While New York Comic Con just wrapped, Apple’s Underdogs–the scrappy but lovable team of coworkers turned entrepreneurs–found a convention more to their tastes: Container Con, a sustainable packaging show.

The motley crew returns in Apple’s new ad, created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, which not so subtly pokes fun at Microsoft’s infamous “blue screen of death” that appears when there’s a system malfunction.

As the Underdogs are busy at their favorite trade show, courting an important buyer, the event takes a turn when a widespread system failure grinds proceedings to a halt. Every screen at the convention turns blue–except for the Underdogs’ Macs. For these protagonists, it’s business as usual.

The story weaves in product demos to show how Apple’s ecosystem of hardware, software, and services seamlessly works together to keep users secure and flexible.

This is the eighth installment of Apple’s popular Underdogs series, which has won accolades including a Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix in 2022. 

However, last year’s chapter, in which the Underdogs went on a business trip to Thailand, drew backlash from those who called Apple’s depiction of the country offensive. The tech giant subsequently pulled the ad. 

Other Underdogs spots have seen the team design and pitch a new product, survive remote working during the pandemic, quit their jobs, and embark on a rescue mission across New York.