‘Behind the Mac’ ads tell the stories of real Apple users

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Apple ad campaign
Legally blind photographer Bruce Hall is one of the many people who use Macs.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s latest ad campaign focuses on how the Mac can be used by regular people to create music, make art, develop apps and more.

Like classic Apple campaigns such as the “Switch” ads of the early 2000s, or the long-running “Shot on iPhone” ads, the “Behind the Mac” ads focus on real Apple users — thereby making them feel more authentic. They also embrace Apple’s accessibility push, demonstrated through stories like legally blind photographer Bruce Hall, who uses Apple devices.

Check them out below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRl5wi8JCnA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAM2lqbPElU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPv9jFWhzGE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dar_brj8zdw

Telling the stories of real people

In all, I like the new ads a lot. Sure, they lack the attention grabbing visuals of, say, the classic silhouette iPod ads or Spike Jonze’s recent HomePod commercial, but they feel real. The documentary structure works well, and the stories are appropriately varied and interesting.

When you view something like entrepreneur Peter Kariuki’s poignant development of an app to reduce traffic deaths in Rwanda, it’s even more bizarre that Apple so badly messed up this storytelling aspect of the app development experience with its abysmal Planet of the Apps series.

Hopefully Apple will continue the “Behind the Mac” series for a while. What do you think of the ads? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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