There is no such thing as a red envelope, and there is no deliberate promotion. Apple Store clerks just silently put on uniform red overalls. Besides the festive occasions, they also have a touch of cultural consideration.
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “Geek Park” (ID : Geekpark), author Jesse.
The fact that there is no red envelope and no deliberate promotion, the Apple Store clerks just silently put on uniform red overalls. Besides the festive occasions, there is also a touch of thoughtfulness across cultures.
Beijing’s street bus station, Zhou Xun’s poster replaced the advertisement of the new iPhone. The handwritten “daughter” is more prominent than the squared “shoot with iPhone 11 Pro”. At this moment, in this city where thousands of “foreign people” live, a bus billboard gives them more than the stunningness of three cameras, it is more urgent to return home.
On January 11, 2020, Apple launched the short film “Daughter” starring Zhou Xun. The release of a New Year’s Eve short film shot on the iPhone before the Spring Festival has become Apple’s reserved program in recent years.
Just like celebrating Christmas in the United States, where the headquarters is located, Apple is also integrating into the most traditional festivals in China. As products change and product lines become richer, the way Apple celebrates the Spring Festival is constantly changing.
Made in the Spring Festival
In 2015, Apple launched the first themed advertisement for the Spring Festival, “Old Records.”
In the advertisement, the granddaughter found the old record “Smile Forever” that Grandma tried to record when she was young, so she played a guitar version of herself. She used MacBook to mix the two songs together to make a chorus for both grandchildren and grandma as a New Year gift. However, in the ninety-second short film, when Grandma brought EarPods and tapped on the iPad to play music, the trickle of details merged into emotions, and the audience fell into a deep affection. The ad word “open a new idea” appears silently, like unraveling the mystery, pulling people back to the technology products that shaped this tender scene.
This is Apple ’s expression of its brand value in Chinese culture. A chorus tune does not require complicated operation and exaggerated performance, it is only a caring relative who wrote it. Using excellent products to create beautiful works, this is Apple’s most important product value. Those products not only mean the dense configuration and performance at the press conference, but more importantly, how users can make good use of these products to enrich their lives.
Apple-made New Year theme themed pictures ｜ Apple
In 2017, Apple used six “New Year” themed advertising videos to bring the theme of “creation” with Apple products to the peak.
In this series of videos, the old man was inspired by the emoji package on the iPhone and made the cartoon image of the chicken into a bun. The young man used the iPad to make a cat-like spring couplet full of fish for his kittens. Sexually use the iPhone’s panorama mode to make the dragon dance into a real “long dragon.”
These are not “traditional” Chinese New Year methods, but they imply the theme of how to use technology to guide life toward “positive” changes. The iPhone is not only a short video and play black games, the iPad is not just a tool to watch dramas.
When more and more people began to criticize the negative impact of mobile phones on life, thinking that children playing with mobile phones no longer have the “year flavor” of the Chinese New Year, Apple demonstrated a brand new “Organically” with life. What really changed the “year taste” was never the lit screen on the table.
Chinese New Year Story for iPhone
Since 2018, Apple has changed the way to “New Year”.
For two consecutive years, Apple found two directors, Chen Kexin and Jia Zhangke, and asked them to use iPhone to shoot two short films “Three Minutes” and “A Bucket” that fit the theme of the New Year. This year, Apple found director Theodore Melfi, photographer Lawrence Schell, and Chinese actor Zhou Xun to co-shoot “Daughter.”
“Daughter” photography director Lawrence Schell shares at media event | Apple
Every time I see a movie made with an iPhone, people ca n’t help but sigh. It ’s just that the iPhone can shoot such a picture. Although the process requires the cooperation of many auxiliary equipment and software, it also requires a professional team to operate . These films carry emotions related to the Spring Festival and reunion, and also reflect the theme of “creating with excellent equipment”. The quality of the picture is notInfluencing the expression of the theme, those complexes and thoughts that penetrate the audience do not need professional equipment and teams. It only requires passion for creation and sufficient photography knowledge.
The concept of “shooting with iPhone” is not so much a demonstration of the power of iPhone’s photographic performance as it is a reflection of the possibility of shooting with iPhone. Many users will indulge in the “comparative picture quality” and take iPhones and other phones together to take boring standards to compare performance. But the focus of photography is on the photographer’s understanding of light and shadow, and the ability to “tell stories” with the lens.
Apple ’s “Daughter” this year ｜ Apple
From “Three Minutes” to “Daughter”, during the shooting process, the auxiliary equipment and external lenses used by photographers are gradually decreasing. During the shooting of “Daughter”, the external equipment used by Lawrence was actually not complicated, and even many lenses were shot directly with the iPhone.
Of course, ordinary people certainly can’t make movies like “Daughter” with iPhone, but we can still learn a lot of practical shooting skills from “Daughter”. Including the depth of field with the foreground, the use of a wide-angle lens to reduce the effect of shake, adding weight to the phone, and increasing the stability of the lens …
Apple rarely advertises how powerful its products are, and rarely compares its products with competitors. Its commonly used routine is to use a theme that has little to do with the product as an entry point, which arouses the emotional resonance of the audience, and finally falls on the brand and the product.
For three consecutive years, Apple has bundled the concept of “shooting with iPhone” with “year flavor”. Video clips shot on mobile phones have also become the best “photographic teaching materials” for iPhone users.
International Spring Festival of Apple Music
This year, Apple’s “New Year’s” approach does not stop at the hardware level.
On January 17, Apple Music launched the world ’s largest special Spring Festival special, “Global New Year.” Apple Music has jointly released 18 Chinese artists including Ouyang Jing, Chen Li, Li Yundi, Da Zhangwei, etc., released their New Year song lists, and also included the most worthy Chinese albums and Chinese artists worth watching this year .
Apple Music” Global New Year “Feature Page | Apple Music is more important than other product lines in celebrating the Spring Festival The influence of the Spring Festival in the global Chinese world. The stars participating in the song list recommendation are not only local Chinese artists, but also well-known Chinese Americans such as Li Yundi and Michelle Yeoh. In the special interview, they shared the ways Chinese people around the world celebrate New Year. Facing the entire Chinese world (thematic sessions will be launched in 115 countries and regions), it is also the advantage of Apple Music as an international product.
This is not the first time Apple Music has produced a songlist with a star. In the first half of last year, Before Taylor Swift’s new album was released, Apple Music worked with her to release a “Playlist by ME!” Playlist. In November, Apple Music also collaborated with Yang Naiwen, and released four playlists with the theme “Music Highway” for four consecutive weeks. Through the playlists personally selected by the artist, a “connection” was established between the audience and the artist.
For the entire Chinese music circle, Apple Music reviewed the C-Pop recommended by the editors in 2019 (a one-stop collection page of “Chinese Pop” that integrates Chinese pop and Cantonese pop). The form of two playlists incorporates the noteworthy music of the Chinese music scene in 2019 into the theme of the New Year, and promotes Chinese music with the Lunar New Year to the world.
C-Pop features can also be heard on Apple Music in the U.S. ｜ Apple Music
At the same time, the App Store also launched a Chinese New Year app feature “You and Your Year”, which recommended a number of special features for the Spring Festival.Don’t update the application.
Siri has also added interactive Easter eggs that fit the Chinese Lunar Year of the Mouse. Users can ask Siri “What are the keywords in my year of the mouse?” “Passwords around the year,” “Set firecrackers for me.”
Apple is a company that focuses on the “Festival Season.” Each Christmas and New Year season is the time when Apple’s software and hardware sales are at their peak. Apple has also always paid attention to the publicity of the holiday season, hoping to build emotional resonance with users. The Emmy-winning commercial, “Misunderstanding,” comes from the Christmas season in 2013.
Apple is now porting this series of operations to the Lunar New Year. For 5 years, we have become accustomed to Apple’s release of a moving advertising film before the new year, and various software services have been decorated to be more flavorful. In the process, Apple is also shaping a unique “year flavor.”
Back to the streets of Beijing, in the brightly lit streets of the bustling neighborhoods, the staff in the Apple Store put on bright red shirts and stood by the unified oak table around the world.
The fact that there is no red envelope and no deliberate promotion. The shop assistants just silently put on uniform red work clothes. Besides the celebration, they also have a touch of cultural consideration. Maybe Apple’s New Year’s approach is not so “authentic”, but you can also see that when it comes to traditional festivals, it has a respect of sincere thinking.