Apple | Macの向こうから — まだこの世界にない物語を | 2020
Apple plays the ultimate heavyweight move — even including the knockoff logos / Apple "From Behind the Mac — Stories This World Has Never Seen"
They made an entire 30-second commercial out of nothing but scenes of anime characters sitting down at their Macs. And get this — some of those Macs have logos that are clearly not the real Apple logo, turned into a heart or a pear instead, yet Apple included them anyway. That kind of generosity really shows the brand's sheer confidence.
The problem
This ad was released as part of a back-to-school campaign for students called "The strongest combo for campus life. Mac + iPhone." With the message "Stories this world has never seen yet," the goal was to give a gentle push to the younger generation.
The insight
By including even the logos that merely look like Apple's, the brand shows just how open-hearted it can be. Coming after the version featuring director Makoto Shinkai, it's interesting from a marketing standpoint to see Apple clearly targeting creators in this particular space.
The idea
The ad is built simply by stitching together, at a brisk pace, scenes from real anime series where characters are sitting in front of a MacBook — including Weathering With You, Your Name., Mirai, SSSS.GRIDMAN, NEW GAME!!, and Osomatsu-san. Set to Kaho Nakamura's song "I Am the Protagonist," the whole thing is made up entirely of existing anime footage.
What happened
It's been confirmed that the ad won an award at the 2020 60th [event name unclear], though the details aren't known. The web release and TV broadcast began on February 28, and it was also rolled out as outdoor advertising.
Afterthought
The fact that they kept the inaccurate Apple logos in as-is, treating them as "a sign of anime creators' love for the Mac," is just wonderful. Not showing the product, not explaining anything, yet still getting the love for the brand across — I think this is the ideal form of advertising. Taken together with the string of campaigns featuring creators like director Shinkai, who clearly changed the world "from behind the Mac," Apple's strategy for reaching students during this era was really something special.
