Apple Awarded Creative Arts Emmy for 'Misunderstood' Holiday Commercial

The Television Academy this weekend announced the winners for the 2014 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, recognizing the technical side of television in honoring the outstanding "behind-the-scenes crafts essential to television production." Apple was among the winners announced during a ceremony held Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Apple, along with Park Pictures production company and TBWA\Media Arts Lab ad agency, was awarded an Outstanding Commercial Emmy for its holiday "Misunderstood" advertisement. In the commercial, a family participates in a traditional Christmas celebration while a younger member records all of the activities on his iPhone. Chided for being on the sidelines, the misunderstood teen delights his family at the end of the commercial with a heart-warming montage of the holiday celebration streamed via AirPlay to the living room television.

The award was shared with Apple's longtime ad agency, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, which allegedly now has a rocky relationship with the Cupertino company. Emails from Apple's head of marketing Phil Schiller hint at discord between the ad agency and Apple's executives following a scathing criticism from The Wall Street Journal. A more recent rumor suggests Apple is ready to sever its ties to TBWA/Media Arts Lab, with Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine stepping in to help spearhead the company's future marketing campaigns.