Apple has really been leaning into its short films lately, and it unveiled two more at its fall event Tuesday—including one with Octavia Spencer playing Mother Nature, grilling Apple execs, including CEO Tim Cook, on how the company’s plans are coming along to be fully carbon neutral by 2030.

The five-minute “Mother Nature” film, created in-house and directed by Rhys Thomas of Stink Films, uses comedy to keep viewers engaged, as Apple reviews its progress on sustainability—across topics such as materials, clean energy, transportation, water usage and more. Tuesday marked a sustainability milestone for Apple, as it announced the new Apple Watch is the first of its products to be completely carbon neutral.

Spencer brings a mix of gravitas and humor to the film, alternately accosting and ribbing the nervous Apple execs—the “Ted Lasso” reference is a highlight—and eventually signaling her approval, but with the caveat that they’d better keep pushing.

“Mother Nature needs a status report—the concept of the film alone kinda says it all,” Tor Myhren, Apple's VP of marketing communications, told Ad Age. “She’s got a lot of questions, and fortunately our 2030 plan has a lot of answers. We have a very ambitious plan, and we are so proud of what we’ve already accomplished in terms of innovation around our environmental initiatives. And, in an entertaining way, this five-minute film outlines a lot of these innovations.” 

In some ways, the spot recalls the approach Apple has been using in its “Underdogs” series of B2B films over the past few years—drawing viewers in with a comedic template to deliver information that might be difficult to absorb on its own. (Indeed, the “Mother Nature” status-report idea already seems worthy of a sequel in a year or two.) 

“Like with our privacy work or ‘Underdogs,’ we chose humor to deliver a ton of important information,” said Myhren. “It’s all wrapped in a very entertaining package, hopefully keeping people engaged so the facts can sink in.” 

The music in the film is an original score by Adam Weiss at Found Objects. Myhren said Spencer, an Oscar winner for 2011’s “The Help,” was the perfect choice for the lead role.

“Octavia has the presence and gravitas to play the most vital thing on the planet, Mother Nature,” he said. “We’re simply answering to her. For all of us at Apple, this is about setting an ambitious environmental goal for 2030, diligently following through with it, and keeping Mother Nature up to speed on every step of our progress.” 

Apple introduced a comprehensive plan in the summer of 2020 to become carbon neutral across its entire business within a decade—through low-carbon product design, energy efficiency, renewable energy, process and material innovations and carbon removal. Its goal is for every Apple device sold to have net zero climate impact.

Also: Yeti CMO on new ads and products proving sustainability

At the time, Cook said businesses “have a profound opportunity to help build a more sustainable future” and that Apple hoped to be “a ripple in the pond that creates a much larger change.”

‘Another Birthday’

In addition to the “Mother Nature” spot, Apple aired a second short film at Tuesday’s event. This one, which opened the show, focused not on saving the planet but on saving individual lives—it tells real-life stories of how the Apple Watch and iPhone alerted users to hidden medical issues or helped them in emergencies.

The film, titled “Another Birthday,” was created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab and directed by Goh Iromoto of Sanctuary—the Japanese Canadian director who earned rave reviews for his work on The Farmer’s Dog’s Super Bowl commercial earlier this year. It features the track “Beautiful Day (Thank You for Sunshine)” by Jermaine Edwards, Rushawn and trinix.

Myhren said the spot was inspired by feedback Apple is constantly getting from consumers about its product features.

“Almost every day we get emails and letters from people about how our products have saved their lives—from a heart notification on Apple Watch, to Crash Detection or an Emergency SOS on iPhone,” he said. “There’s nothing more profound, or more rewarding, than hearing these remarkable stories from our customers all over the world. It’s why we do what we do.”

The work treads somewhat similar ground as the American Cancer Society’s longtime positioning as “the official sponsor of birthdays.” But there’s a richness and immediacy to the storytelling, which Myhren credited to the director, Iromoto.

“These are of course real people, and our director captured the truth of their stories perfectly,” Myhren said. “He got to know them and became a trusted part of their families, allowing him to capture such remarkably raw footage that made the end result so powerful.”

While it still makes plenty of 30- and 60-second spots, Apple has been exploring longer-form branded content for some years. The results include its series of Chinese New Year films, which began in 2018, as well as a number of “Shot on iPhone” films, including a 30-minute piece by celebrated Indian director Vishal Bhardwaj.