Apple’s “Barbers” ad, which featured the iPhone 7 Plus and its Portrait Mode, won the Best of Show award at the 97th annual ADC Awards.
In the ad, the barbers at the “Family Barber Shop” take photos of their clients following a transformative haircut, print them out, and hang them in the window and on the walls of the shop. The work lures more customers into the shop, and the cycle begins anew.
The action in the ad is set to the song “Fantastic Man” by William Onyeabor. As is usual for an Apple ad, the spot doesn’t focus on the product as much as it does on how it can be used and its results.
The ad spot was just one of several to feature the iPhone 7 Plus and its then new Portrait Mode. “Take Mine” and “The City” were two other ads Apple produced to share the feature.
Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus, and now the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, uses the two rear-facing camera lenses on the iPhone to create DSLR-like depth effect which features the main subject by blurring the background.
The ad spot also win a a 2018 Motion and Film Craft Gold Cube, a Black Cube for Best of Show, and a 2018 Advertising Merit Award. The agency that produced the ad, Furlined, took home the Production Company of the Year award.