I’ll admit it. I’m a huge fan of Apple at Work’s “The Underdogs” series which follows a rag-tag group of employees who use nothing but Apple products. Yeah, the videos are heavy-handed promos for products like the iPhone, the iPad, and Macs and show how some features on these devices come in handy at work. At the end of each video, along with the credits, Apple names each Apple device in the video and the features that were employed by the team.
And speaking of the team, it has remained the same since the first video was released in April 2019. The four main characters include Bridget, the overly ambitious and perky leader of the group who takes hyperactivity to another level. Marie knows her Apple products and the capabilities of each device. Dave is the typical divorced male who is low on cash and rarely hopeful. Lastly, Brian is the idea guy. These four ran a small division making boxes for a larger company, dealt with the pandemic by working from home (still the best episode in the series), and eventually quit to create their own small boxing company.
The episode before the new one, and the only older episode that Apple hasn’t taken down, was released almost exactly one year ago and the plot revolved around a stolen MacBook. The new episode, titled “OOO” for Out of Office, was released late last night. In the video, our heroes are traveling to Thailand to find a supplier who can manufacture for them a large number of boxes in a short period of time. The boxes are for a crazy but rich owner of a company named Chad who wants his picture on the boxes.
Chad wants 500,000 boxes and as “The Underdogs” biggest client, the survival of their company depends on finding a company in Thailand to deliver the goods. We get to see the NameDrop feature, added in iOS 17 to exchange contact info by tapping iPhones, and Apple’s Translate app in action. The team (missing Brian who is nursing an injured leg at home but is watching the action via FaceTime) is able to source the boxes. After celebrating, panic sets in when the client decides to double the order and demands a bigger picture of himself on the boxes.
Only one factory, 200 miles away, can supply the team with the new quantity demanded by Chad. They find someone to drive them and with Brian using his Vision Pro back at home, the team works out the new design as they take different modes of transportation to the factory. Marie is able to produce a bigger photo of Chad for the box using AI (Apple had to get AI into the video somehow). Finally, the prototype of the box is produced and is approved by the client. At this point, we discover that all of this madness was for a kitty litter box.
“The Underdogs” series remains very popular. The previous video garnered over 77 million views.