Apple Debuts ‘A Critter Carol’ Holiday Ad Shot On iPhone 17 Pro
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Key Facts
- Apple releases ‘A Critter Carol,’ a 2:24 holiday spot filmed on iPhone 17 Pro
- Short film follows forest animals who turn a lost iPhone into a DIY music video
- Directed by Mark Molloy, using nine handcrafted puppets on a Prague soundstage
- Global rollout spans TV, digital and social, including a cut for NBC’s Macy’s Parade
- Ad doubles as a showcase for 8x Zoom, Center Stage selfies and Dual Capture
Apple’s new holiday campaign centres on ‘A Critter Carol,’ a short film where a group of woodland animals discover a hiker’s misplaced iPhone 17 Pro and use it to shoot their own music video about friendship. When the phone’s owner returns and finds the device surrounded by twigs arranged in a heart, he discovers the surprise recording and realises something strange — and charming — has happened in the woods.
The spot leans hard into tactile, analog craft. Nine custom-built puppets were operated by human puppeteers on a Prague soundstage, with hand-made props and even woodblock-style typography anchoring the look. It’s a clear pivot back toward celebrating human creativity and warmth, in sharp contrast to last year’s heavily criticised “Crush” iPad ad that was seen as too destructive toward artistic tools.
Under the surface, the film is also a camera demo for iPhone 17 Pro, weaving in extended zoom, flexible selfie framing and simultaneous front-and-rear recording as the critters direct their performance. Developed with longtime Apple agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab and production partners Smuggler and Unit+Sofa, ‘A Critter Carol’ will run globally across broadcast, digital and social placements as Apple’s flagship holiday storytelling piece for 2025.
