Apple Mocks Windows PCs in Humorous New 'Blue Screen of Death' Ad

[MacRumors]

Apple today shared a new "Blue Screen of Death" ad that appears to mock a major Windows computer outage that occurred last year, following a faulty CrowdStrike security update. Macs were unaffected, and they were unlikely to ever be, as Apple has gradually restricted low-level access to the macOS operating system.

The humorous ad stars "The Underdogs," a fictional team of workers who overcome obstacles by using Apple products and features.

"The Underdogs are ready for their first-ever trade show until a PC outage strikes and the Blue Screen of Death threatens their beloved Container Con," says Apple, in the video's description. "Thanks to the security of their Apple products, the Underdogs are unaffected and experience extraordinary success."

In the video's description, there is a link to the security section of Apple's enterprise page, which says "kernel-level protection is designed to safeguard your system against breaches, outages, and unauthorized access."

"There's no security like Mac security," the ad concludes.

Apple began its "The Underdogs" series of ads in 2019, with the humorous and dramatized videos promoting everything from AirDrop to FaceTime over the years.

Article Link: Apple Mocks Windows PCs in Humorous New 'Blue Screen of Death' Ad

 

[transpo1]

Surprised I didn't know about this video series until now but honestly, I turned it off after 48 seconds. Way too long, too complicated, and annoying. Maybe it's just me since I used to work in the 30 second to 60 second ad world, but these are bad. Although, I think it appropriate Apple resumes poking fun at Windows in general- just do it well!

 

[appleuser21]

Who actually watches these ads?

 

[foobarbaz]

Yeah … mocking competitors is just not a good look for big, powerful companies. In my book, it only ever works for underdogs (reference not intended) and Apple is absolutely the opposite of that.

The John Hodgman campaign was probably the last time that made sense for Apple. (I guess the 1984 commercial was the first one.)

 

[ksec]

Apple used to make great Ads. Or may be Steve Jobs used to make "insanely great" Ads.

 

[Apple_Robert]

This is a wet paper bag.

 

[andrewxgx]

outdated already
its black screen of death now

 

[RootFayel]

I actually enjoy this At Work series. Nice to know what the BetterBag team is up to 🤣.

 

[tim-apple-silicon]

They did it to IBM but that was when they were not so big still. Now it’s just not a good look and frankly shows me the vision and culture of Apple is changing…

 

[patjem]

It's cool. Totally Apple with a lot of funny moments.

 

[patjem]

Surprised I didn't know about this video series until now but honestly, I turned it off after 48 seconds. Way too long, too complicated, and annoying. Maybe it's just me since I used to work in the 30 second to 60 second ad world, but these are bad. Although, I think it appropriate Apple resumes poking fun at Windows in general- just do it well!

Try to watch to the end. It's full of surprises and it tells you how cool and good for the Planet you are as an Apple user.

 

[kalsta]

I turned it off after 48 seconds

I watched the whole thing and laughed… zero times. A classic case of trying too hard to be funny. If humour has a blue screen of death, that was it.

 

[mystery hill]

If only they took backups as seriously as security.

You can't backup an iPhone or iPad directly to an external drive.
The Photos apps crashes when trying to export all photos to Files - on an M4 iPad Pro.
There is data corruption when exporting multiple notes to Markdown on iPadOS 26.

 

[kalsta]

It's cool. Totally Apple with a lot of funny moments.

Hmm. Maybe I’m just too old to notice the humour.

 

[turbineseaplane]

This is such a tired and worn out AD concept in 2025

Who is making these decisions?

 

[chmania]

The final laugh will be when Microsoft makes a video on iPhone Air debacle...

 

[klasma]

That’s funny, because it’s now black: https://www.theverge.com/news/704536/microsoft-windows-11-black-screen-of-death-bsod-now-available

Also, there’s no particular relation between BSOD and security.

 

[Tig_one]

Cringe at its finest.

 

[TinyMito]

Who actually watches these ads?

Me, it's funny and entertaining!

 

[patjem]

I watched the whole thing and laughed… zero times. A classic case of trying too hard to be funny. If humour has a blue screen of death, that was it.

I smiled at least 5 times

 

[mozumder]

Is BSOD still a thing? I've had various Windows work laptops over the years and don't ever recall seeing a BSOD..

 

[akidd]

Surprised I didn't know about this video series until now but honestly, I turned it off after 48 seconds. Way too long, too complicated, and annoying. Maybe it's just me since I used to work in the 30 second to 60 second ad world, but these are bad. Although, I think it appropriate Apple resumes poking fun at Windows in general- just do it well!

It was worth hanging in there. If only for Crush Them v Help Them.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Is BSOD still a thing? I've had various Windows work laptops over the years and don't ever recall seeing a BSOD..

We have several Windows laptops at home (wife has two, kids have two), and I have my Windows work laptop. I haven't seen a BSOD in years.

Edit: I did see some BSODs here at work during the July 2024 crowdstrike incident, but not mine. I completely shut down my computer at night.

 

[gaximus]

The final laugh will be when Microsoft makes a video on iPhone Air debacle...

I was unaware of an iPhone Air debacle, what's happening with it?

 

[turbineseaplane]

The audacity to be pointing fingers at anybody else about anything when they have this liquid glass vomit interface they rolled out … is quite something.