Apple is continuing its Chinese New Year theme of shooting ads using its own phones but has refreshed the story for 2019, focusing on the tradition of taking a ‘taste of home’ back after the holiday.
Last year, Apple started a tradition of its own in telling Chinese New Year traditions using only the technology in its phones, with Three Minutes.
The story of ‘The Bucket’ is brought to life by director Jia Zhahngke, telling the story of a young man who is given a troublesome cumbersome bucket to take home by his mother. Shot on the iPhone XS, the ad depicts some of China’s impressive landscapes as it follows his journey from country to the city with the heavy and inconvenient bucket.
The big reveal is that the bucket has been safely housing some fresh country eggs, protected by heavy sand. Apple says the eggs are used to symbolize “the fragile yet unbreakable love of his mother”.
The ad finishes with a set of shots depicting others at various parts of the homeward journey, carrying local foods like strings of chilies, big heavy bottles of oil and even fish.
The ad debuted on Friday, 25 January in Beijing during a Q&A with the director, with the ad being shared more widely on broadcast TV and social media channels (Weibo, Youku, WeChat, Douyin and Apple’s YouTube channel).
To help people create their own stories, Apple has created a set of ‘how to’ films called ‘Lens of Love’ that help people learn key cinematic techniques using the features of the phone’s camera.
Key images from the campaign will be shared on outdoor ads, as well as on Apple’s global Instagram page. Throughout the Chinese New Year holiday, Apple will be sharing real stories from families on WeChat, also shot on its phones.
