Apple SG turns pet photos into high art portraits in OOH stunt

Apple is turning pet portraits into high art in its latest “Shot On iPhone campaign” which runs globally on out-of-home (OOH) and digital OOH platforms. Done in collaboration with photographer Jason Nocito, the campaign aims to introduce how photographic features previously reserved for professionals are now in everybody’s hands. Pets were used as they are one of the most popular subjects for amateur photographers.

The OOH billboards in Singapore have gone live at Knightsbridge, Keppel and Bugis and the rollout will also cover other spots nationwide over the next two weeks. The OOH activations will also be in Thailand as well and can also be seen at places such as Shibuya Station, Japan, as seen on Nocito’s social media. The portraits utilise the High-Key Light Mono Portrait Lighting feature in the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, and aims to present the subjects in a "humorous and charming way", said Apple.

The campaign will also include an Instagram account takeover, as well as a WeChat component. Through the social media takeover, followers will learn how simple and approachable the camera functions on iPhone are and how to create pictures as striking as the ones in the campaign from anywhere, said Apple. The social media content will also take viewers behind the scenes of the pets shoot with Nocito, as he worked with the cats and dogs on set. Apple declined to comment on MARKETING-INTETRACTIVE's queries.

In a social media post, Nocito said: “I’ve seen plenty of pictures of pets photographed with clothes on. But I’ve never seen it done in this sort of really simple, black and white, really straightforward portrait sense where they’re looking into your soul.” 

Nocito also shared tips on how to take portraits of pets:

1. To help get your pets attention and eye contact, hold a squeaker or keys above the lens. 
2. If you are shooting outdoors, place your subject under indirect light in front of a simple wall or background. 
3. Place your pet in the centre of the frame. 
4. If you’re having a hard time getting your pet posed High-Key Light Mono mode try shooting in a few regular shots in Portrait mode. From there you can apply the High-Key Light Mono mode in the edit function after the shoot. 
5. Lastly, shoot a lot of different frames! 

Apple shipped out 90.1 million devices in the fourth quarter of 2020, surpassing rivals such as Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO and Huawei, research firm IDC said, adding that this was driven by the success of the iPhone 12 series. Apple's devices had 23.4% market share in Q4 2020 compared to 19.9% in Q4 2019. Brands were quick to have a field day teasing Apple's iPhone 12 when it released last year in October, as netizens flooding the Internet with memes about how its latest model is a reincarnation of the iPhone 5 which costs more than SG$1,000.

Popeyes Singapore did a comparison between its fried chicken and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, saying: "With the same amount of money, you can buy one iPhone 12 Pro Max or 514 pieces of fried chicken.", whereas Xiaomi also teased Apple in a Twitter post which said: "Don't worry, we didn't leave anything out of the box with the Mi10TPro." KFC and NTUC FairPrice also jumped in on the teasing, with KFC playing up the iPhone 12's screen size, while NTUC Fairprice released a visual promoting its range of apples (the fruit) with the caption “Costs less, tastes better.”

Related articles:
Grey Group China nabs Apple iPhone agency-side strategy lead for China market
Apple said to eye more ad revenue via App Store ad inventory
Apple's privacy focused feature will not be implemented in China
FB shouts about personalisation perks as Apple clamps down on privacy
Facebook gives in to Apple's privacy update, bites back with own prompt