Apple Stops Airing 'Genius' Ads on Olympic Television Broadcasts

[macchiato2009]

most stupid ads ever

hopefully Steve Jobs is no more here to see that...

 

[samcraig]

The only measurement that matters is whether or not the ad leads to sales. Is it true that even bad press is good? No. Not really. Bad press is still pretty much bad press. But at the same time - the negativity about the ads hasn't been widespread. It's been on forums like this or via a Ad Exec's comments which most of the general public will never read or hear about.

The ads worked.
While they are not my personal favorite lets look from a marketer perspective.

It is news posted all over the Internet discussing the ads - good and bad after they aired. It is news posted all over when they seemingly vanished. It is still news debating of they were pulled due to negative views.

Let's be realistic. For the price of a few key placements for opening Olhmpic weekend the media is STILL talking, writing and even showing these ads. Pure brilliance from a marketing viewpoint.

Apple is masterful at media manipulation. They rarely need to pay for press and publicity. I suspect many leaks are well placed Apple PR moves to generate buzz.

These ads have plenty of buzz. Apple still garners massive page mentions and buzz over these ads which is precisely what they desired.

I think we have to start OT thinking old school and begin to look at how this is adagabeius to Apple and how it can help keep them in the press.

One more case to illustrate this. Mountain Lion has decent press and reviews. It has a few issues - especially for some with battery life. That story is buried page view wise compared to the ads. So Apple has managed to manipulate the media away from a damaging story to one of fluff that still generates buzz for the company.

 

[Merlin9]

The only measurement that matters is whether or not the ad leads to sales. Is it true that even bad press is good? No. Not really. Bad press is still pretty much bad press. But at the same time - the negativity about the ads hasn't been widespread. It's been on forums like this or via a Ad Exec's comments which most of the general public will never read or hear about.

Bad ads create negativity in people who are not neccessarily Apple customers yet and who don't post on forums like macrumors.

 

[aristotle]

The idea is you shouldn't have to be. The ads say otherwise.

You are still not getting it. You can understand the basics on how to operate iMovie but you might not have the confidence or knowledge on how to execute a good cut using the tool. The Apple stores offer classes and one on one training for movie making.

The ads focused on those training options using characters representing a possible customer of those services. They were not focused on a product or meant to represent you.

 

[MacinDoc]

Has Apple been airing any other ads during the Olympics? If not, then the original intention was as they have stated, because if they had any other spots booked, those were already paid for, and Apple would have at least used the spots they paid for to air one ad or another, if not the Genius ones.

Having said that, I think Apple was surprised at the negative reaction to these ads, hence the shuffle of their placement on Apple's YouTube site.

 

[Shrink]

In the Age of Steve ... these Ads couldn't be aired!

The AGE OF STEVE...

I'd genuflect before my Jobs shrine...but I have bad knees.

most stupid ads ever

hopefully Steve Jobs is no more here to see that...

I don't mean to sound insensitive, but Steve Jobs is dead. So I think it's safe to say that he is no more here to see that.

 

[UMHurricanes34]

Count me as one of those who believe they're just not admitting that they released this garbage.

These, and the recent celebrity Siri ads, are the only Apple ads I can ever remember being flogged by even the least-techy of my friends.

Even my Android-loving friends appreciate the simplicity of Apple ads (The Retina MBP ad is classic Apple), but these are just BAD.

 

[Snookerman]

I actually like the ads. I wasn't sure what to think at first, but then I asked my local Apple Genius™ and he told me to like them.

 

[tech4all]

Too bad about the commercials. They weren't the best, but I didn't think they were that bad really. In particular the Airplane one.

ive never been so insulted in my life with these commercials

 

[shulerg]

the post steve jobs era is now officially started. rip apple.

Well, whatever happens, it can't be any worse than the Sculley/Spindler/Amelio eras, when RIP was a real possibility.

 

[roblin]

Jobs would never have allowed them to air. RIP

 

[bertman]

Apple will be replacing the Genius ads with "Hi I'm a Mac" re-runs.

 

[MH01]

Can't blame Apple for the so-called "clueless" portrayal of some customers. Anyone who has overheard a one-to-one session would understand this.

But the portrayal of the "genius" is so far off the mark.... That's the problem with these ads .... Not once did I see the genius in these ads refer to thier scripts, like the one troubleshooting my Mac aaarrgghhh that was painful!

 

[Kwill]

Stop running the Genius ad

Smart move.

 

[stukick]

[/URL]

 

[Simplicated]

I think it was the one with tanks surrounding it... joking about the fact they were too powerful to legally export in some cases. That may have been over 10 years ago.

This is the last.

 

[Swift]

We'll see

I have no idea what the negative reception was about. Ever been to an Apple store? One of the things that differentiates Apple is that you can go and get your questions answered. Obviously, Apple has poor taste because it makes computers for "the rest of us," who wouldn't know how to type a Unix command if you paid them. Sorry, big sneering techies, the potential audience is much larger than you. I can't believe some of the crap I've heard: like, "What? The Apple Genius sleeps in his T-shirt and badge???" No. That's what we non-tech experts call a joke.

 

[Born Again]

Shame. I liked 'em.

I hope this isn't the start of Apple listening to every armchair marketing expert on the Mac forums.

If it is then we can expect an iPhone with a ten-inch screen and a ten minute battey life, followed by a rather painful decline.

Personally, I like grammar.

do you?

what else

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Too bad about the commercials. They weren't the best, but I didn't think they were that bad really. In particular the Airplane one.



Image

so you like everything apple poops out?

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

I think people are reading to much into this. Don't waste your time analyzing how Apple is going to air its commercials, spend more time outside with friends and family or spend time on your Apple doing cool stuff.

This.

 

[MacSince1990]

<Insert dumb comment about how Jobs never would have allowed this hee>

In the Age of Steve ... these Ads couldn't be aired!

Nevermind, beat me to it. Jobs thought less of the average customer than pretty much anyone, btw.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Well, their first ever Macintosh ad was played exactly once.

And it was a bold, iconic ad. These were not bold or iconic in any way to justify a "limited run".

 

[TheRainKing]

-delete-

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Read this:

Consumer Reports initially stated that the iPhone 4's signal issues are not "unique, and may not be serious" and it continued to mention that signal loss is a problem that is faced by the entire smartphone industry. It has been such a problem that Apple made a formal apology. The next day, the magazine altered their stance after encountering instances of dropped calls. The magazine rejected Apple's explanation after conducting tests in a controlled environment, and comparing the results against prior generations of iPhone.

Watch this video

Return to this thread.

Right, because no other phones drop calls. Next!

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TBWA was responsible for the infamous iPod advertising scheme - colored backgrounds with silhouettes dancing with their white headphones.

I highly doubt Apple plans to fire their advertising firm...

Chiat/Day is the same advertising firm that did Apple's 1984 ad as well as their "Think Different" campaign, also the switcher ads, and undoubtedly many more. TBWA/Chiat/Day is not going anywhere as Apple's lead advertising agency.

 

[aristotle]

I have no idea what the negative reception was about. Ever been to an Apple store? One of the things that differentiates Apple is that you can go and get your questions answered. Obviously, Apple has poor taste because it makes computers for "the rest of us," who wouldn't know how to type a Unix command if you paid them. Sorry, big sneering techies, the potential audience is much larger than you. I can't believe some of the crap I've heard: like, "What? The Apple Genius sleeps in his T-shirt and badge???" No. That's what we non-tech experts call a joke.

Glad to see that there are some here who are "swift" in name and nature.

Apple was advertising services like this:
http://www.apple.com/retail/learn/one-to-one/
and their free workshops:
http://www.apple.com/retail/learn/

Perhaps the confusion arises from the fact that not every Apple store location offers those services due to a lack of space but I recall visiting the store at Ginza location in Tokyo a couple of years ago. I was just on vacation but I went up the elevator to the theatre floor where they were giving a demo on iMovie at the time. I did not understand a word they were saying but I still found it interesting to watch.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

How can anyone find these ads insulting? Maybe if you identify with the dumb people in the ad, or if your identity is somehow entangled with Apple's. Neither of those are good things. Lighten up people and let yourself have a laugh at your own expense once in a while.