What it had to solve
Apple had made a Chinese New Year short every year since 2015, but earlier films led with product; for 2018, with the camera-heavy iPhone X, it needed a warmer, more content-like way to communicate with mainland China.
The idea
Make the annual Spring Festival ad a product-free micro-film: Peter Chan shoots a true story on iPhone X — a train attendant gets three minutes with her son at a station.
How it works
Launched on Youku on 1 February with a premiere that night, 'Three Minutes' was shot entirely on iPhone X with drones, stabilisers and portrait lighting; the title card named the device, and five 'director's tips' videos taught users to shoot the same shots.
What it did
It premiered at night and flooded WeChat moments the next day; Lianhe Zaobao recorded over 1.15 million views on Apple Singapore's YouTube channel within a week, and 'can a phone shoot a film?' became a national debate.
Background
On 1 February 2018 Apple released its Chinese New Year short film 'Three Minutes' (三分钟), directed by Peter Chan and shot entirely on an iPhone X. Based on a true story, it follows a train attendant who spends every New Year carrying passengers home while her own son is brought to a platform for the three minutes her train stops there.
It was Apple's fourth consecutive Chinese New Year short but the first with no product on screen — the opening card only said it was shot on iPhone X. Chan placed the phone close to actors to capture emotion, put it on drones and the front of trains for movement, and used portrait lighting, time-lapse and slow motion to make a phone look cinematic.
The film premiered and hit Youku on the evening of 1 February and swept WeChat moments the next day. Industry commenters read it as Apple defending its premium positioning while its China share slipped; Lianhe Zaobao reported over 1.15 million views on Apple Singapore's YouTube channel within a week, and viewers debated whether the results came from the phone or the crew.
Why it lands
No product shots, yet everyone remembered the iPhone X camera
A true Spring Festival travel story hit a universal nerve
A-list director plus behind-the-scenes made the ad a discussable content event
The on-screen device credit started a 'phone vs pro gear' argument that spread it further
What you can take
The product pitch need not be on screen: a trusted creator tells a mass story with the product, capability outshines specs, and the 'famous director + phone' New Year film became a copied template.
Since then
After 'Three Minutes', Apple made the director-shoots-on-iPhone New Year film a yearly ritual — 'A Bucket' (2019) and 'Daughter' (2020) followed — and Chinese phone brands copied the format.
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