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The Relay is another Apple Communications masterpiece
AUG 22, 2024
NimishAndAkriti
Apple just handed us another masterclass in communications, With the 2024 Olympics having just ended, and the Paralympics just around the corner, the Cupertino brand recent released a film/ad highlighting the accessibility features of its products. ‘The Relay’ is a nearly four minute ad film that features eight athletes competing side by side. And in best tradition of a company that Thinks Different, this one is very different from anything we have seen on the accessibility and tech front.
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The film portrays athletes with disability and without disability competing in the same set of sports. The four staged relay race revolves around a Wheelchair racer, a blade runner, a low-vision swimmer and a track cyclist with an upper limb difference. All of these athletes with disabilities go up against their non-disabled ('normal') counterparts in the ad only to show that an athlete is an athlete regardless of their physical limitations.
Apple subtly highlights how its devices, whether it is an Apple Watch, an iPhone, an iPad or a Mac, all help in training both kinds of athletes. While most non-disabled ("normal") people know their way around technology and how to use it to optimise their performance, not much is known when it comes to people with disabilities Apple thought differently here as well.
The film shows Apple's mainstream products and showcases the accessibility features on them, showing that these devices are actually usable by able as well as differently abled people. The film shows how an Apple Watch or an iPhone can help both athletes with and without disability alike, making the Cupertino company's tech not just high-quality but also highly inclusive.
The film highlights features like Point and Speak + Magnifier on iPhone which helps users with impaired vision, Assistive Touch that allows users with upper limb different to use Apple Watch without needing to touch it, Wheelchair workouts that lets users record their workout outdoor wheelchair walk pace and outdoor wheelchair run pace, and Spoken content on iPhone that also helps users with low vision or vision impairment to read text out loud.
All of these when combined with features like sleep tracking, calorie burn goals, heart rate sensor, make it easier for athletes from different demographics to train better. This is exactly what the ad shows. While it shows two different teams, it keeps emphasising on how the two teams are fundamentally the same and have just one goal at the end – to do their best.
In the end, the differently abled match their able counterparts, thanks to their grit and courage, and of course, some help from Apple technologies. This goes beautifully hand in hand with how all of these athletes use Apple devices regardless of which team they belong to.
The film ends with a wonderful line: "Designed for every body," highlighting how tech needs to be universal and not the preserve of a certain demographic. Yes, 'every body,' not 'everybody.' Apple knows its words. The entire film is beautifully shot, and while it has very little spoken content, you end up feeling moved at the end of it, and inevitably hit the 'replay' button.
Apple has made ads and films highlighting its accessibility features in the past as well. Ads like ‘The Greatest’ feature a number of people living with disability but still being creative and being "the greatest" everyday with a little help from Apple. It is terrific communication, and shows how the brand is willing to highlight not just mainstream features of its products, but also those for the less abled, The Relay shows how technology can be empowering - by being for every body! The Relay here: https://youtu.be/BPqir3EZolw?s…
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