So many of you are so out to lunch that it hurts. These ads were not designed for you. They are not preaching to the choir or even trying to get so-called "experts" to switch. They are advertising the Apple "GENIUS" if you still have not figured that out yet. They are not mac ads or iPhone ads or even iPad ads.
Don't go calling other people stupid if you cannot grasp the fact that the Apple store genius is the central character and the people he is interacting with are caricatures of people who might go to an Apple genius bar.
Here is a little hint, if you think you know better than the ad designers for this campaign, then you are not one of those people.
I am sick and tired of the out of touch elitism on display in this and other threads. You think you are smart but you are actually missing the entire point.
Thanks for saying it. No doubt you'll be ignored by most here, though.
I saw these ads and thought two things.
1) Hey, they're advertising the Mac and not an iOS thingy! That's great!
2) This ad isn't meant for me, but if I suddenly keel over dead tomorrow, at least my parents will still be able to use their computer without my constant help.
The fact is, there are plenty of people who don't get computers. They don't even understand how to do really basic tasks with them. They need to be trained on everything, because they're unable or afraid to just try things and see what happens. Some are quite willing to admit this. The Computer is a scary expensive machine that is beyond their comprehension and they are afraid to break, but it's still something they want or need to use.
I know people who never understood how to quit applications and just close windows with the little red button. With instruction and repetition, they can figure out how to use the menu bar. Command-Q is totally arcane to them; They just can't do it. I know someone who, every November, asks me for help making and ordering a picture calendar in iPhoto to pass out to friends and family at Christmas for the upcoming new year. This has been going on for years.
Now, these tasks aren't hard, but they take a certain mindset that people here have, but not everyone has. For a
very large segment of the population, there is a great deal of fear of The Computer. Most people here are very comfortable with computers, either the software, the hardware, or both, and if we don't understand something, we know how to self-help. For everyone else (most people), there are
people who can help. Apple's advertised how easy the Mac is, but just because something is easy doesn't mean somebody's willing to do it without guidance. Apple's letting the greater population know that if there's something they don't understand or want to learn how to do, there's a place they can go, and people they can talk to.
There's a reason Apple Geniuses are called that. Most of us here probably don't consider them all that genius, but for the scared and confused, that's exactly how they seem. That's how
we seem to those people.
Apple's just saying, hey look, those guys in the blue shirts? They're really friendly and they want to help. Compared to the sorts of employees you meet in
other stores, I expect that comes as a great relief for many.
Long story short, good ads, not for you. The people who it's for
don't feel insulted, even if they probably should be

.