We were starting to worry that Apple had lost the plot, but it got one thing right this summer with a delightful iPad ad campaign in France to coincide with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A series of quirky illustrations on billboards across the French capital shows bendy, stretchy athletes partaking in more everyday exercise, from grocery weightlifting to metro rugby.
As we explored in our recent interview on the dos and don't of Olympic marketing, forcing a connection with the Games can be risky. Apple isn't an official sponsor and the new ads don't mentions the Olympics specifically). But the engaging illustrations have won us over by putting the emphasis on the iPad's creative potential.
Created by the French illustrator Simon Landrein, the 23 illustrations provide a humorous take on a range of sports in the artist's signature vibrant style. They're on display on billboards of different sizes in Marseilles as well as in Paris as part of the Made on iPad campaign, which itself is an offshoot of Apple's the long-running Shot on iPhone series.
I think Landrein was the perfect choice of illustrator for the project since his style lends itself perfectly to the energy and physicality of sport and the vibrant colour of the Olympics itself. Maybe Apple has finally redeemed itself after the dystopian iPad Pro ad it used to launch its latest tablets (see the models listed below)
For on illustration and design at Paris 2024, see our pick of the best Olympics logos and the best Olympics posters.
