Apple's 2018 'Share Your Gifts' holiday ad goes for animated charm, selling creativity

By Roger Fingas

Apple on Tuesday released its annual holiday ad, designed more to manufacture an emotional attachment with the Apple brand than sell any specific product.

The piece, "Share Your Gifts," does show scenes with a MacBook, but primarily tells the story of a girl who has numerous creative ideas and is simply too embarassed to share them with others. An accident causes some of her papers to fly out her window, only to land in the hands of people who turn out to enjoy her work.

In a break from other Apple ads the spot is not only animated, but done with a mix of miniature sets and computer graphics, as seen in a behind-the-scenes video.

Apple frequently trumpets the idea that it merges "technology and the liberal arts." This can be seen in the marketing for 2018 iPad Pros, which frequently features people engaged in drawing, video editing, and music creation. The second-generation Apple Pencil is positioned as a must-have tool.