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Apple Has Just Created The Most Endearing, And Disturbing, Ad About Working From Home

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In 2019 Apple introduced an award-winning ad called, “The Underdogs.” The 3-minute spot was a mini-sitcom, chronicling the adventures of a bunch of co-workers, looking to impress their tough boss by creating an innovative pizza box design for an important client presentation. It was brilliant – funny, quirky, and engaging. And, of course, it featured a multitude of Apple products being used by the team. Here is the ad:

Earlier this week came the sequel, clocking at a delightful, and fast moving 7 minutes. The same crew is back again, but with a new spin – everybody is in a lockdown and has to work from home. This lends itself to a zany state of affairs and awkward conversations over videoconferencing which we’ve all experienced. However, the ad is also a bit gloomy, as the team is also distracted by family and lonely. Here it is:

Despite being forced by the pandemic to work from home, the pressure to deliver on the Big Idea remains. And, that is added stress as to how business is done during these times. It’s tougher to focus on work during videoconferencing conversations or brainstorming because of  family interruptions, what with kids who need attention, parents who hover, pets that need to be cared for, and just plain embarrassing moments while videoconferencing. It’s all there as the same team is forced to come up with a plan for another breakthrough box design remotely.

They are tasked with creating a new prototype, as they’re weighed down with a tight timeline, a budget cut, and logistical problems while being scattered willy nilly away from their colleagues. A scenario that is familiar to office workers who converted to work from home mode.

Much like its predecessor ad, the new spot is funny and endearing, and the cast is brilliant. It adapts an Aaron Sorkin-like rapid fire script and editing, a style well-known to fans of the West Wing TV show. The absurdity of their working conditions lends itself to easy gags, but, without treating the heroes as props, respecting their plight and celebrating their ambition. 

But, that being said, the subtext of what we all are experiencing, and in this case watching, is also pretty dark.

In between the gags, Apple touches upon the hellish adjustment workers must go through when forced to give up their normal work routines. The inherent loneliness of living alone, in a pandemic, the stress on spousal relationships, along with adult children living with their elderly parents, or balancing work and parenting, are served to us with humor and humanity, but the predicament of the team members is real and hits close to home. 

These are not normal conditions, but, the point of the ad is, that teams must overcome the handicap of separation and remoteness and function as if they were together in the office in order to prevail. With Apple products, of course.

The ad even layers a social subtext by pointing out the gap between the rich and powerful and the worker bees during the pandemic. The boss from hell Vivienne, a Miranda-type as portrayed by Meryl Streep in The Devil Wore Prada, is living up the lockdown at her fancy home, lazing poolside, barking orders at the team who labor in the closed quarters of their modest dwellings.

For all its black humor and dark undertone, the ad is incredibly sympathetic and empathic about better days to come. As the team is about to assemble on videoconferencing for the final presentation on videoconferencing (“Everybody has their pants on?”), Apple concludes the spot with an emphatic note of optimism: A disheveled bathroom for one of the team members is hidden behind a tropical beach FaceTime background. Yes, it’s true: we can’t go on a real vacation now, but even a virtual one looks pretty good.

Unlike a lot of other work from home ads, Apple’s is relatable and believable. It doesn’t shy away from the difficulties it creates and it does not go for meaningless slapstick or cartoons. Its sincerity is endearing and engaging.

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