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Ahead of the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Apple issues a timely call about the importance of equity and accessibility in sports.
“The Relay,” created in-house, is the tech giant’s latest ad promoting its accessibility features. This film documents eight athletes from around the world competing in a four-stage, real-time relay race.
The group includes a cyclist with an upper limb difference, a wheelchair racer, a low-vision swimmer, and a blade runner. Some are contenders for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.
Apple’s film focuses on the grit, determination, and sacrifice of the competitors and highlights that these are qualities shared by all athletes, with or without disabilities.
It also promotes accessibility features on its devices that can help athletes train, such as Point and Speak on iPhone for users with low vision, and AssistiveTouch, which allows people with upper-limb differences to use Apple Watch one-handed.
Derek Cianfrance, the filmmaker behind movies including 2019’s Sound of Metal and 2010’s Blue Valentine, directed the spot.
Apple’s previous commercials about accessibility have pushed the needle on disability representation in advertising.
Last year, Oscar-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi directed the brand’s ad about speech accessibility, “The Lost Voice,” which took the form of a narrated children’s story with magical creatures. When a girl meets a rabbit who can’t speak, she goes on a journey to help him find his voice.
And in 2022, Apple’s award-winning “The Greatest” depicted an inclusive, disabled cast demonstrating their various talents.
Apple’s latest film is also notable as it reflects the changing narrative around the Paralympics. Other advertisers, such as U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 and the International Paralympic Committee, have challenged tropes by focusing on the elite side of Paralympic sports, rather than how the athletes overcame disabilities.