Apple has launched a new campaign featuring some of Australia’s most popular entertainment talent and the role of the Mac in helping them bring their ideas and creativity to life.
It will include Hollywood star Joel Edgerton, singer songwriter Jimmy Barnes, stage and screen start Miranda Tapsell, Wiggles member Emma Watkins and platinum recording artist The kid LAROI.
The initiative will showcase their creative output in music, media, art, dance and design and also feature an image of them working behind their Mac which helped them bring their visions to life.
The Made in Australia campaign will be highlighted in outdoor poster sites, television, online films and on social media.
Also part of the campaign is a short film set to a soundtrack by Western Sydney’s Kwame, a rapper and community leader whose song “Wow” talks about going global while still being a proud Sydney local.
Talent in the film (in order of appearance) includes Troye Sivan, Carla Zimbler, The Kid LAROI, Tkay Maidza, Emma Watkins, Joel Edgerton, Miranda Tapsell, Jimmy Barnes, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Phoebe Paradise, Kwame, Tin&Ed, Flex Mami, Benjamin Law, G Flip, The Mulka Project and Flume.
Additional talent in the campaign includes Cub Sport, Sampa The Great, Haydenshapes, Maya Newell, Gemma O’Brien, Reko Rennie and Manu Crooks.
The Made in Australia campaign will also highlight all creators’ locations in the film.
The creative hubs of Newtown (Sydney), North Melbourne, Fortitude Valley (Brisbane) and Western Sydney will be a focus for the campaign and will place the work of local creatives at the heart of the communities to which they belong.
Here are the bios of the Australian talent used in the campaign:
Troye Sivan (Perth, Western Australia)
Award winning singer-songwriter, Troye Sivan, rose to fame on YouTube and now stands as one of Australia’s biggest pop stars and actors.
Flume (Manly, Sydney)
Electronic and Dance music pioneer, Grammy award-winner and one of only three Australian musicians to hit 1 billion streams.
Jimmy Barnes (Southern Highlands, Sydney)
With 18 #1s, Jimmy Barnes has the most hit albums of any artist (Australian or international) in Australia. Jimmy Barnes has just broken his own Australian record with the release of his new album, Flesh and Blood, his 20th solo studio effort.
The Kid LAROI (Waterloo, Sydney)
Platinum recording artist, The Kid LAROI’s collaboration with Canadian pop sensation, Justin Bieber, ‘Stay’ is currently topping the Apple Music Top Song charts.
Joel Edgerton (Bondi, Sydney)
Hollywood actor and filmmaker Joel Edgerton has made his mark in cinema by writing, producing or starring in films including Star Wars, The Great Gatsby, Zero Dark Thirty and Animal Kingdom.
Emma Watkins (Ryde, Sydney)
Singer, actress, and dancer, Emma is best known as the first female member of popular children’s entertainment group, The Wiggles.
Cub Sport (Stafford, Brisbane)
Offering a buoyant variety of indie pop that stresses the pop, Cub Sport hail from Brisbane, Australia. The band has released four studio albums, with their latest album, Like Nirvana, currently nominated for a 2021 AIR Award.
Benjamin Law (Chippendale, Sydney)
Award winning writer and broadcaster, Benjamin, named one of the 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians, is the author and co-creator of book and TV show, The Family Law, based on his memoir, and wrote the sold-out mainstage play, Torch the Place. \
Flex Mami (Lidcombe, Western Sydney)
Author, entrepreneur, and influencer for good, Flex Mami, also known as Lillian Ahenkan, is a multidisciplinary millennial making waves in the Australian entertainment industry.
Sampa The Great (Broadmeadows, Melbourne)
Zambian-born Australian rapper and songwriter and multiple ARIA Award winner. Her socially conscious music strives to uplift, empower, and inspire positive change.
G Flip (St. Kilda, Melbourne)
Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, G Flip is an ARIA award nominee and has become a dominant force in the Australian indie pop scene. They have released a number of collaborations this year, dropping ‘Queen’ with mxmtoon, ‘Not Even In Vegas’ featuring Thomas Headon in May, and, most recently, ‘Boys & Girls’.
Tkay Maidza (Adelaide, South Australia)
Queen of Australian hip-hop, Tkay Maidza’s versatility has seen her release four albums blending bounce, neo soul and dark trap with hip hop, leading to four ARIA award nominations. Tkay has just released the final instalment of her Last Year Was Weird trilogy, Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3.
Miranda Tapsell (Darwin, Northern Territory)
One of the brightest stars on the stage and screen, Miranda has appeared in some of Australia’s most popular television series and movies, most notably “The Sapphires” and “Love child,” where she won best new talent and outstanding performance by a new comer Awards at the Logie’s.
Bangarra Dance Theatre (Gadigal Country, Sydney)
An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation and one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies, widely acclaimed for its powerful dancing, distinctive theatrical voice and unique soundscapes, music and design.
Haydenshapes (Mona Vale, Sydney)
Leading surfboard designer and innovator, Hayden Cox is the founder of Haydenshapes Surfboards, known for his award winning and global best selling surfboard designs, and cutting edge boards for surf legends including Craig Anderson and Dion Agius.
Maya Newell (Lewisham, Sydney)
Australian filmmaker and producer, known for inspiring and controversial feature-length documentaries Gayby Baby and In My Blood It Runs.
Tin&Ed (Fitzroy, Melbourne)
Creative technologists Tin&Ed see the world differently. They create playful installations and experiences that illuminate the borderless dimension between art and science and the physical and the digital. Their work has been shown at the Sydney Opera House, The Liu Haisu Museum in Shanghai, The Artscape in Cape Town, and The National Gallery of Victoria.
Reko Rennie (Naarm, Melbourne)
Artist Reko Rennie uses traditional Kamilaroi iconography with stylistic elements of garffiti to create powerful artworks, like, “Mirri” featured at the Pt Leo Estate sculpture park on the Mornington Peninsula.
Gemma O’Brien (Redfern, Sydney)
World renowned typographer, known for her bold super-graphics, illustrative lettering and hand-painted murals. Her mission is to elevate words to art and explores themes around language and the human experience through pattern, colour, scale and illustrative motifs.
Kwame (Glenwood, New South Wales)
Known for his eclectic beats, rapper Kwame started making music at age 16 and was named 2018 triple j Unearthed Artist of the Year. He continues his creative journey at the forefront of Aussie hip-hop, having this year released a critically acclaimed single, “On one.”
The Mulka Project (Yirrkala, Northern Territory)
Preserving indigenous culture, The Mulka Project strives to employ and train as many Yolŋu of all ages as possible. initiatives include The Mulka Studios, mentoring Yolŋu filmmakers, media workers, and digital artists to create cultural productions in the field of film, music, animation, VR, and digital art.
Carla Zimbler (Brunswick, Melbourne)
Experimental video artist, Carla Zimbler manipulates 3D animation to blur boundaries and distort fragments of the natural world to alter mood and trigger emotional response. Carla has operated visuals for Field Day, Beyond The Valley, Festival X, VIVID and Sydney Opera House.
Phoebe Paradise (Fortitude Valley, Brisbane)
Multi-disciplinary artist, entrepreneur and punk designer, Phoebe’s days are spent on a diverse range of creative projects both indoors and out, from live-painted murals, fashion, gig posters, social content and more.
Manu Crooks (Merrylands, Western Sydney)
Forward-thinking rapper and producer, Manu Crooks recently released his new single, “Where You Gonna Run.” His other 2021 releases include “Don’t Cross The Line” with Hooligan Hefs and “Fall Apart,” and his hotly anticipated EP, Mood Forever II, is set to drop soon.
