There is a basic truth in advertising: ads do not sell a product or service, they sell an emotion. When we create an ad that shows how a product or service will improve a customer’s life, we spark an emotional connection.

That’s what Apple’s Christmas-themed TV commercial does. If you missed it you must have been visiting relatives on the moon for the holidays because it was everywhere. Here it is if you’d like to take a look:

Apple really went to the holiday nostalgia trunk for this one, pulling out everything that reminds you of Christmas when you were a kid: falling snow, sleeping kids, sledding, snow angels, snowmen and grandparents, to name a few. And central to the ad story is a brilliant contradiction; the ad sets us up to believe we are watching a teenage boy who is disengaged from his family when in fact he has been shooting video of his family with his iPhone. He plays it back synced to Apple TV while the family, assembled on Christmas morning, watches. There is a big emotional payoff plus even more important, the unexpected twist makes it memorable.

What emotion does your product or service elicit in customers? Think about it.