Today’s review is for Apple’s 2021 holiday commercial, Saving Simon. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch it here.

As with any ON: SCREEN post I share with you, I’ll be reviewing this production through a marketing best practice lens.

Without further delay, let’s check some boxes…

Cinematography

Saving Simon is b-e-a-utiful to watch as one would expect from Oscar-nominated father and son filmmakers, Ivan & Jason Reitman. The visuals are immediately engaging and the ad stands out from those presented before or after it—serving as a great example of, “If you want to be seen in a content-saturated market, don’t look and sound like everyone else.”

Brand Clarity

Even the best commercials fail if it’s not clear WHO the story is from and WHAT the brand wants you to remember after engaging you with an irresistible WHY.

The fact that the ad was shot on an iPhone 13 Pro is clear (and impressive) and in the end—the heart-tugging dedication (“For those we’ve waited all year to be with.”) with clear display of Apple’s logo ensure you know who this holiday greeting is from.

Sound

No compelling film or video can grab you by the collar, warm and fuzzies, or Kleenex without the right soundtrack. Saving Simon is set perfectly to the song “You and I” by singer/songwriter Valerie June. The Reitmans’ team also delivers masterful sound across dialogue (spoken lines from the script), foley (synchronous sounds with action on screen), and sound effects (environment and background).

The actor’s voices are clear, you feel like you’re physically present in each scene, and there’s great audible depth to let you know that more is going on than what we’re seeing in each sequence.

No Hook

I’ve found that “No hook” storytelling is the most effective (and human) way to 1.) engage with people and 2.) build your brand in the minds of existing and potential customers.

Granted, not all businesses have the discretionary budget to produce “no hook” commercials—let alone commission Hollywood professionals to create them. Regardless, Apple scores points for consistently investing in human-centric outreach simply to wish you a happy holiday season …in fact, there isn’t an Apple product anywhere in this year’s commercial apart from the “Shot on” reference.

Does Apple want you to buy an iPhone 13 Pro? Absolutely. Do they ask you to buy one in Saving Simon? Absolutely not. Will the visual quality of the ad inspire a filmmaker to consider the iPhone’s video capability when she or he is ready to make a future purchase? I’d wager it will.

Cultural Inclusiveness

I applaud every brand that understands that humans look, think, feel, and live differently when creating messaging. Marketing cannot be appropriately nor effectively executed if individual differences between diverse audience members are not respected—if not celebrated.

What I appreciate about Saving Simon is that rather than “stuffing” its holiday greeting in a contrived or disingenuous way, Apple makes a young girl (Olive) and her snowman (Simon) the focus. The story actually takes place after the holidays are over—using only brief glimpses of non-exclusive symbology to portray the progression of time.

Brand is not so much about rational arguments, but the way a company resonates with people emotionally.

Steve Jobs

Emotional Response

I won’t ruin the payoff if you haven’t already watched Saving Simon, but I can tell you:

• I smiled when a stream of water was used to portray sweat from Simon the snowman.
• I felt anxious when Olive rushes out to stop her brother in the front yard.
• I smiled again when Olive gives her father a sideways look and tapes the freezer shut.
• And again when Olive’s mother opens the freezer effortlessly (while allowing the tape to remain).
• I appreciate the intentional check ins from Olive to Simon, and her vigilance throughout the year.
• My dark & twisty side laughs out loud at the climax …every time I watch the ad.
• I appreciate that the brother is “redeemed” in the end.
• I feel appropriately warm and fuzzy by the final scene and sentiment in the closing message.

These emotions (and the aforementioned production-marketing kudos) were what made me pay attention the first time my non-premium streaming subscription required me to watch a block of ads before returning me to my show. I can’t tell you what played on either side of it (or if anything else did).

These emotions are what then led me to share the video in my personal LinkedIn feed after laughing out loud for the third or fourth time.

And these emotions are what made me change what I was going to write about in this blog post. It’s just too good an example of well executed storytelling not to point out why.

Final Grade & Thoughts

While I might give Old Navy a B grade for its above average “ALL-idays” commercials (I recall them and their inclusiveness by name as I write this), Saving Simon earns an

A+

for taking us on a well-planned and delivered journey spanning a year in a matter of seconds. For immediately making me care about a young girl and her inanimate best friend. And for paying attention to small details that are actually a very big deal.

With end of the year/2022 campaign content to produce and much needed end of the year vacation beckoning, I’ll not likely post here again in 2021. So, like Apple, I offer my season’s greetings, and wish you and yours health, happiness, and peace this holiday season …with lots of good emotions to lock in the memories.

I hope that this review gave you something helpful to think about for your next production, and here’s to a year of great storytelling in 2022.

See you soon!

J