THE Apple this week released a Christmas commercial that touched many people (see here on the website).
With the title of "Frankie’s Holiday" (in free translation, “Frankie's Christmas”), the video shows a monster that lives alone in a place far from civilization recording the sounds of a music box on his iPhone 7. He then appears in the city and people they look weird while he sings awkwardly a Christmas song. Soon, people are moved by his gesture, and then everyone is already singing along with him. The message “Open your heart to everyone” (or “Open your heart to everyone”) appears on the screen and the commercial ends.
The “different” appearance of the monster and the title also led to the understanding that it was the character of the literary work “Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus”, by Mary Shelley, who became popular through the various films already created. It is worth remembering that Frankenstein is the surname of Victor, the doctor who created the “monster” (which has no name). In the commercial, the creature as well as in the work is seen as a “stranger” that does not belong to our world. However, with the intention of calling everyone to welcome anyone (even a monster!), Apple brings a very sensitive message to the end.
In an interview with Fast Co.Create, Tor Myhren (Apple’s vice president of marketing) answered some questions about the commercial approach.
Out of curiosity, the interviewer quickly asked if the “monster” was actor Brad Garrett (yes, he), then asked if the advertisement had anything to do with the recent US election results and Tim Cook's memo to Apple employees. . Responding negatively to this question, Myhren recalled that the theme "included" has been part of the company's values ​​for some time, also citing the commercial "The Human Family" published during the Olympic Games. According to him, the two moments were great opportunities to take this message to a large audience.
When asked about the importance that the commercial would have for the company's strategy, Myhren, who assumed his current position in late 2015, stated that a successful “tradition” in the company and that “in a team that is winning does not move” . He added that the work "does not reflect his look on things, just like Apple does".
The interviewer's last questions were whether the brands were entering this wave of more “British”, more emotional Christmas commercials. The executive recalled that, worldwide, companies are still focused on aggressive sales advertisements, when, in fact, "there are more important things on the date than simply getting the best discounts".
it is a time to think about ourselves, our families, the world around us. And, for us, also think about one of our main values. () When people are being inundated with these aggressive sales messages, we can give them a minute or two of just a little entertainment that ties very strongly to something that we strongly believe in Apple.
The interesting interview in full you can check, in English, here.
(via The Loop)