Cannes Lions

MacBook Air (M2)

APPLE, Cupertino / APPLE / 2023

Presentation Image
Demo Film
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Overview

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Credits

OVERVIEW

Background

MacBook Air is the world’s most popular laptop — an incredibly lightweight, remarkably capable computer with an iconic design that is many people’s first Mac. In 2022, Apple released its first redesign in many years, built around the powerful new Apple M2 chip. This new MacBook Air could even evoke skepticism: how could something that thin be that fast?

Our brief: to convey the speed and lightness of MacBook Air with M2 in an inclusive, inspiring way to reach a younger, new-to-Mac audience.

Idea

Our central themes were lightness, speed, and forward motion. Above all, we wanted an inviting, scannable page that puts the user in the driver’s seat and conveys the lightness and speed of the device. The scroll-activated motion could be experienced as slowly or quickly as the reader liked. Messaging stayed brief and direct, letting the user choose when to dive deeper and when to continue on. And throughout, screen content set the tone we were looking for: fluid, edgy, and joyfully experimental.

Execution

The opening animation uses profile shots of the device in its four finishes to show that this is an entirely new MacBook Air. Viewed this way, the computer takes the form of a chevron pointing forward: this shape becomes a repeated gesture throughout the page and the whole campaign, conveying a sense of speed while centering the strikingly thin form of MacBook Air itself.

The light-touch copy keeps things airy and pulls the user down the page, letting them stop to explore as needed without weighing down their journey. Glimmers of brightness pass through the blue headlines as you scroll, echoing the forward motion of the opening animation. And as you enter the performance section of the page, beneath the headline “Prepare for takeoff,” gravity drops away so a flock of gently rising screens can take flight to show the range of what MacBook Air can do.

Both the visual and written language throughout take on a playful, whimsical, and inclusive tone. To achieve it, the art and copy teams thought outside the typical marketing toolkit to convey our messages more immediately — such as a headline with a tapback emoji to demonstrate how well Mac and iPhone work together. Icons used sparingly throughout the page nod to the emoji aesthetic while drawing the eye to key messaging.

The white space on the page leaves room for the screen content to speak. Even the four color finishes of MacBook Air each received its own color palette of screen content, anchoring the expansive reach of the onscreen visuals into the design framework. We leaned on screen content throughout the page to set the tone we were looking for: an eclectic, vibrant, and cross-disciplinary selection of creative output, ranging from inspirational to aspirational.

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