Apple Misunderstood Commercial

I have to say this is one of the most compelling commercials Apple has ever made and it really hit home to me.

It is called "Misunderstood" and chronicles the holiday get-together with a lonesome teenager who seems to be pre-occupied with his smartphone. What the family doesn't realize until the end is a kid making a family video as a gift. It is a real tear jerker because I've experienced the same thing.

Our entire extended family expects me to be the videographer of family events. When I don't lug around a big SLR, they seem to be dissapointed but often get a pleasant surprise usually before the end of an event. At a wedding, baptism, or soccer game, I'll have a fully edited video using iMovie complete with opening titles, nice transitions, and color graded effects before everyone heads home. This is why the Apple ecosystem is inherently so powerful. At any given functions, I'll have relatives with the latest Note 3, Nexus 5 and ultra fast new smartphones but none of them can produce the level of video professionalism as an iPhone/iMovie combo. The look on the eyes of a braggart relative, with his latest and greatest tech gadget, is priceless when his enthusiasm is drowned out by the simplicity of a nicely edited, thoughtful video.

I've had some real tear-jerker moments that could be made into compelling commercials. For example, at the birth of my daughter, my then 4 year old son was at home with his grandma as hospitals don't allow minors in the delivery room. As my wife was giving birth to our daughter, I called him on Facetime. He, a four year old toddler, answered the call and said hi to his newly brand new little sister via video chat. The nurses and delivery doctors were impressed and said hi to my son. It was one of those most touching moments that I will never forget for the rest of my life. My son was elated to see his sister and felt like he, too, was experiencing the birth of a new human. Touching indeed. Facetime, simple idea, but inherently so powerful that can only be described when you experience it. There are hundreds of little other moments like that.

Hence, this is why people should not be caught up in tech specs. Good software design makes magic happen.