The branding strategy behind the MacBook Neo launch 💻🍋
- Mar 6
- 2 min read
How Apple positioned its newest laptop as the “youngest in the family” and opened the door to a new generation of Mac users.
This week the teaser for the MacBook Neo came out, and it got me thinking about the communication around the launch, which will officially happen on the 11th of this month.
First, the new colors: “citrus yellow” 🍋, “blush” 🌸. Fun, informal, unexpected. The keyboard is colorful, and it still has a headphone jack. The typeface used in the communication is bold, rounded, strong, futuristic but with a slightly retro feel.
The hand holding the notebook on the website is feminine, young, with green-painted nails. On another page, there’s even a hand wearing a beaded bracelet putting a fun sticker on the back of the computer. Kind of like when we used to draw all over our Converse back in school, remember?
And what shows up the most on the laptop screens in the ads? Games. Not meetings, spreadsheets, or charts. Games.
Designed for a new generation
The people in the photos and videos clearly represent the target audience: young people, teenagers.
Apple also leaves no doubt in the wording they chose:“MacBook Neo.”“Love at first Mac.”“The youngest in the family.”“Great for studying before exams or summarizing class notes.”
The computer is for young people. Everything communicates a “new beginning.” Even the processor fits into that narrative. The chip is the same one used in the iPhone 16. And they’re also leaning into a value that’s very important for this generation: sustainability. The Neo is the model that uses the highest amount of recycled materials - more than 60%.
The strategic differentiator: price
And then there’s the obvious differentiator: price. Here in Brazil, it will start at R$7,299. Considering that a MacBook Air starts at R$13,999 and the Pro at R$20,999, we’re talking about a much more accessible entry point.
In the end, we all know it won’t be just young people buying it. It will give many more people the chance to have their first MacBook to call their own. All of this just reinforces one thing: nothing in Apple happens by accident.
Every choice of word, color, and white space. Even the color of the nail polish is intentional.
This is perception of value. This is positioning. This is narrative.
This is branding.
I’ll talk a bit about this - among other things - at the Pappum workshop on presentations, happening on March 14 in São Paulo. If you’re curious, you can find more information here: https://linkly.link/2baIo
The one thing that bothered me 🙃
I couldn’t finish this without mentioning the one thing that bothered me a little.
The launch videos look like they were made entirely with AI. Okay, I get it. It’s “Neo,” everything new, a new era. But still… so much budget, so many incredible creatives on the team, and Apple gives us an AI-generated launch? Or maybe I’m just showing my age.
But tell me: what did you think? Would you buy the MacBook Neo?
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