Apple’s Misunderstood ad: It’s about content creation, not consumption

Misunderstood: Apple thinks different for Christmas
[Via MacDailyNews]

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“There’s a comforting predictability to the holidays. Decorations go up and the shopping countdown begins. There’s a predictability to the holiday ads as well — most of which scream big sales and hot products,” Ken Segall writes for Observatory. “What we don’t expect to see is an advertiser taking a risk. Which is why I find Apple’s 2013 holiday spot so interesting.”

“Ever see a company spend nearly half of its holiday commercial depicting the downside of its own product?” Segall asks. “Apple has done just that — painting the picture of a kid seemingly more interested in the virtual world of his iPhone than the family around him.”

“The twist, of course, is that this kid is different. Far from withdrawn, he’s actually inspired. He’s using technology to give the family a gift from the heart — one that will be treasured for years to come,” Segall writes. “It’s a clever concept. The spot relies on our own stereotypes to lead us to an incorrect assumption, setting the stage for the second half of the spot to pull our heartstrings so effectively.”

There are tens of millions of people who will stop in their tracks at this commercial and wipe a tear from their eye. As a result, they will feel slightly more attached to Apple, which is the marketing purpose of this spot,” Segall writes. “Far from depressing, this ad is wonderfully optimistic. In the most human terms, it says that the right technology can bring people closer together. It’s a perfect thought for the holidays… Once again, Apple demonstrates it’s a different kind of technology company. Most talk about what goes into their phones — Apple shows what we can get out of them.”

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Everyone can see the heart tugging aspects of this ad. But the underlying point that it is easily getting across, the one that so many people are missing, is this:

iOS devices are not just for content consumption anymore This canard was often used by the desktop crowd to suggest these were just toys.

They can create content. And they can distribute

Here, the boy not only uses the iPhone to capture video. He can be seen editing it in the camera. He Airplay to send the finished video from the iPhone to the TV.

And entire non-linear editing suite in a handheld device. A broadcast station in a phone.

This is just how misunderstood this ad is. It demonstrates the truly revolutonary aspect of iOS.

Something no other company can do as simply.