One quick scroll through social media platforms, and it’s quite evident that people love animal pictures – especially at a time when most people need a little levity in their lives. Apple is wisely taking people’s love of animals to heart with its latest marketing campaign for iPhone. The company’s new “Shot on iPhone” ads put a focus on how to take better pet portraits while reinforcing that the iPhone produces high quality photos.

As pointed out by Adweek, the cats and dogs featured in the ad spots were captured with either an iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max by celebrity photographer Jason Nocito who employed the “High-Key Light Mono Portrait Lighting” portrait setting for monochrome shots. Each animal was outfitted with a hoodie, sweater, top hat, or other garb. Apple and Nocito also hosted a free virtual event on how to take better pet portraits, and Apple shared tips on how to make the most of a photo shoot in terms of lighting, using squeak toys to get attention for eye contact, framing, and more.

The pet portrait campaign is not only running out-of-home, analog, and digital, but it’s also going to be featured in an Apple Instagram takeover and have a WeChat component, Apple indicated. The social media component makes perfect sense given that Interpret’s New Media Measure® shows a third of iPhone users posting photos on social platforms on a weekly basis. Moreover, nearly three-quarters of iPhone users in America own pets, so tugging at iPhone owners’ animal-loving heartstrings shouldn’t be difficult for Apple.

“People rarely carry dedicated cameras with them anymore, as the smartphone has become the de facto camera for most. Smartphone makers like Apple, Samsung, Google, and others continually up the ante on the quality of photos produced, and the marketing teams understand that high quality point-and-shoot capabilities are paramount for their customer base,” said Janine Cannella, VP of Marketing at Interpret. “Of course, there’s never a bad time to put cats and dogs in adorable outfits!”