As an industry, we are not merely in competition with other ads or even with other advertisers. We are in competition with culture and everything else vying for our audience in the attention economy. The challenge isn’t only to put new things in the world that people can’t classify, but to make sure they last and more importantly, work. Is “Share Your Gifts” a commercial, short film or music video? Or all of the above? Entertainment Lions should be a celebration of big, artful ideas that build brands and businesses, all of which are relevant to “Share your Gifts.”

Over the last 3 years, a third of all top-grossing movies have been sequels or remakes. Creativity scores have been in decline since the 90’s. And with researchers finding that 7/10 people aren’t acting on their creative potential, one thing is clear: creativity is under threat. However, Apple believes that creativity moves the world forward. Which is why, during the holiday season, the brand wanted to send an inspiring message aimed at creators everywhere.

Apple has always believed in the power of true creativity and that people with passion can change the world for the better. So, during the holiday season we sent an inspiring message aimed towards creators everywhere. We created an animated short film, crafted using a combination of practical miniatures and digital animation, called “Share Your Gifts” - a modern day fairytale that tells the story of a young woman named Sofia and her journey towards finding the courage to put herself out there. Billie Eillish, a 16-year old music artist, created an original track for the film that catapulted to the number one song in 13 countries.

The intersection of two key observations led to the universal insight that— every act of creative expression, big or small, takes self-belief. Firstly, in addition to seven out of ten people feeling that they’re not living up to their creative potential, research showed— that seven out of ten also battle with imposter syndrome. Creators often second-guess themselves and need self-belief to get there ideas out into the world. Yet competitors had missed this reality by portraying how easy it is for anyone to be creative, while neglecting the fears that hold creators back. Secondly, we noticed this lack of confidence in online behavior. While there are several platforms today that make it easier to express and share ideas, people still struggle with putting themselves out there; for example, youth delete their Instagram posts if they have fewer likes than expected. Thus, Apple’s strategic perspective was born: Creativity requires courage.

From the original score to the film technique itself, every aspect of the film was used as a way to inspire creativity. The biggest challenge in making a film using such a meticulously crafted, labor intensive process that combined detailed handmade miniatures and digital animation was production time. We had only 14 weeks to produce a 164 second animated film with quality on par with the best animation studios in the world, but with only a fraction of their schedule. Our production team consisted of 26 fabricators, 50+ people on the live action team, 17 animators, and 80+ people on the post-production team. They accomplished some impressive numbers: 560 miniature loaves of bread, 164 bakery boxes, 15 hairstyles, 7 detailed outfits for Sofia, 13 easter eggs, +160 practical buildings, and 8 handmade sets, the largest of which was equivalent to half a basketball court in size.

In just a few days, both the film and Billie Eilish song became a part of culture, mentioned in dozens of publications around the world while organically trending top #1 globally on YouTube. By the end of the year, it got over 150 million completed views counting platforms such as Hulu, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, WeChat and apple.com. “Come out and play” became the number one song in 13 countries and got over 119 million streams on Apple Music and Spotify. Billie now uses the film as part of the set during her concerts, playing it on big screens behind her every time she performs the song live. And, most importantly, the campaign inspired creatives around the world to post their own creations, with over 1300 cover videos and thousands of pieces of art inspired by the characters posted online.