Watch Apple’s boss Tim Cook getting ice bath to benefit ALS research

Tim Cook (Ice Bucket Challenge 001)

Yesterday, Apple’s marketing honcho Phil Schiller undertook the Ice Bucket Challenge. In a tweet accompanied by a series of images showing himself dumping a bucket of ice water on his head at the beaches, Schiller called on Apple CEO Tim Cook to accept the challenge and also get doused, by tagging him in the post.

Sure enough, Cook rose to the occasion and had a bucket of ice water poured over his head by recording artist Michael Franti.

Even better, this all happened in front of company employees who earlier tonight gathered for Apple’s Diversity beer bash at 1 Infinite Loop headquarters. And in an even more peculiar move, the iPhone maker has documented this in a video posted to its official YouTube channel and included for your viewing pleasure right below the fold…

Created by former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates, the Ice Bucket Challenge initiative took the nation by storm. The movement has been conceived to raise awareness and money for the ALS Association. For those unfamiliar with it, ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a neurodegenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The idea is to challenge public figures and celebrities to donate a $100 for the charity, or get out of the donation by dumping a bucket of ice water on one’s head, though folks typically agree to both donating money and getting soaked with a bucket of water.

Watch Cook getting doused to the tune of Vanilla Ice’s ‘Ice Ice Baby’ right below.

The video also shows Cook throwing down the gauntlet to Disney CEO Bob Iger, Beats’ Dr. Dre and Franti to take the plunge. Subsequently, Cook tweeted out the above video and again challenged Iger, Dre and Franti to get drenched by tagging them in the post.

Between July 29 and August 12, 2014, the ALS Association and its 38 chapters have received a cool $4 million in donations versus the $1.12 million during the same time period last year. These contributions help find a cure for ALS while funding the highest quality of care for people living with the disease.

Yesterday, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller tweeted out a series of images of himself completing the Ice Bucket Challenge at Half Moon Bay in California. Those challenged, according to the rules, have 24 hours to take an ice bath or donate to the cause via the charity’s website, though many people are doing both.

Phil Schiller (Ice Bucket Challenge)

A number of other Silicon Valley luminaries and celebrities took the challenge in helping raise awareness and money for ALS, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, Ethel Kennedy, musician Justin Timberlake and many others like Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, Matt Lauer, Martha Stewart and Chris Christie — everyone’s joining in.

Here’s perhaps the coolest challenge so far, featuring Canadian professional ice hockey player Paul Bissonnette.

It’s interesting that Ethel Kennedy, the 86-year-old widow of Robert Kennedy, had challenged Obama to get doused but he refused, and instead made a donation.

In addition to the monetary donations, the initiative benefits from the visibility that ALS is getting as a result of the challenge.

“People who have never before heard of ALS are now engaged in the fight to find treatments and a cure for ALS,” said Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of the ALS Association.

If you’re interested to learn more, check out The Verge.