The brief was to create a heartfelt holiday campaign that moved the world, and gave expression to Apple’s long-held core company value of “the power of creativity to improve our lives.” In an increasingly fragmented world, where individuals lack empathy, how can creativity allow us to to see others for who they truly are? Our goal was to show how seeing others through a new lens can change how we see the world and others.

Just before Thanksgiving, the brand released our emotional film showcasing how iPhone, Mac, and ingenuity foster unexpected connections. The campaign was built to scale in a new way for Apple by leveraging owned and talent channels, adding an additional 4M+ organic views for the campaign.

Released as a short film online during the holidays, Fuzzy feelings tells a story of two worlds that mirror one another. Following the life of a young animator, we reveal that the main character in her stop-motion film is inspired by her real life — her boss, a middle-aged man in need of a shave. Each unknown transgression at work inspires pain and misfortune for the little felt doppelganger as the star in this after-hours cinema. Only when she sees another side of her boss, that he’s just another human with his own struggles, does she realize that she is the one in charge of the story. Not only does she rewrite the ending for her felt protagonist, but she decides to rewrite the ending for her real-life relationship as well.

What better way to drop a story of understanding and empathy, than on social media and the platforms that are creating a divide between us? We used the full weight of Apple’s organic social presence to launch the film to over 65M followers across Instagram, YouTube and Tim Cook’s X account (formerly twitter).

We tapped into the social itch of seeing “how it’s made” with BTS content that showed iPhone and Mac in action. Lastly, we borrowed the power of the song and the artist on social by having George Harrisons estate share to their loyal followers on Instagram.

Set to release as a social film during the holidays we had a clear deadline for relevance. Making our nearly 4 minute film with over 90seconds of stop motion an extremely difficult production. Capturing only 3 seconds per day over two weeks for 90 seconds of stop motion meant we had a math problem, resulting in two sets and 250 hours spent on animation. Adding the challenge of shooting entirely on iPhone, a feat of which a production scale had never been achieved with anything other than a pro camera. The iPhone was used for 250+ hrs of animation & captured 20,000+ images. Resulting in a BTS film that allowed people not just to share the message but the magic behind it all.

Fuzzy Feelings garnered over 20 Million Total Views, with 4 Million Organic views. Even with the film having a running time of 3:45, the average view time was 2:23, an unprecedented 65% completion rate. Praised globally as “a film the world needs right now,” it topped all the holiday ad lists and even boosted George Harrison’s streaming by 25%. Internet reviews and comments lauded it as a work of art, highlighting its inspiring message of kindness. The films message generated 300+ headlines in 35 countries.