Apple’s ‘Underdogs’ return for a high-speed chase

Apple’s highly acclaimed “Underdogs” series returns with another round of silly yet timely hijinks—this time finding the group of workplace pals battling with tech thieves in a thrilling high-speed chase. The series’ previous episode, “Escape from the Office,” which scored the Film Grand Prix at the 2022 Cannes Lions, commented on the top-of-mind trend of fleeing corporate offices for alternative career paths, aided of course by Apple products. Now, the crew tackles the topic of device security. The main focus is the ability to track and lock devices remotely as work devices travel more regularly into the world due to the new norm of hybrid schedules. Rising interest in protection from malware and cyber scammers also makes the subject matter all the more appropriate. In “Swiped,” the team FaceTimes to discuss an all-important business pitch when the leader realizes she’s left her MacBook unattended in a public setting. Sure enough, her phone chimes with a notification that her device is on the move. Using Apple’s Find My feature, she embarks on a cat-and-mouse adventure as the elusive map marker indicating her laptop’s location continuously scurries further and further from her own. The 8-minute ad trades the series’ typical goofery for thrills (although there are plenty of chuckles to be had) as the businesswoman dashes from pawn shop to pawn shop in hot pursuit of the thieves. Each stopping point along the way displays a new Apple feature—first the simple lockscreen password, then remote lockdown and even the ability to wipe the device completely. Eventually, the other Underdogs join the shenanigans to tear up the streets in their minivan. As the clock counts down before the IT department threatens to wipe the device and the team’s pitch deck, the spot ratchets up an effective level of tension, relieved by superbly timed relief when the recognizable MacBook startup tone signals that the laptop has been recovered and all is well for the Underdogs. The spot, created by Apple's in-house agency Marcom and production company Smuggler, will run paid digital and social and be featured on Apple’s website.

Apple’s ‘Underdogs’ return for a high-speed chase

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