Apple’s new ad is for people who haven’t figured out how to use iMessage effects

Apple debuted a TV ad today that shows off the new iMessage effects on iOS 10. The ad depicts balloons floating around a city and gathering in the bedroom of an iMessage user who reads a happy birthday text that was sent with the balloon iMessage effect. In case you don’t know what the new effects are, they fill a text thread with either balloons, confetti, lasers, a shooting star, or fireworks. The commercial’s very endearing.

I wonder why Apple is advertising its iMessage effects, though. Surely there’s something else about iOS 10 that’s worthy of pointing out, right? I guess the large number of “How To” articles explaining the new features could be proof that some people likely still have no idea they exist. Maybe that’s why. Anecdotally, no one I text with uses iMessage effects. Some send Yelp app recommendations and other stickers, but the actual balloons and confetti seem to be going unloved. Apple’s ad campaign could change that by giving us an idea of how to use them.