2019 Cannes contenders: 'The Bucket' by TBWA Media Arts Lab Shanghai

Contender: The Bucket
Agency: TBWA Media Arts Lab Shanghai
Client: Apple

Nominated by:

Laura Geagea, MD and executive producer, Sweetshop China, Asia and MENA:

Another spot that is both relatable and relevant for its Chinese audience, Apple’s ‘The Bucket’ tells the story of a man who receives a cumbersome bucket from his mother to take back to the city after visiting his hometown for Chinese New Year. Brought to life by the hugely prominent director Jia Zhangke, the whole film is shot on an iPhone XS and includes some breathtaking shots of China’s impressive landscapes. Rather than focusing on, or even featuring the product itself, Apple is showcasing how it affords customers with the tools to tell their own beautiful stories—which feels like a completely unique approach to advertising, and it’s one that worked very well for them last CNY. You can’t help but smile at the film’s charming end reveal, and Apple really sold it with the idea that the eggs were meant to symbolise ‘the fragile yet unbreakable love of his mother’. And don’t we all take the food that our mom packs for us back home when we leave after the holidays? An accompanying campaign included a set of ‘how to’ films called ‘Lens of Love’ that helped people learn key cinematic techniques using the features of the phone’s camera.