Ad of the Day: Takashi Miike directs Apple’s live-action adaptation of manga classic
The suspenseful 19-minute film is part of the tech brand’s ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign.
Apple has enlisted Japanese film director Takashi Miike to lend his distinctive touch and acting capabilities to its latest brand film. Bringing to life Osamu Tezuka’s 1986 manga Midnight, the ad depicts a thrilling, suspenseful drama about a taxi driver who encounters strange passengers while making his night rounds. In the film, the driver is pulled out of his way to help a female truck driver, Kaede, who is running from a hit man.
Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that Miike also stars as Kaede’s father, while narration comes from Akio Otsuka, who portrayed the character of Black Jack in the animated series based on Tezuka’s renowned work.
Advertisement
On the project, Miike said: “Mr Tezuka is something of a god among manga artists, so it was an honor to take on the challenge of expressing his work using only iPhone. As we were shooting, I naturally began to challenge myself to think about how we could make a work unique to the iPhone beyond the usual approach to a film. I truly felt that the iPhone has the power to do things that a conventional movie camera can’t.”
The spot was primarily filmed on the streets of Tokyo on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max and made its premiere on the brand’s own YouTube channel.
The full film and the behind-the-scenes will play in select taxis all around Tokyo from 10pm until morning. The campaign will also be supported by broadcast, magazine, out-of-home, digital-out-of-home, digital and social.