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Apple's Christmas Advert Is Missing One Essential Ingredient

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Apple has debuted its latest Christmas commercial on YouTube. Featuring Stevie Wonder singing his classic 'Someday at Christmas' from 1967, he is joined by Andra Day, lots of candles, home-made Christmas tree decorations, elf slippers, holly wreaths, and a distinct absence of Apple products.

The advert is a pure brand-building exercise. There's a setup shot of Wonder using GarageBand thanks to the VoiceOver and accessibility features in OSX, eagle-eyed viewers will spot a potential Apple Watch on a wrist at one point, but that's about it. The only other identifying mark in the video is at the very end, with a solitary Apple logo making an appearance.

This is a confident move from Apple. Last year's commercial focused heavily on the creative side, comparing a pre-recorded message on a vinyl recorded being reworked across the generations with a highly visible MacBook. The year before that in 2013 saw the iPhone front and center in nearly every shot with the protagonist deep in thought with his new phone, before revealing he'd been editing a video of the highlights of the family Christmas.

Blink and you'll miss it... (image: Apple/YouTube)

Perhaps it's just a little bit too clever. Apple's ego has seen it delete almost every single point of physical connection to its products from this commercial. This isn't about selling more smartwatches, more phones, or tablet, it is about creating a positive association with Apple. The use of a memorable holiday song, reworked by the original performer and a superstar name of the day, creates a strong emotional connection.

After it's all over, the simple caption of 'Love' followed by the Apple logo seals the deal in a subtle message of Orwellian style: 'Love Apple, your musical memories are safe with us.'

Best not mention how Apple Music and iTunes corrupted countless music libraries earlier in the year. It is the holiday season after all.

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