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Apple Pulls 'Genius' TV Ads from YouTube and Apple.com

Apple Commercial

I didn't like these commercials either. I don't think they reflected what was great about using Apple products. I have never like many Apple commercials I always thought the "Think Different" and the "Get a Mac" commercials never demonstrated how Apple products work.

Examples of good Apple adds are the "Middle Seat" commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQWjxAdSsHE or the Santa Siri commercial during last year's Christmas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qcmCUsw4EQ
 
Not so bad

Their target was older, less computer-savvy people who maybe are buying their first Mac. For them it's probably comforting that in Apple's world, there is no such thing as a "stupid" question.
 
imgonephishin said:
Haha. Overact much? You mean they should fire TBWA/Media/Arts Lab, the same company behind the Think Different and Get a Mac campaigns along with many, many other Apple ad campaigns for almost 30 years all the way back to the 1984 classic? Sheesh. So the ads weren't great. Let's all move on.
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The name is TBWA\Media Arts Lab. (There's no second slash there) It would still be at TBWA\Chiat\Day, but when Chiat\Day also had Sony as a client, Steve Jobs demanded that the ad guys working on Apple work out of a separate building. So, literally, Media Arts Lab is next door. However, most of the same execs still work on the account, including chief creative director Lee Clow who did the 1984 commercial.

Anyway, to your comment -- while MAL pitched the ideas for this mediocre Genius campaign, it was ultimately Apple who gave them the green light. And in that light, I would say that this is a rare time the meme "Jobs would've never let this happen" is probably correct. Jobs was an extremely savvy marketing guy, and I think he would've known this campaign was strategically the wrong direction and just not Apple enough.
 
aurichie said:
I agree. Safari feels snappier.
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I see.

Safari is snappier because you can't watch the ads???

Are you even on the right forum?

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AppleScruff1 said:
Why not? He probably laughed at his customers behind their backs for their fickleness. He could convince them to buy a rock and they'd be camping out for days to get one.
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And you are one of the campers...
 
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Yep, completely inelegant trash media. When it comes to ads, Apple should stick to what it's good at. Innovation, gorgeous design, real-world application that you didn't know you needed but use every day. These 3 turds were pitching to the lowest common denominator. Apple made the right move in pulling them.
 
TBH, if you buy a apple computer you are a little clueless. unless you fan-boy fap to Steve jobs every night.

ill give them that the computers are sleek and the battery life is excellent. but a fancy screen isn't worth the stupid price considering the 1200 buck equivalent specs to a windows counterpart.

ill wait for a fan boy to quote me and rage.
 
The ads struck me as odd right from the start. They appeared as what would happen if Microsoft made and ad for Apple.
 
wutang61 said:
TBH, if you buy a apple computer you are a little clueless. unless you fan-boy fap to Steve jobs every night.

ill give them that the computers are sleek and the battery life is excellent. but a fancy screen isn't worth the stupid price considering the 1200 buck equivalent specs to a windows counterpart.

ill wait for a fan boy to quote me and rage.
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i was really into apple back when they were still making computers for photographers, musicians, videographers, and 3D producers — I'm still on my 2009 17" macbook pro... now I'm 100% sure this mac is the last one i'll ever own. apple is garbage for prioritizing weight/thickness over power for the "Pro"-suffix user.

btw, domestic cars? what?
 
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Richardgm said:
I liked them. But apparently the heat (backlash) was too much for Apple.
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Don't be so sure about that. Assuming these ads were produced under union contracts (likely given previous ads have been), they would have had pre determined viewing windows that tie into how the actors, especially the Genius was paid. This could have been a planned cycle from the start both in terms of the short TV period and removing it from YouTube as that would also be broadcasting and every view in either form would have to pay out royalties.

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AriX said:
What? I wasn't crazy about the ads, and I'm sure there was a lot of internal conflict about them. But to pull them like this and publically admit their mistake?
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Ads get pulled all the time, or they short cycle out. It is an admission of nothing.

Now a statement from Apple or the ad agency, that would've an admission

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rwvenice said:
Awful ad. You don't need a genius to use a Mac.
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YOU don't but clearly you haven't seen the overwhelming majority of Mac buyers for the last 5 years or so. Some of them are computer imbeciles

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JCMusic said:
The ads struck me as odd right from the start.
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Not me. Given what they were advertising, the laid back, unpolished style and not a male model actor, all fit. The target was people who might feel intimidated by Macs, or computers in general. Something super polished and luck might be off putting as too cool for them. Even if the technosnobs on sites like this were put off by ads that were not aimed at them.
 
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I just watched the one on an airplane, expecting to be appalled, but I thought it was pretty cute, and didn't seem condescending to me, either to their customers or non customers. Maybe the other two were terrible or something, but I liked that one.
 
I didn't think the ads were condescending, and having ads focusing on Geniuses is a good idea. But the actual execution and tone of the ads was off.

It would be worth trying again.
 
Quick

Somebody's head is gonna roll. Let's call up Don Draper.

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Bubba Satori said:
The Stalinist tactic of removing inconvenient history is a nice touch.
Apple will do well in Pootin World.
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Oh, please. The Stalinist reference. How many kulaks did Steve Jobs kill, anyway?

I'm sure there's something up on YouTube.

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How much almost all other tech company's ads suck?
 
AriX said:
What? I wasn't crazy about the ads, and I'm sure there was a lot of internal conflict about them. But to pull them like this and publically admit their mistake? That's just weird and decidedly unlike Apple. How many times are they going to do this in a single month?
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Why wouldn't Apple want to admit they were a mistake and distance themselves from them. Now Apple users get to run around talking abut how response Apple was to customer feedback. Conversely there is a better chance they get a lower position on worst adds of 2012 when the list comes out.

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Mad Mac Maniac said:
Airplane ad: B+
Baby birth ad: C+
"Basically" ad: F
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Basically should have been more pointed directly at Vizio, whom the add was mostly directed towards. I think there was the potential for a good ad but not with the light hearted "genius" series feel.

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charlituna said:
Not me. Given what they were advertising, the laid back, unpolished style and not a male model actor, all fit. The target was people who might feel intimidated by Macs, or computers in general. Something super polished and luck might be off putting as too cool for them. Even if the technosnobs on sites like this were put off by ads that were not aimed at them.
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Apple's entire brand identity is tied up in snobbery for 28 years. The theme is:
PC users are conformist lemmings with no independence
Mac users are people who are creative and diverse and see through the propaganda to buy much better products.

That's Apple's brand. That's why Lauren was such an effective anti-Apple ad. Go after the people that don't like polish, techosnobbery and cool and you pollute the brand identity.

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aurichie said:
How is this a story? Apple removes ads all the time from their sites. It doesn't mean the ads were bad or unsuccessful. They were still much better than ads for Android devices and Microsoft Windows.
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Really? When was the last time that Android customers were insulted and publicly panning an Android ad? When was the last time every advertising magazine in the united states was using an Android ad as a "what not to do example"?
 
I didn't much care that the ads made customers look clueless.

My problem with them was that they looked like just another landfill ad that could have been advertising insurance or tampons for I care.

Although Apple has made many dud ads over the years they are expected to produce innovative or at least distinctive material.
 
The Genius commercials were a flop, although they did have its moments.

Like the 'G' printed on the apartment's front door or that fake Mac seller. :)
 
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