Apple has released a new ‘Holiday’ commercial, which is one of the saddest things committed to film since the opening scene of Up had us in floods of tears all those years ago.
The company is flexing its new-found creative video nous to extol the virtues of the iPad tablet, with some heart-wrenching consequences. The video focuses on a young family embarking on a trip to visit their grandfather for the Christmas season.
The kids are being annoying, so their parents hand over an iPad loaded with games and movies to occupy them on the plane, in the car and when the weary travellers reach their destination. However, the kids finally start behaving when one of the young girls asks their mother: “Is grandpa still sad?”
Oh. So that’s where we’re going with this? Buckle up.
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Here’s the twist from the expected ‘kids are annoying, quell the rebellion with the iPad’ trope. You see, this is apparently the first Christmas without the dearly-departed grandmother.
From here things get, well, excruciatingly sad. Of course, there’s a heartwarming ending, which repairs the torn heartstrings somewhat. If you get that far. Check out the commercial in full below:
If you think the Up connection is impossible to ignore – it’s a practically a live action sequel to the film’s brutal opening sequence – it is something Apple is entirely conscious of. The commercial actually uses the track “Married Life” by Michael Giacchino, which was the Pixar film’s theme.
So thanks for that Apple. Thanks for making us cry on a Monday night, an entire month before Christmas, just so you can shift a few more iPads.
We’re not sure whether this was an in-house video production from Apple, but it may be a sign of the company’s growing confidence in this realm following the launch of Apple TV Plus earlier this month.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.