Jane Goodall is the first voice of a new Mac ad campaign celebrating creativity, harking back to the famous Think Different campaign she also contributed to.
The admired and beloved primatologist died on October 1, 2025, six months after her appearance on the Apple TV series, "Jane." That children's show based on her life ran for three years, and was one of countless television series, films and books inspired by her.
Now she is the voice of "Great Ideas Start on Mac." It's the first of a new campaign celebrating how, in Apple's words, "from groundbreaking discoveries to award-winning films — all of it starts from nothing."
The minute-long ad consists of a slow push in across a room to the blinking cursor on a MacBook. It's not clear whether it's a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air, but it notably does not have a visible notch on the screen.
Consequently, together with its position on a messy desk, the MacBook seems to set the scene for real work and real creativity being done.
"Every story you love. Every invention that moves you," says Goodall in the ad. "Every idea you wished was yours."
"All began as nothing," she continues, "just a flicker on a screen asking a simple question, 'What do you see?'"
Once the MacBook's cursor has been established, flashing in time to a heart beat, the ad shows Macs in use by various artists and scientists. Accord to Ad Age, those include ocean engineer Bruce Strickrott, and Alice Wong from the Disability Visibility Project.
The ad is directed by Mike Mills and features music composed by Emile Mosseri. Once again, Apple does not credit who wrote it, which is a bit of a slap for a campaign about creativity, especially given how Tor Myhren, Apple's VP of marketing communications, describes it.
"This campaign celebrates the hardest and most mysterious part of a great idea-its origin: how something is created out of nothing, from a blank canvas," he told Ad Age. "It's remarkable how many of the world's great ideas started on a Mac."
"This work salutes these ideas, and everyone who tries to make more of them," he continued.
The ad released first on YouTube is part of a campaign that will run across television, all social media, and also outdoor billboards.
Jane Goodall and Apple
This new campaign is reminiscent, in spirit at least, of Apple's 1990s marketing. The best-known part of that is the 90-second "Think Different" ad, voiced by Richard Dreyfuss. That one was written by Rob Siltanen and Ken Segall.
But alongside that, there was a whole poster campaign which followed the same format of picturing people that Steve Jobs and Apple senior staff admired. One of those posters was of Jane Goodall, and in his tribute to her, Segall has recounted how Apple chose her — and how she gave her permission.
"Steve [Jobs] was truly honored that Jane had consented to the use of her image," writes Segall. "The campaign was dear to his heart and he so admired Jane's lifelong work."
"[We] didn't offer cash to any of the 'Think different' people," he continues. "Instead, Steve donated large numbers of Apple computers to charities and organizations designated by participants or their estates."
That "Think Different" campaign was created by Chiat/Day, the PR company Apple also used for the famous "1984" ad. In 2006, people from that company formed what ultimately became TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the firm that has made the new campaign.
