Apple began airing a new holiday-themed ad on Monday featuring the iPhone 5S. The Mac, iPhone and iPad maker's new ad, Misunderstood, is longer than many of the company's ads at 90 seconds and was clearly designed to pull at our hearts.

Apple's iPhone 5S Misunderstood holiday commercial

Like so many Apple ads, Misunderstood focuses on the people and relationships while the products they use are almost incidental. In this case, the commercial weaves together the story of a family reuniting for the holidays while one teenager seems to be more interested in his smartphone.

The ad plays off of our assumptions and emotions to pull us through the story and in the end the iPhone plays an important role while still keeping the family as the center of attention. It may be sappy, or it may be heart felt, but it's effective because even without ever mentioning a product name you know you're watching an iPhone commercial.