Apple Releases New Holiday Ad 'The Song'

[2IS]

No one has to explain anything to you.

Where did I say anyone had to explain anything? Learn to read. I said it seems like everyone who claims to get it, can't seem to explain it. Care to take a shot at explaining it? No? Didn't think so, thanks for playing.

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Every Apple commercial? Including this one? Including the holiday one from last year? Including the 'my verse' commercials? Including Mac vs. PC commercials? You don't know what you're talking about.

There's a huge difference between people who are on the fence choosing between iOS and Android and those on the fence choosing between Android and another Android device.

I actually liked the 'my verse' commercials, and if you read the context of what I said what I replied to, you'd also know the timeline i'm referring to. And this commercial won't sway anyone on the fence of anything. I specifically mentioned apple vs samsung, not android vs android. It's no wonder those who claim to understand these commercials can't explain them. So far, none of you have even managed to show you can read what you're quoting.

 

[NachoGrande]

I don't know what some people want... Just a typical ad that focuses on all the details of what you get for the money? Some kind of smackdown of the competition in head to head comparisons? Nothing will do unless it's hilariously funny?

IMO, this is great, because it's an ad that gets to the whole point of what's great about buying this technology. It enables you to do things that matter!

What does it show? It shows a grand daughter surfing the internet (I assume) to learn to play the song, then it shows a grand mom listening to music. How does that highlight any special feature of Apple. The song was a not a good choice and the harmony of the duet was not good at all.

 

[afsnyder]

How old are you? Or maybe its about how old I am. This is a standard in Jazz and has been covered by almost everyone. Go to iTunes and look up the song "our love is here to stay" and you will find hundreds of versions by hundreds of artist.

Expand your music library beyond the beeber guy and kati perry.

I'm 18 and in college lol. I'm more into EDM/electronic so I can see why I'd never have heard of the song.

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Try watching it again, I bet you can understand it.

I understand it. I just don't get the musical choice. Personally, I would have enjoyed something a bit more modern but I guess if you're trying to hit home to older folk (older than my own age) then I guess going for the classics works.

 

[mercuryjones]

I'm 18 and in college lol. I'm more into EDM/electronic so I can see why I'd never have heard of the song.

Broaden your horizons, kid. You might just be surprised at what you find.

 

[afsnyder]

Broaden your horizons, kid. You might just be surprised at what you find.

The style of music just doesn't interest me. The video itself is very intriguing though. I've always been of fan of Apple's "films".

 

[macintologist]

Hopefully they will dump the obnoxious Timberlake commercials.

 

[WalterNeff]

For those who don't recognize a Gershwin song

really?

 

[Rafterman]

I'm glad that girl had the benjamins to just leave iPad Minis lying around. Does she give out a Mini every time she wants to leave someone a message?

 

[sseaton1971]

I liked this commercial. Besides focusing on Apple's hardware (MacBook Air, iPhone, iPad), software (likely GarageBand, iTunes), and ecosystem, it also demonstrates how its technologies can be used for something much more meaningful than watching YouTube, posting to Facebook, and performing Google searches. Thanks for a positive and heartwarming message, Apple!

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I understand it. I just don't get the musical choice. Personally, I would have enjoyed something a bit more modern but I guess if you're trying to hit home to older folk (older than my own age) then I guess going for the classics works.

I don't think Apple is "trying to hit home to older folk". The commercial is more focused on the granddaughter's use of Apple technology.

The song was chosen because Apple had to select something that was from the girl's grandmother's generation. Her grandmother sang the song when she was a young girl, so how could the song choice have been "a bit more modern"? That makes no sense.

 

[BruceEBonus]

Would have been more believable if a puppy recorded a song for some Clydesdale horses. Schmaltz liquor.
Also,, so much for the digital divide.

very true. In the world of Apple advertising. There's no grey. Only black and white. A world of incredibly beautiful, sociable and talented individuals selling antisocial gadgetry to the average educated, introverted and naive types who will use their contraptions to dick around, stare at and ultimately wonder where their lives went ... Instead of doing what they should be doing here.

Jolly well listening to granny's gramophone and scribbling a few inspirational lines on a piece of paper and mysteriously mastering all the complicated software and hardware to do it. Awwwww. What doesn't everyone do that?

 

[nocturnum]

Relax. It's just as fake as Western culture can get.

And to those of you who cry out loud how Apple gets you. Relax as well. That was the purpose of this ad.

 

[Blur128]

Old people

This ad makes no sense. Obviously there are plot holes. Like, the grandma would have never been able to listen to the song in the first place because she was left on her own to figure out how to play the song. There is no way someone of her age was able to figure that out. She would have brought the iPad to her daughter and asked her to help thus, of course, ending up in an argument. In which after no one gets to listen to the song and Christmas is ruined.

 

[rowspaxe]

If the girl is in her mid-teens--shouldnt grandma be in her mid 60's? Maybe great grandma was recording this song on her viola--or whatever-- but grandma was more likely following the beatles or motown. Its all as improbable as making a digital "pad" you can't write on.

 

[usarioclave]

I understand it. I just don't get the musical choice. Personally, I would have enjoyed something a bit more modern but I guess if you're trying to hit home to older folk (older than my own age) then I guess going for the classics works.

Apple sells to older folks because they're the ones with money, for the most part.

 

[2IS]

Apple sells to older folks because they're the ones with money, for the most part.

Yep, because that's what I see every time I walk into an Apple Store... It's just packed with senior citizens.

 

[mercuryjones]

Yep, because that's what I see every time I walk into an Apple Store... It's just packed with senior citizens.

I know. It's like a Denny's at 5pm up in there.

 

[JobsGang]

This ad makes no sense. Obviously there are plot holes. Like, the grandma would have never been able to listen to the song in the first place because she was left on her own to figure out how to play the song. There is no way someone of her age was able to figure that out. She would have brought the iPad to her daughter and asked her to help thus, of course, ending up in an argument. In which after no one gets to listen to the song and Christmas is ruined.

Relax siskel it's just a commercial.

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If the girl is in her mid-teens--shouldnt grandma be in her mid 60's? Maybe great grandma was recording this song on her viola--or whatever-- but grandma was more likely following the beatles or motown. Its all as improbable as making a digital "pad" you can't write on.

Relax ebert it's just a commercial.

 

[Keirasplace]

If the girl is in her mid-teens--shouldnt grandma be in her mid 60's? Maybe great grandma was recording this song on her viola--or whatever-- but grandma was more likely following the beatles or motown. Its all as improbable as making a digital "pad" you can't write on.

Nobody was playing roots music, country, standard pop
or classical music in the 1960s? The Beatles were in 1964.
Motown is mostly post 1963.

BTW, My father is 85, his grand-daughters are 4 and 7
My mother's 67, her grand-daughters are 4 and 7

That means a teen of 16 could with those age difference have someone born from 1917-1935, meaning they were teens in the 1930s to early 1950s.

Anyone born before 1944 would have all their teens up to 20 year old in quite old style music; rock and roll wasn't ruling the charts. Few change their musical style past 30; so, a 80 year old was born in 1934.


So, maybe she should rethink your eval there.

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This ad makes no sense. Obviously there are plot holes. Like, the grandma would have never been able to listen to the song in the first place because she was left on her own to figure out how to play the song. There is no way someone of her age was able to figure that out. She would have brought the iPad to her daughter and asked her to help thus, of course, ending up in an argument. In which after no one gets to listen to the song and Christmas is ruined.

Right... My father's 85 and quite adept, my uncle is 87 and living far away and I just sent him a Ipad Mini II so we could stay in touch... Figured it out in 3 minutes... How on earth could they manage all these years without us... (sic) Apple tech is not supposed to take an astronaut to manage, that's the whole point of it!

Thinking older individuals are idiots is your own bias here...

 

[vailMike]

What does it show? It shows a grand daughter surfing the internet (I assume) to learn to play the song, then it shows a grand mom listening to music. How does that highlight any special feature of Apple. The song was a not a good choice and the harmony of the duet was not good at all.

I agree with Nacho that this commercial doesn't actually show why a user would want to buy an Apple product. I feel like this could have been a great commercial if there had been a few extra small clips actually showing how the girl put this song together. GarageBand, DJ apps, etc. Similar to the your verse ads, though I won't be using Apple products on Everest (not this year anyway!) I very well may get inspired by a commercial like this that has more practical app/Apple examples.

PS I definitely liked the emotion of this commercial better than the annoying Timberlake & Fallon commercials.

 

[andipanda]

I doubt sim lock in Korea is the issue. OP just knew that the phones were cheaper in Japan and he wanted to avoid higher Korea taxes and currency issues that are baked into the different country prices. He happened to be traveling to Japan so he saw an opportunity to buy the phone he wants for cheaper than if he bought it in his own country. Apple stopped him from doing that.

Now he is in the TERRIBLE position of actually having to buy the phone in his own country or not have an iPhone 6. This is so TERRIBLE. So UNFAIR.

Point exactly. Technically Sweden is my own country, so I do get it about 100 USD worth cheaper in Korea, than in my own country. Swedish sales tax is at 25%, mind you. Japan was at 5%, now 8% and climbing. Despite being "somewhat" cheaper in Korea, it's still hard to defend such a pricetag when, with the exception of the Japanese, temporary visitors can enjoy the benefits of a low Yen. I do a lot my shopping in Japan, and so do a lot of Koreans. Whether I get the phone or not is neither terrible nor unfair (I understood the irony), it's how pricing and distribution is handled by Apple that is the issue. If Apple didn't sell the iPhones for an extortionate price in China to begin with (where the iPhone is assembled, and transport fees etc. should be near zero, adding in the low wages of a majority of the Chinese people) then Chinese would probably not flock to Japan and buy up all the stock. Apple Japan, still unwilling to comment or explain this recent move, just shows how relaxed and arrogant they are about this issue. They will go on selling phones by the millions, as usual. Apple's only strenght is the Apple Store, since I depend on specific apps which can't be replaced by any on the Google Play store. When I walk into an Apple Store, money in hand, and want a product or at least pre-order it, I expect them to sell me one. When the iPhone 6/6+ were launched in Korea, a lot of Korean people reacted to the huge leap in price difference as well.

 

[Jessica Lares]

or

In this ad the girl used several devices, iPhone, iPad and Mac showing that all three are needed together to create a beautiful audio for the grandmother.

If I was competition (or in charge at apple) i might make an add saying you don't need 3 devices like the competion. You can use just one. Why? Cause a lot of people don't want lots of devices these days. They're trying to use just one. It's why so many love the iPhone 6+

Or Apple thinks you should have all three? Apple is not about consolidating, they understand that you use one device for one thing, the other for another thing, and so on.

I have an iPhone, an iPad, and a Mac myself. And I use them together too. There is nothing wrong with that.

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I preferred last year's ad. But I also feel like this is perfect to air next to the Surface Pro 3 Christmas ad.

 

[dannyyankou]

^ It's miles and miles better than the surface pro ad. Microsoft is like "look at these specs!" Apple is like "look at what you can do with these specs!". This is one of the reasons why Apple is successful.

 

[jacmacattack]

What can I say? Written by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The last song George wrote before he died. A classic. A main theme in the 1951 Gene Kelly movie An American In Paris, which of course, included Gershwin's An American In Paris symphony, and the incredible choreography by Kelly.

Sung by many, an Ella Fitzgerald classic with Louis Armstrong.

I'd say you need some heavy re-educat'n.

Not only that, Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics to George's music after his death as a tribute to his brother. Lovely song.

 

[laurim]

I agree with Nacho that this commercial doesn't actually show why a user would want to buy an Apple product. I feel like this could have been a great commercial if there had been a few extra small clips actually showing how the girl put this song together. GarageBand, DJ apps, etc. Similar to the your verse ads, though I won't be using Apple products on Everest (not this year anyway!) I very well may get inspired by a commercial like this that has more practical app/Apple examples.

PS I definitely liked the emotion of this commercial better than the annoying Timberlake & Fallon commercials.

It assumes the potential customer isn't particularly interested in technical specs they probably wouldn't understand anyway. You can't explain tech specs to general consumers in a 60 sec commercial. That happens later when the commercial inspires them to go to a store to find out more and can have a live person walk them through it. Besides, Apple is more of a lifestyle brand that happens to also have great hardware and software to back it up. You and I might dig into the specifics on our own before we buy but most people just want to see what it can do for us and don't care how it happens. I don't expect to hear specs when I see an Apple commercial and certainly don't care about comparing Mac to anyone else because I don't even consider anyone else. It would be stupid for me to risk money on an unknown brand (to me) that won't integrate with my other Apple products. I'm happily entrenched in my Apple ecosystem and see no reason to stray as long as I stay happy. It's actually a relief knowing the only tech decisions I have to agonize over are third-party add ons.

 

[thirteen1031]

What does it show? It shows a grand daughter surfing the internet (I assume) to learn to play the song, then it shows a grand mom listening to music. How does that highlight any special feature of Apple. The song was a not a good choice and the harmony of the duet was not good at all.

I agree with Nacho that this commercial doesn't actually show why a user would want to buy an Apple product.

This commercial shows a WHOLE lot more than either of you seemed to notice. First, it showed the girl using an Apple product to learn the song--we don't know all she did on that score, but my assumption was that she not only surfed the internet to learn it, but used garageband to help develop it. Second, it showed her using her iPad to practice singing along with it. It showed her using such products to create her own version of the song late into the night, and out on the town (i.e. the products allow her to work on it anywhere, any time), and, finally it showed grandma using the product to hear the song.

What it showed most of all is that all these products allowed granddaughter to express to grandma the same sentiment grandma had expressed to her husband all those years ago: "Our love is here to stay." The love that the grandmother had for her husband is in her daughter and granddaughter. It continues on and is given back. And though the technology used to express this may have moved from vinyl to digital, the sentiment stays the same.

THAT is what the commercial showed. And in showing that, it is powerful, and memorable, and will stick in people's minds. And so will the Apple products in it. They don't have to be shown doing anything unique. They only have to be shown as a key part of that story. Stories grab people. Stories move and affect people. Stories they remember. And Apple, in getting them to remember--and to sing that song--has created a most successful commercial.

Doesn't matter if you like it, don't like it, get it or not. All that matters is, it works. Trust me. It really works.