The Great Resignation is no buzzword: it’s a cultural shift led by the record 47.4M US workers who quit their jobs in 2020 in search for something better. People are demanding more agency over how they work and what they do, leading to a fierce, unprecedented moment for entrepreneurship and small business. In 2021 alone, a record 5.4M small businesses were started in the United States and we know a big pain point for these growing small businesses is IT infrastructure - enter Apple products, software, and services like Apple Business Essentials, to make IT radically simple so busy entrepreneurs can do what they do best: run their business.

Recalling how Apple’s Underdogs have always reflected the way we work, we thought — “Hey, how are the Underdogs doing?” during this moment of seismic change for small business. This was their chance to strike out on their own and make something incredible for themselves. We know what you’re thinking. We thought it, too. Who makes a 9-minute ad in 2022? Well, when you’re building a brand platform that speaks to the complexity and speed of how we work today, it’s exactly what you do.

Running on YouTube and Apple.com along with a suite of 15s, display, and search ads across YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Reddit, we effectively reached the fan base we’ve built, plus more: over 35M views, average view time over three minutes per watch, plus small business owners across social expressing how “the Underdogs now represent us so well” and how “it feels so close to home.”

The campaign increased website traffic (353%) and sales leads (212%) during the first month. We not only successfully made small business owners aware of our product offerings, but also convinced them to consider Apple as they build out their business.