Apple today released a new version of its holiday ad "The Song" to coincide with the Chinese New Year holiday, using new actresses and showing a variety of Apple products throughout the video.

applethesongchina
Like the original version, the Chinese version of "The Song" centers around a girl who comes across a vintage record sung by her grandmother as she secretly learns the notes and vocals to put together her own rendition alongside the original. The commercial ends with the girl and her grandmother listening side-by-side to the new record on an iPad.

The ad is currently being featured on Apple's Chinese website. The company has opened a number of new stores in the past couple of weeks in time for Chinese New Year, with new locations popping up in Chongqing and Hangzhou.

Top Rated Comments

Kaibelf Avatar
133 months ago
Kind of cheapens the idea of the original ad in my opinion to repeat it like this just with different actors.

What they think China won't like black actors? Nothing gets said in the original ad except for the music lyrics and they could have dubbed those with a chinese song.

Just my two cents.

1. There are far more Chinese than blacks in China.
2. It helps to sell the product if the song is actually in a language the viewer understands.
3. What cheapens the original ad, frankly, is playing the race card. More than one ethnicity actually cares about their grandparents. Therefore, race card DENIED.

:apple:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xionxiox Avatar
133 months ago
My understanding is that Chinese culture and interaction is largely built upon respect; face-to-face meetings rather than phone or video calls and the like.

Apple's targeting to China all seems a bit cheap; make an advert aimed at China, mention China explicitly in keynotes, feign a respect for the culture, and watch them buy our stuff. Nothing about it seems sincere.

Admittedly, as I'm typing this, I realise Apple is a company looking to make money, but it all just seems so transparent.

Huh? You don't know much about my culture.

----------

Kind of cheapens the idea of the original ad in my opinion to repeat it like this just with different actors.

What they think China won't like black actors? Nothing gets said in the original ad except for the music lyrics and they could have dubbed those with a chinese song.

Just my two cents.

Fair point, but I think it's because the song is in chinese and it wouldn't make much sense for the girl to be mouthing english words to chinese dub. Plus, the father in the previous ad appeared to be a war veteran for the United states, so it is more appropriate to customize this particular ad.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DanielSw Avatar
133 months ago
Kind of cheapens the idea of the original ad in my opinion to repeat it like this just with different actors.

What they think China won't like black actors? Nothing gets said in the original ad except for the music lyrics and they could have dubbed those with a chinese song.

Just my two cents.

You're totally missing the message of the ad if you hang up on racial color.

Amongst many other important values, the Chinese culture still reveres the elderly.

This ad reaches across racial barriers erected by the unenightened, and celebrates this far more important and sustaining truth. It also celebrates youth and new beginnings aided by technology, which has been Apple's theme for a good while now--quite appropriate for the Chinese New Year.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chocolaterabbit Avatar
133 months ago
My point is that they already made this ad in America. Why do the same exact advertisement with chinese actors? To me it loses its genuineness and now feels really generic. I liked the original it felt real, now it just feels cheap both the original and this recreation because they just remade it like it was worthless.

Remember Apple isn't just making advertisements like other companies they want people to feel things. By redoing this ad it makes me feel like they are just like any other cold company, this isn't what they are striving for, it's what they are. Remember the narrative and brand image they are trying to drive and reality are two separate things.

1. As was already pointed out, Apple remade the ad so Chinese customers can identify with the actors, which makes perfect sense. How are they supposed to identify with a black family with a American army veteran, singing in English? And suggesting that they dub the original is exactly the kind of tacky thing Apple wouldn't do. It feels cheap and unthoughtful.

2. If another company copied the Apple ad, does that cheapen the original?

----------

I think race came in to it when Apple remade their advertisement 1:1 and just changed the race of the actors shown in the ad. :rolleyes:

Because people seem to be surprised that different countries identify with different races.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
133 months ago
Huh? You don't know much about my culture.
He's probably basing his understanding on things he's seen in television shows and movies rather than any real experience, similar to how some people assume that everyone in China rides around on a bicycle with a cone shaped hat instead of going about their modern lives like everyone else.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gasu E. Avatar
133 months ago
How many countries does apple customize it's advertisements for? Im doing this for China, do they risk making other countries (eg other Asian countries) feel left out?

Kind of cheapens the idea of the original ad in my opinion to repeat it like this just with different actors.

What they think China won't like black actors? Nothing gets said in the original ad except for the music lyrics and they could have dubbed those with a chinese song.

The purpose of an ad is advertising (duh)! The target audience is supposed to identify with the people in the ad. Why would you put people who are obviously Americans in an ad aimed at China? And it isn't an "artistic statement", it's a sales pitch; you can't "cheapen the idea". You can, however, make it pointless; for example, by misfiring on the target audience.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...