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Apple's latest iPhone 7 ad brings iOS 10 'happy birthday' balloons in Messages to life

Though it's an ad for the newly released iPhone 7, Apple's latest TV commercial is actually pushing a feature found on all devices that can run iOS 10: expressive texts in the Messages app.

With iOS 10, sending a user an iMessage with the words "happy birthday" automatically sends a flood of balloons up the screen. In Apple's new iPhone 7 ad, those balloons come to life, starting with a lone balloon traversing a landscape, ending with a flood of balloons in a metropolitan setting.

In the commercial, the cascade of balloons was caused by a drawing of a heart and a simple text of "happy birthday," which bring a smile to the recipient's face as she reads her phone.

As with other Apple advertisements, the minute-long spot largely downplays both the software and the hardware of the iPhone 7. Apple's new flagship handset is barely even in the commercial, as the TV ad instead attempts to evoke emotion with impressive visuals.

The series of iPhone 7 ads, and Apple commercials for other products before it, aim to capture the human side of the company's devices. Earlier ads for the iPhone 7 focused on users taking low-light photos and putting its water resistance to the test in a rainstorm.



11 Comments

cali 10 Years · 3494 comments

iPhone has been magic since day one.

coolfactor 20 Years · 2341 comments

Great ad. But I hope those were just CGI balloons, otherwise that's an environmental disaster and risk to wildlife.

Curious about the subtext on the final screen ... "Subject to availability"... in terms of only being supported on iOS 10 and not earlier versions?

spice-boy 8 Years · 1450 comments

This ad reminds me of the Sony Bravia TV spot with the half a million colored balls dropped down a SF hill, 

chitowntrojan 10 Years · 5 comments

Great ad. But I hope those were just CGI balloons, otherwise that's an environmental disaster and risk to wildlife.

Curious about the subtext on the final screen ... "Subject to availability"... in terms of only being supported on iOS 10 and not earlier versions?

My apartment is in one of the shots in the ad. I would remember someone releasing a couple million ballons in downtown Chicago.

brian green 21 Years · 635 comments

spice-boy said:
This ad reminds me of the Sony Bravia TV spot with the half a million colored balls dropped down a SF hill, 

To this day, it's one of my all-time favorite commercials.