Their environment page states, albeit in a typically corporate way, a commitment to creating ‘green’ gadgets:

Apple recognizes its responsibility as a global citizen and is continually striving to reduce the environmental impact of the work we do and the products we create.

The new U.S. ad campaign was launched on Monday night, and is coupled with a new page on the Apple site providing more environmental information. Not only is it the first TV spot Apple has released heralding environmental progress with their products, but it marks the start of any major campaign for the new MacBook lineup.

The Achievements

Some of the features of the new MacBooks which Apple is pushing include:

• Arsenic-free glass
• Brominated flame retardant-free
• Mercury-free
• PVC-free
• 41% smaller packaging
• Highly recyclable aluminum and glass enclosures

While Apple has been praised by many for the progress with their notebook line, work has still to be done on their lineup of desktop machines. Any mention of the environment is suspiciously absent from their iMac and Mac Pro pages. I’m confident that the next incarnations of these products will be promoted in the same way, marking the transition of Apple’s whole line to environmentally friendly materials (no doubt coupled with a glossy press photo showing each machine with a nature-themed wallpaper).

Advertising Focus

This new advert raises the topic of what product features Apple has a history of pushing in advertising. Recent campaigns have focused around the Mac’s superiority to Vista (and, judging by the number of “I’m a Mac” ads created, this is faring well for them). iPhone ads have similarly focused on the sheer range of features available in the software.

It’s difficult to judge exactly what consumers demand in a notebook, but I would think that the ground-breaking features in OS X have a great deal more advertising sway than pushing the environmental aspect of new MacBooks. I’m sure the new ads will compel some people to make the switch to Mac, but I don’t think they’ll be running on a long term basis.

The Latest TV Ad

This is a video of the latest TV advert, promoting a selection of environmental features in the new MacBook:

Do you think this is a wise route for Apple to take with their ad campaigning?

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