Apple is using its annual holiday commercial to tell a family story of accessibility centered around the new Hearing Aid feature on AirPods Pro 2—and featuring an actor who has hearing loss himself.

The almost two-minute film, titled “Heartstrings,” rolls out Thursday. It was created by agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab and directed by Smuggler’s Henry-Alex Rubin.

The story takes place on Christmas, as a daughter unwraps her new present—a guitar—and begins to play. But her father, who has mild to moderate hearing loss, can hear only a muffled version of the song. (Oscar winner Paul N.J. Ottosson worked on the sound design to mimic the experience of hearing loss.)

The ad flashes back to sweet family moments when the father also couldn’t hear well. Returning to the present moment, he puts in the AirPods Pro 2 and the sounds all become clear, thanks to the earbuds’ clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature, introduced a month ago.

Apple has made accessibility a major focus of its advertising recently. Highlights include films such as “The Greatest” from 2022 and “The Relay” from this summer. But this is the first time it’s devoted its much-anticipated holiday ad to such a message. (The timing dovetails with International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Dec. 3.)

The Hearing Aid feature was introduced at the end of October, less than two months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized it as the first over-the-counter hearing aid software device. Apple users can now use special software on iPhone or iPad to test their hearing, and then use the AirPods Pro 2 to adjust sounds in their environments.

Early reviews of the feature have been positive, driving excitement around the innovation. The main question thus far has been whether people will feel comfortable wearing AirPods as hearing aids regularly, considering they aren’t as discreet as traditional hearing aids.

“For Apple, one of the best measures of an innovation is how it improves people’s lives,” Sumbul Desai, Apple’s VP of health, told Ad Age. “Our work in health is a natural extension of that mission, and AirPods are becoming a bigger part of that story.”

Casting an actor with hearing loss

As it usually does in its accessibility work, Apple cast an actor with the condition. John Pelletreau, who plays the father, has been using AirPods Pro 2 with Hearing Aid since their release.

Pelletreau said he never considered getting hearing aids, believing they were too expensive, and just got used to dealing with his hearing loss.

“My wife and I watch TV at two entirely different volumes. That’s been our struggle forever,” Pelletreau said. “Her level is, like, 4. I’m at like a 10. I have to have the volume way up to understand what they’re saying. After getting the AirPods Pro set up with Hearing Aid, well, I’ll just say she’s a fan. We haven’t had a single conversation about the TV volume this week.”

“John is an amazing guy with a wonderful family,” said Tor Myhren, Apple’s VP of marking communications. “He shared insights with us about his own journey, how hearing loss has played a role in his life—and even shared real family photos and videos that helped bring this story to life.” (The flashback scenes include some of these real home videos, though the daughter in the present-day scenes is an actress who was cast for the role.)

Pelletreau said his quality of life has improved in other ways, too.

“I’m not having to actively put effort into understanding what people are saying. I can just hear it,” he said. “Looking back, I realized my brain was doing all this ‘predictive text’—trying to get the gist even if I couldn’t follow all the words. My brain would try to fill in gaps, and I would just nod and give a more generic answer.”

Global ambitions for the tech

Apple sees the Hearing Aid technology as potentially game-changing on a massive scale. More than 1 billion people worldwide have mild to moderate hearing loss, the company said. Global research suggests it often goes untreated and can have serious effects on a person’s overall wellbeing, including accelerating dementia and social isolation.

“We knew these new hearing health features would literally change people’s lives—and democratize access to treatment for something that affects millions of people,” said Desai.

“This new product is already changing lives, and we hope the ad will move people and spark conversations as we come together at this time of year,” added Myhren.

The spot will run across broadcast, digital platforms and social media throughout the holiday season.