14 DAY TRIAL // One of the weird, but emotional Apple commercials released 10 days before Christmas of 2013 has won an Emmy Award in the category "Creative Arts." Back when it was released, the TV spot was not a regular 30-seconds one, but a short movie with a story of its own that was one minute and thirty seconds long.
The commercial follows the story of a teen that goes for a family vacation. He looks like a socially impaired young guy, like some of the teens around the world, so all he does is keep his iPhone around.
The boy plays with an iPhone 5s and it keeps no cover on it. When the family gets to the grandma and grandpa's place, the boy is still with his iOS device in his hand. He does not partake in building a snowman, playing with his little brothers and sisters, riding a sledge. Towards the middle of the movie, he accepts to get involved in decorating the Christmas tree.
The night before Christmas, the teen is still in bed with his iPhone and the next morning, while everyone has gathered around the Christmas three with the family, he turns on the TV, and plays a movie he made on his iPhone. It was his way of showing everyone's vacation. He is the misunderstood boy that actually cares about his family and made a video for all of them to remember this Christmas. The boy gets a hug from his dad while everybody else sheds a tear.
The final message of the ad wishes the viewers Happy Holidays before the Apple logo shows up on the screen. Apple has deleted the TV spot from their YouTube account, but you can still see it online.
The TV ad was created by the Park Pictures Production Company and the TBWA\Media Arts Lab. It was Apple's only nomination for an Emmy Award. This spot was meant to promote the iPhone 5s and the AirPlay capabilities of the device. However, the short movie is centered on the action itself, and the device only shows up in the shot a few times and it is partially covered by the boy's hand.
According to 9to5Mac, in the same category, the nominees were: GE with the spot "Childlike Imagination," Budweiser's "A Hero's Welcome," the ad called "Possibilities" from Nike and another classic – "Puppy Love" from Budweiser.
After this campaign, Apple has launched the one called "Your Verse" featuring the iPad. The new TV spot series were just as elaborated as this one and the first to be shown on TV was featuring Robin Williams monologue from the movie "Dead Poets Society."
