This Apple commercial was all over the screen on the first day of the Spring Festival travel rush!

How would you spend your time with your family if you only have three minutes to spend together?

Yesterday, the first day of the 2018 Spring Festival travel rush, Apple launched a New Year blockbuster "Three Minutes" adapted from a true story. Director Peter Chan filmed the entire film using an iPhone X, telling a three-minute reunion story that is both heart-wrenching and moving.

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The mother, who works as a train conductor, has not celebrated the New Year with her son Xiao Ding for several years. Every Spring Festival, she welcomes and sees off countless passengers on the train who are going home for the New Year, but she cannot be with her son.

This year, my aunt suggested taking Xiao Ding to see her mother when the train stopped in her hometown Kaili. Although, the meeting time was only three minutes.

The ninety-second countdown begins! ( The film reproduces Griffith's classic narrative technique of "last-minute rescue", which makes the family film have the tense texture of a spy film.)

The train was about to arrive at the station, and Xiao Ding ran to the spot closest to the exit to wait for his mother. He thought that this way he would be able to see his mother sooner, but he ended up missing his mother's getting off point.

Working mothers have to arrange for other passengers to get on and off the bus first. Time passes by second by second...

Xiao Ding walked through the dense crowd and finally came to his mother. However, a dramatic scene happened - in the remaining one and a half minutes, Xiao Ding began to recite the 99 multiplication table!

It turned out that Mom had told Xiao Ding that if he still couldn't remember the multiplication table, he would have to stay away from her. I didn't expect that my son took my threatening words seriously.

The three minutes were running out. The mother reluctantly returned to the train and the door closed, but Xiao Ding was still reciting the multiplication table... Finally, when the train started, her son recited the last one, "ninety-nine eighty-one"!

(The pun reminds me of “all things return to one”. Everything seems to return to one, but it is not a cycle. Instead, it goes from the starting point to the end point, and from the end point to a new starting point. Just like the mother and son in the film parted again, but this time they set off again with love and satisfaction.)

It turns out that you can keep every moment of reunion. Even if it's only three minutes!

Why did Apple’s blockbuster “Three Minutes” take the screen by storm?

A few hours after the commercial was released, Apple ’s official account published its first special push for this purpose: “How to spend the Spring Festival with only three minutes left?” Let Apple and Chen Kexin shoot it for you" has reached over 100,000 views; as of press time, the number of views on Youku has reached nearly 10 million.

The trend of breaking through the circle has also appeared in the circle of friends and Weibo, and "heartfelt" and "touched" have become the most frequently used comments:

Why are Apple’s ads so popular? Bangmei summarizes the five highlights of this marketing :

1. Suspense posters that capture people’s hearts

First of all, the poster of the short film is very thoughtful. The big words "three minutes" on the top of the poster give people a sense of urgency and oppression. Director Chen Kexin and the iPhone X shooting directly show the highlight of this advertisement (I will describe it in detail later).

In the picture, the criss-crossing train tracks, the train about to arrive, the no-entry sign and the back of the little boy in the center of the poster, these elements combined together create a sense of suspense.

This back view is more like an emotional entry point, firmly grasping the hearts of the audience, and questions arise one after another, "Why is he standing at the end of the train platform? Who is he waiting for? And why?"

2. Show product features without leaving any trace

"Shot with iPhone X" is undoubtedly the most eye-catching point of this advertisement.

Throughout the entire video, apples are only shown at the beginning and the end, because everything is self-explanatory... As long as this work with elements of the Spring Festival and Spring Festival travel is recognized by everyone, it means that the use of the shooting function is worthy of recognition.

Apple inadvertently demonstrated a wave of mobile phone shooting functions, giving you the illusion that "as long as you buy an iPhone X, you can shoot such blockbuster-level short films." (All fake ones are fake)

At the same time, a special page was launched on the official website, with director Chen Kexin bringing a tutorial on iPhone X shooting techniques.

There is even an advertising slogan like this: "Pick up your iPhone X and learn from Chen Kexin how to shoot your family's Spring Festival story, capture the strong flavor of the New Year in your lens, and give your family a special reunion gift."

3. Co-director Peter Chan, commercials can also be made into blockbusters

As a well-known domestic director, Chen Kexin's previous films such as "Dear" and "Chinese Partners" have received high praise. It seems that as soon as you see his name, you will automatically think of the reputation of his movies. Chen Kexin, who is good at exploring emotions, must have produced good works.

Yesterday, Chen Kexin held the premiere of his short work "Three Minutes" in Sanlitun, Beijing , which further proved the movie level of this advertisement. He said in an interview, "The Spring Festival, family reunion, and Spring Festival travel are the three elements I have always wanted to shoot, and this time I finally presented them in the form of a short film."

In addition to the director, the production team of this advertisement is also not to be underestimated. Producer Xu Yuezhen and screenwriter Chen Jiayi are both well-known figures in the film industry.

4. Clever push time period: the first day of the Spring Festival travel rush

The release time period is the key to achieving the dissemination of an advertisement. Apple's choice to release the news last night is thought-provoking.

Yesterday was the first day of the 2018 Spring Festival travel rush. The short film "Three Minutes" tells the stories that happened on the Spring Festival travel rush. The three-minute reunion between a mother who sticks to her post and her child during the special time of the Spring Festival can better show the emotional state of the reunion, release this emotional energy to the maximum, and move a large number of people.

5. A refreshing change among Spring Festival ads, genuine and heartfelt without being overly sentimental

As the Spring Festival approaches, various brands are busy producing and releasing their own New Year advertisements, and many of them are deliberately sensational...

This Apple ad doesn't seem to be pretentious at all. Although the subject matter of the story is not special, the adaptation of the true story has become an element that touches the audience.

At the same time, shooting techniques are another important factor that affects the viewing experience. If the story is pretentious and far from life, it will be difficult to have emotional resonance. Only "truth" can touch the heart.

Just like what Peter Chan said when he shared his creative insights (iPhone X shooting tips): "Slow-motion fireworks suddenly burst into life, and children burst into laughter. As long as your emotions are genuine, you can move others."

Apple is also taking a warm approach.

Isn't it cool?

However, despite the overwhelming praise, doubts also came along, such as - Apple is no longer so cool.

In many people’s impressions, the style of painting an apple “bitten by God” should be: a clean picture, ample white space, no excessive desire for expression, and a concise introduction to the product. But now, it is using a heartwarming reunion advertisement to sell mobile phones, which is too pandering to users and very un-Apple.

But this kind of "localized marketing" may not mean that Apple is no longer cool.

What is cool? In the words of marketer Li Jiaoshou , "A brand that does not follow those unreasonable social conventions and thus brings positive subjective feelings to consumers is called cool."

Therefore, being cool is not about looking cool on the outside, but whether the core breaks through unreasonable conventions and gives people a new and shocking feeling. Today, when the competition in the mobile phone function market has become a red ocean, it is difficult to create a sense of coolness through products that exceed expectations; at the same time, emotional communication with consumers has become a competitive point for brands to create differentiation. Therefore, blindly maintaining the same painting style is a futile attempt.

In fact, in recent years, Apple has indeed produced many "uncool" advertisements in order to cater to the Chinese market.

For example, embarrassing copywriting , official websites dominated by zodiac elements, and overly festive bright red peripheral products.

For example, in 2015, Apple invited director Ann Hui to shoot its first Spring Festival commercial "Old Records", but its core idea was copied from Apple's 2014 US Christmas commercial .

In 2016, Apple invited Li Zongsheng to shoot a music commercial "Sending You a New Year Song", but it only received 356,000 hits on the Apple official website channel on Youku, which was a dismal performance.

But this time, the "Three Minutes" blockbuster is indeed a down-to-earth New Year advertisement full of fireworks, which touches the hearts of Chinese users and breaks the "unreasonable conventions" of China's numerous warm advertisements that are overly sensational and always difficult to balance emotional expression and product functions.

From the perspective of values, it also stands at the intersection of technology and humanities, and well demonstrates the brand core that technology can make life better. This is the first time that Apple has truly achieved "localized marketing."

So, can you say it's not cool?

This article was compiled and published by @銷新功能by (Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!

Product promotion services: APP promotion services Advertising platform Longyou Century