In a bold move for the holiday season, Apple has released a heartwarming Christmas advertisement that consciously sidesteps artificial intelligence, instead embracing traditional craftsmanship and practical effects to tell its festive tale.
A Handmade Forest Adventure
The two-minute film, titled 'A Critter Carol', opens with two hikers trekking through a picturesque winter woodland. Unbeknownst to one, he drops his iPhone. As the humans depart, a group of Muppet-style critters discover the device. In a charming sequence, the animals use the iPhone to film themselves performing a rendition of the Flight of the Conchords song 'Friends', before dutifully returning it to its owner.
Apple confirmed the entire project was shot on an iPhone 17 Pro. The company emphasised the manual creation of the animal models, a direct contrast to Coca-Cola's 2024 Christmas advert, which was produced entirely using AI.
Public Acclaim for Tactile Storytelling
The advertisement has been met with widespread praise on social media platform X. Viewers have described it as 'heartwarming', 'adorable', and 'pure holiday magic'. One commenter specifically applauded the technique, stating they 'love that this is hand made and not AI'.
Another user drew a direct comparison with Apple's industry rival, posting: 'And that's how you make a lovely Holiday Spot without AI slop. @CocaCola can learn one or two things here. Happy holidays.'
Apple CEO Tim Cook personally shared the ad on X with the caption: 'Holiday cheer, a little bit of magic, and a whole lot of heart, captured on iPhone 17 Pro by a few handmade puppet friends!' The post garnered responses praising its soulful nature, with one person noting it 'makes me realize how soulless most CGI is.'
Behind the Scenes of the Craft
For those fascinated by the production, Apple released a three-minute behind-the-scenes video. Directed by Australian filmmaker Mark Molloy, the footage reveals the immense scale of the project. A vast forest set was constructed three feet off the ground, populated with life-sized models of animals including a raccoon, bear, squirrel, and rabbit.
The filmmaking process was a blend of old and new techniques. Larger animal puppets were operated by performers in blue bodysuits, who were later digitally removed. The smaller creatures were glove puppets, manned by crew members hidden just below the set.
Director Mark Molloy explained his vision was to 'embrace the tactile nature of puppetry' and that he 'was really keen to go back to craftsmanship.' He added, 'There's a reality to how we built these creatures but also how we brought them to life that is imperfect. These animals take control, they take the iPhone 17 Pro and they go and tell a story with it.'
While the exact cost of the production for the trillion-dollar company remains undisclosed, it is almost certainly a far more expensive endeavour than Coca-Cola's AI-generated alternative.
The AI Advertising Controversy
The choice to avoid AI places Apple in the centre of an ongoing debate within the creative industries. Coca-Cola, a company with a reported net worth of over $300 billion, has used generative AI for its Christmas campaigns for the second year running, working with AI studios like Secret Level and Silverside AI.
This approach has been criticised as an 'efficient' cost-saving measure that many feel undermines human artists. Last year's AI-generated Coca-Cola ad was labelled 'garbage' and 'ugly' online, with one X user lamenting they were 'watching the death of art'. This year's follow-up was similarly panned as 'terrible' and 'soulless'.
Apple itself is not immune to advertising missteps, having apologised earlier in 2024 for a 'tasteless' iPad commercial that depicted creative tools being crushed by an industrial press.
By choosing handmade puppetry over algorithmic generation for its festive campaign, Apple has made a clear statement on the value of human-led creativity, winning the hearts of viewers seeking authentic holiday magic.
