It’s an unforgettable moment: a family member offers unsolicited relationship advice during a holiday get-together that reveals a generation gap. Apple’s eighth annual Chinese New Year campaign highlights the universality of this experience, while affirming that opening yourself to love can be magical.
Director Michael Gracey, known for the 2017 film The Greatest Showman, shared his musical experience for the 12-minute spot made using a iPhone 16 Pro. Produced by creative agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab Shanghai, the film is a continuation of Apple’s long-running “Shot on iPhone” campaign.
Apple’s story follows Wei, a young man who believes he is meant to be alone forever. Retreating to his room after being harassed about his love life at dinner, he finds the mixtape his father used to woo his mother and is transported back to the 1990s.
There he meets a young woman who takes him home for her family’s Chinese New Year celebration, where his parents also talk about how easy it was to find love when they were growing up. Wei expresses her new faith in romance by performing a ballet solo, then dancing on dates to the movies and on an ice rink.
Once the two move in together, Wei wakes up in his own time with a new appreciation for his parents’ relationship.
“iPhone is designed for movement, especially dancing,” Gracey said in a statement. “From image quality to higher frame rates, all of these are present on the phone. Being able to access it in something that fits in your pocket is an incredibly powerful tool.
Gracey worked with Oscar-winning cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, Hollywood choreographer Ashley Wallen and Shanghai screenwriter Wu Jue Ren to create an authentic take on ’90s China based on the romantic pop hits of artists Jimmy Lin, Faye Wong and David Tao.
A behind-the-scenes film features rehearsal footage and explores how the short film used moving sets to create the magical realism of a musical theater production. The campaign will run across broadcast, digital and social platforms.
“I Made a Mixtape For You” follows Apple’s Chinese New Year tradition of sentimental spots focused on family and Chinese culture. Last year’s movie was a fairy tale about a shapeshifting girl who addressed Gen Z’s insecuritywhile the 2023 version explored the history of Chinese opera.
CREDITS
Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab Shanghai
Production: Partizan
Director: Michael Gracey
Screenwriter: Wu Jue Ren
Artistic Director: Joel Chang / Qin Shi Jie
Director of photography: Erik Messerschmidt
