won the best ad Emmy award, it’s a beautifully shot short story about Frankenstein.
Frankenstein lives in a secluded house at the top of the mountain. It looks like a comfortable house with a fireplace and there’s a brief shot showing a cup of coffee or tea at the beginning. He uses his iPhone to record a music box (I love music boxes).
But something doesn’t feel right. He needs to challenge himself. You can see that he doesn’t come out of his house very often as he needs to dust off his top hat.
You don’t really see his face until he’s outside. And the comfortable, humming old man doesn’t look like the guy we pictured in the first shots. This time, it’s a limping monster.
He goes to the main square of the village to sing in front of a scared crowd. He doesn’t look confident, he hesitates and is about to give up. But a young girl fixes one of his lights and the crowd starts singing with him.
If the message isn’t clear enough, Apple also wrote “Open your heart to everyone” at the end of the spot. While the holidays are a good opportunity to spend time with your families and friends, the company is saying that you should look beyond that.
The divisions that led to the presidential election are probably one of the driving factors behind this ad too. We all share the same fears, the same smartphones and the same hesitation. So let’s be nice to one another.