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By Amy Houston, Senior Reporter

November 28, 2024 | 2 min read

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The spot comes from the tech brand’s TBWA\Media Arts Lab agency and Academy Award-nominated director Henry Alex Rubin.

Following the success of last year’s ‘Fuzzy Feelings’ holiday short, Apple is back with another emotive ad, this time about a father’s love for his daughter.

In ‘Heartstrings,’ viewers are privy to a family’s Christmas morning traditions of exchanging gifts. The dad, who has moderate hearing loss, watches his daughter open a new guitar as memories of their time together begin to flood back, from her first guitar, birthday and first day of school.

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The turning point comes when he activates the hearing aid feature on his Apple AirPods Pro 2, with the perspective shifting to reflect that he can now hear clearly and be fully present for his daughter’s rendition of Our House by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on her new guitar.

The film’s storytelling is elevated by the sound design of three-time Academy Award winner Paul NJ Ottosson. With meticulous attention to frequencies and volume, Ottosson captured the experience of hearing loss, immersing viewers in a visceral depiction of mild to moderate auditory impairment.

The campaign rolls out globally across broadcast, digital platforms, and social media during the holiday season.

Credits

Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Los Angeles

Director: Henry-Alex Rubin

Production company: Smuggler

Post-production company: Trafik

Editing: Cabin

Director of photography: James Laxton

Music: Cover of Our House, originally written by Graham Nash

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