New iPad Commercial “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” Now Airing
Apple has started running their Christmas ad for this year, and it shows off the iPad and iPad Mini with a girl playing a ukelele while singing the classic “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” song to a relative over FaceTime.
The video is embedded below, and you’re likely to catch the ad airing the next few days if you watch TV, and Apple has a knack for airing these advertisements during prime time in particular.
This is a good Apple commercial that follows their traditional lead of showing off features that can improve lives, though it’s more is less humorous than the last two years. In 2011, Apple’s Christmas ad showed Santa using Siri for directions and to retrieve information while eating cookies, and in 2010 they focused on Santa using FaceTime to speak with a child while the Christmas Song played in the background.
Update: 12/24/2012 – Wondering what the “I’ll Be Home” commercial might be like had the girl had used the iPad Mini as the ukelele rather than a real one? Probably something like the video below, which shows a nice variation of the official Apple commercial with the help of the Futulele app (iTunes Store link) for iPad. Cool idea!
Ukulele = automatic foul. They’ll serenade me with these in hell, no doubt.
Is it just me or is she playing the strings with her right hand on the large iPad (what grandpa sees) and her left hand on on the small iPad (what she sees)? That right there is some magic.
If you look closely they are both mirror images. My kid uses the Mac to take photos and they are always flipped around. Guessing its part of the functionality.
Obviously, those that don’t like the add doesn’t have a granddaughter like mine that can’t be at home for Christmas!! Who cares about the dang phone!!!
The girl is actually playing the ukulele and it is a very effective ad. The ad crosses at least three generations. What grandfather wouldn’t be thrilled by his granddaughter sending such a Christmas greeting?
I completely agree, Hammerinhank. I was very touched. I love to see youngsters playing music, especially something as unique as a ukelele.
she’s singing but i don’t think she’s playing anything. another girl is playing the uke with the singer’s face photoshop’d on. look at the size of the hands, look at the unnatural head/shoulder position, look at the skin tone mismatch with the face and neck. but mostly the MONSTER HANDS that are as big as her head.
I disagree about its authenticity. This girl looks like one that we saw on the Pearl Street Mall, Boulder CO a few months back. She played the Somewhere Over the Rainbow to my daughters. It was stunning. I’m betting that’s her. Good for her.
Totally agree…also if you watch close enough, I don’t think she is the one playing the ukulele. Check out how disproportionate her left hand and elbow is in the commercial. We are having a spirited debate at my house about this…anyone else see this?
Actually the size of both her hands caught my attention, but that could simply be the foreshortening effect of the camera lens. Does anyone know the exact focal length of the iPad camera? If it is equivalent to or wider than a 35mm lens on a 35mm camera, that would explain it.
This is the kind of story that turns me off to Apple and it’s fanboys. It’s a commercial. BFD!
This is as bad as ars Technica’s front page story about an Apple cardboard box.
I thought this commercial was painful. While it didn’t turn me off from buying an ipad, it sure didn’t make me want to run out and get one. Just lame, but typical of the current lazy admin. at Apple.