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Apple Pulls 'Convince Your Parents to Get You a Mac' Ad From YouTube

antnythr said:
I can see why this was pulled. Honestly, I'm surprised someone even considered approving it in the first place.

Even if you ignore the ignorant kid not actually understanding why they would need a mac and seemingly just asking dad for something really expensive without any thought or insight, the value of a Mac is highly debatable depending on the work being done.

When it comes to a laptop for university coursework, almost any laptop on the market will be sufficient, excluding some of the absolute lowest cost bargain bin stuff you might find at Walmart. You're not taking notes or writing papers any faster on a Mac or a PC. Depending on the applications needed for your coursework, a Mac might not even be able to run the necessary Windows only software.

Reliability is also something that leans more to a PC because most repairs on a PC can be made very cost effectively by independent repair shops. Repairs for a Mac trend closer to the replacement cost of a new device.
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Honestly, majority of universities supply you the software that you’ll need. For example, I used my MBP for undergrad and graduate school…all software was supplied all the way through and it was cloud based. I simply logged in with university credentials and that’s it. Teams, Word, GCP, etc it was all there. Apple touting Pages and its other software pre-installed on the Mac’s is becoming less and less relevant as time goes on. Point being that you’re spot on with a Mac or windows, or even Linux, based computers being able to do it all these days.
 
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At the very last minute, Apple discovered that this ad was not quite ready to be a game-changer, best-in-class ad that delighted customers and was truly the ad for ultra pro students. So, Apple had to pull the ad, to allow their tiny, bleeding-edge, startup team to continue to refine it. But, not to worry, because you can rest assured that Apple skates to where the puck will be, not where the puck is, seeking not to be the first, but to be the best, with the privacy only Apple can provide. Stay tuned for the future of this ad!
 
Between this and the annoying lady voiceover of the iOS 26 video, Apple is dumbing down their advertising WAY too much. Whomever is coming up with this garbage needs to go. It speaks desperation (ironically the norm at Apple lately) and lacks the creativity and class that’s been a staple of most Apple advertising for decades.
 
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julesme said:
Here's why the ad doesn't work: It features a shady salesman. The implication is that you have to be shady to convince someone to buy a Mac (which makes no sense given that Apple arguably makes the best laptops, with the highest quality hardware and OS). The tone of the ad is off base relative to the real-world value proposition of a Mac.

The "presentation" is reminiscent of other shady sales pitches, like selling timeshares or any disreputable door-to-door business of the past (expensive vacuums, magazine subscriptions, etc).

I understand it's trying to be funny (and I also found the comedian to be funny), but the tone and connotation of the ad don't align with Apple's brand. Don Draper would not have greenlit this.
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Exactly! And it loses the essence of how Steve Jobs saved Apple and made it thrive. He specifically said to disregard all the other BS and that if we make great products, the rest will follow. And that worked. Now that Apple has become the new Microsoft of the 90s, they’re following the same path of sleaziness.
 
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jonnyb098 said:
Exactly! And it loses the essence of how Steve Jobs saved Apple and made it thrive. He specifically said to disregard all the other BS and that if we make great products, the rest will follow. And that worked. Now that Apple has become the new Microsoft of the 90s, they’re following the same path of sleaziness.
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Steve on Xerox says it all. Toner heads aplenty at  these days, all led by a man that lives in Excel. What a joke the decision makers are at . Fortunately some of the old whimsy rears its head from time to time, and macOS still rules despite its flaws and neglect.
 
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Look the trick was bad :

1. Only works on MacBook Air

2. No one will use the powerpoint/keynote file

3. Guess the other reasons...
 
citysnaps said:
Spot-on assessment. Yes, I see it everywhere. *Always* assume the worst.

Certainly no joy in their world.
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That's because everything that isn't rainbows and butterflies is politically incorrect or somehow offensive.
Apple's not getting it wrong...some of their pulled ads I absolutely love, like the Out Of Office ad in Thailand that because 3 people in Thailand were offended, they pulled it. I replay it (via internet archive) every now and then for a laught.

Now, off to go watch Blazing Saddles. :)
 
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turbineseaplane said:
I see the marketing missteps are continuing to occur.

This feels like an area of the company that needs to be examined and reformed.

I still can’t believe that horrendous “Forgot my husband’s birthday. Let me have my iphone make a photo slideshow birthday gift.” AD ever made it out to public eyes.
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I may be wrong, but I thought most of Apple's marketing (aside from Product Marketing) was outsourced to an agency?
 
Start building a serious gaming ecosystem for Mac then. As in Steam serious, not just few AAA titles releases far and between.

Like it or not, PC gaming is what sells, it’s just most of them filled with quirky RGB galore. Parent would want a single computer for their kids that do all for both work and entertainment.

Mac is good for students, but when they want some games, well let’s just say it’s sad despite Apple has capable M chips and midrange-equivalent GPU for years.
 
It was saying one needs to buy antivirus software for PCs and implying PCs can’t do AI (or people can’t write without the half baked Apple Intelligence’s assistance). Also touting the 999 price tag without mentioning that will only get you 256gb of storage while PCs give you 512GB-1TB at that price point
 
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phuklok1 said:
for engineering, my university requires a pc to run the software packages they use (as do many). wasn’t a problem when you can boot into x86 windows on a mac. now it requires dumping the mac for a pc sadly for most. though it gave my old intel macbook pro a new life for now.
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Same. I was only able to use a MacBook for school because it was capable of booting into Windows back then
 
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goborgh said:
It's actually the other way around! Parents have to convince their kids to use a Mac, but they won't because they want gaming on PC.
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I guess I'm not the norm. I've been going out of my way for the last three years to ditch every windows or android device my parents and school ever gave me/let me use. Mac is so much better than windows 11 and a bit better than 10. ChromeOS isn't bad outside of the chrome part.
 
WAAAAAAY back in the 80s I tried to get my parents to buy a Coleco Adam so I could use it for school. They refused. Maybe I needed a commercial like this. 😭

😉
 
People need to exercise deeper thought when consuming this content from Apple Studios. It's a very clever video short that still manages to insert a plot twist towards the end that will cause you to suspend all disbelief.

If you don't get it, you're watching it wrong.
 
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Yimbaz said:
How are there so many commenters on this thread making this about kids these days being “too offended” and “not appreciating comedy?” Nobody is offended here. It was just a stupid ad. No need to make these weird kneejerk reactions.
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So Apple retracted the ad because it was a stupid ad?
 
Digital Dude said:
These days, every misstep at Apple seems to stem from poor leadership. After 42 years as a loyal customer, I no longer feel the same about the company. While they still build the best mousetraps compared to the competition, my opinion of the company now plays a role in my purchasing decisions.
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Agreed. I have been saying this for years - just because Apple builds the best mousetraps … if all mousetraps are trash, they are just building the best trash. Apple has lost their way and it’s sad.
 
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Yimbaz said:
How are there so many commenters on this thread making this about kids these days being “too offended” and “not appreciating comedy?” Nobody is offended here. It was just a stupid ad. No need to make these weird kneejerk reactions.
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Ironic because they’re the ones making things up to be offended by. Tilting at windmills.

No one was “offended” by this ad. It was getting roasted for being cringe and embarrassing, and Apple couldn’t take the heat.
 
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