Apple’s holiday ad for the iPhone 4S showing Santa using the Siri voice control feature was ranked as the most effective commercial of the season, according to a study by the analysis firm Ace Metrix.

The advertising analysis company polled a random selection of television viewers it says represent the overall U.S. audience. Based on the results, Apple’s Santa commercial earned 652 points out of 950 — a full 8 percent higher than the average score for other commercials in the technology category.

Apple’s Santa ad for the iPhone 4S and Siri

Other ads that performed well during the holiday season came from companies such as Nintendo, Coca Cola, Duracell and Pillsbury.

Apple released the commercial a week ahead of the Christmas holiday. It shows Santa asking Siri for weather updates in several cities, looking up his “naughty or nice” list, and checking how many appointments he has left for the night, which turned out to be 3.7 billion.

The iPhone 4S television ad campaign has focused heavily on Siri even though the feature is still considered beta. You can check out the Santa iPhone 4S commercial at the Apple website.

[Thanks to GigaOm for the heads up.]