Fuzzy feelings is a story of two worlds that mirror one another. Following the life of a young stop-motion filmmaker, we reveal that the main character in her animation is inspired by her real life — her boss. Each unknown transgression at work inspires pain and misfortune for the little felt doppelganger as the star in this after-hours cinema. Not only is this a long-form film, but the story itself celebrates the power of filmmaking.

The world is going through a severe empathy crisis. Decreased social interaction, obsessing over our own struggles, doomsday scrolling, it all breeds hopelessness and apathy – why bother trying to understand what others are going through when everyone is hurting in some way?

Creativity has long been the bridge to understanding and empathizing with others. As a brand that believes creativity has the ability to improve our lives, Apple aimed to give the world a nudge in the right direction.

What better time than the holiday for a reminder to draw that bridge to understanding the people in our lives? With just an iPhone in our pocket, can we see the world through a new lens and invite others in?

In this film, told in both live-action and stop-motion, we follow the daily struggles of a scrappy young animator as she processes her world through her craft of animation. In several tit-for-tat moments, we watch as her disgruntled boss makes her life miserable, and she in turn, makes her puppet’s life miserable. It’s not until her boss gives her a holiday gift and she sees him out in the world alone and sad that her image of him begins to crack and she begins to see him as just another person dealing with his own issues. After this pivotal moment, she decides to change her story and make things right, both in her animation and in the real world.

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.

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.