Apple's "Misunderstood" holiday ad captures Emmy for "Most Outstanding Commercial"
A holiday-themed ad Apple released in late 2013 -- titled "Misunderstood" -- was the recent recipient of an Emmy award for "Most Outstanding Commercial."
Put together by Apple's longtime ad agency TBWA, the ad depicts teenage boy who seemingly prefers to spend time alone on his phone than he does interacting with his family during a holiday vacation. The twist at the end is that far from being disengaged and isolated, the teenager has busied himself with shooting and editing together heartfelt moments between family members, with all the footage having been captured on his iPhone 5s. The end result, as the commercial shows us, is a short and sweet film from a "misunderstood" boy.
The commercial debuted to almost universal praise, with long time Apple ad man Ken Segall noting:
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. Despite its cleverness, the spot feels very real.
In typical Apple fashion, the commercial isn't trying to sell us a product as much as it's trying to get us to latch onto an experience.
The full commercial can be viewed below.
In capturing the Emmy, Apple's effort beat out 4 other competitors, including two spots from Budweiser ("A Hero's Welcome" and "Puppy Love"), one from Nike, and another from General Electric.
