Apple Launches New Holiday-Themed 'Misunderstood' iPhone 5s Commercial

Monday December 16, 2013 6:32 pm PST by Juli Clover

Apple today released a new television ad for the holidays, featuring the company's flagship iPhone 5s capturing and sharing holiday memories in the form of a video shared over Apple's AirPlay.

The song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" plays in the background as the iPhone 5s is used to capture video of a family engaging in holiday activities like decorating Christmas cookies, participating in a snowball fight, and decorating a Christmas tree. Later in the commercial, the video footage is played back to the family over AirPlay. "Happy Holidays" is displayed at the end of the video.

Apple historically releases a new video during each holiday season and in 2012, the company focused on the iPad and FaceTime. In 2011, the holiday commercial featured Santa using Siri on an iPhone 4s. While those previous videos were more product focused, the newest holiday ad focuses on iPhone users and the way their devices enhance their lives.

Update: A Tweet from Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller highlighting the new ad:

Happy Holidays! "Misunderstood" https://t.co/3A9eb2FN8I — Philip Schiller (@pschiller) December 17, 2013

Update 2: In addition to the commercial, Apple has posted the full holiday video in the ad on its YouTube page. According to the video's description, the "Harris family home movie" was shot entirely on the iPhone 5s.

Top Rated Comments

doasis23

94 months ago

It's really heartwarming to watch these "people" slash tv commercial stand-ins focusing on their iPhones instead of each other. Is this an inadvertent parody?

Pathetic. The Apple-led new world is loathsome. "It's just like life, i'dnt it?"

You obviously didnt understand the commercial. It appears that the teen is ignoring the family the entire time playing on his phone. In actuality he is recording a video for his family to show how much he cares about them. Stop being so cynical.

Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)

tbrand7

94 months ago

I like it. I love Apple's commercials lately. It shows how their products are truly enriching peoples lives. While all their competitors (Samsung, Amazon, Microsoft, etc) commercials have been about bashing Apple's products instead of focusing on their own. I'm glad Apple is above those childish games :apple:

Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)

sazivad

94 months ago

Great ad, I like it.

I do find it interesting, though, that the whole ad focused around Christmas (the song, the Christmas tree, etc.) but at the end they went the the more all-inclusive Happy Holidays.

Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)

phil83

94 months ago

Just saw that on NBC in between The Voice. At first I thought it was a Subaru commercial then realized it was an Apple commercial. Almost made me a little teary eyed!

Dam you, marketing people!

Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)

dandy1117

94 months ago

Great ad, I like it.

I do find it interesting, though, that the whole ad focused around Christmas (the song, the Christmas tree, etc.) but at the end they went the the "politically correct" Happy Holidays.

I never understand why some in the "war on Christmas" crowd object to the "Happy Holidays" as anything more than an accurate description of the season. Even most Christian Americans celebrate multiple holiday during the season, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve and Day! Then, of course, the term Happy Holidays is more inclusive of the holidays celebrated by many other Americans during this holiday. "Happy Holidays" is not a demonstration of "politically correct" cowardice but, rather, is just a more accurate salutation.

Geez, happy holidays! :-)

Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)

HenryDJP

94 months ago

It's really heartwarming to watch these "people" slash tv commercial stand-ins focusing on their iPhones instead of each other. Is this an inadvertent parody?

Pathetic. The Apple-led new world is loathsome. "It's just like life, i'dnt it?"

If you have nothing good to say then......:p

Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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