Apple's latest "Genius" ads no longer airing during Olympic games

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Olympics viewers no longer have to endure Apple's latest series of "Genius" ads, which came under heavy fire from critics immediately following their debut at this year's games.

The three commercials, which feature Apple retail store Geniuses helping Mac users troubleshoot their problems, have been a topic of debate amongst Apple enthusiasts and industry watchers alike, many of which believe their quality isn't up to snuff with company's traditional standards.

A rep for TBWA/Media/Arts Lab, Apple's long-time ad agency, confirmed Monday that the spots have stopped running but said that was the Mac maker's plan all along. They were intended only for a ?first run? during the Olympics' first weekend, the rep said.

The ads marked a stark departure from Apple's tried-and-trusted method of showcasing the product with minimal human interaction, like those that pit the latest iPhone against a blank white canvas with only a single finger to detract from the design of the product itself.





It remains unclear whether Apple plans to re-issue the ads at a later date or continue on with campaign in general.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 57
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member


    Thank goodness, they were rubbish!

  • Reply 2 of 57
    jarmanjarman Posts: 29member


    Good riddance. They were some of the worst ads I had seen in recent years.

     

  • Reply 3 of 57
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    These ads were savaged as belittling the typical Mac user but Samsung's ads labeling Apple users as clueless lemmings were just fine, right?
  • Reply 4 of 57
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jarman View Post


    Good riddance. They were some of the worst [APPLE] ads I had seen in recent years.

     



     


    **Fixed**

  • Reply 5 of 57
    Ellen Feiss is happy she is no longer the poster child for infamous Apple ads.
  • Reply 6 of 57
    kpomkpom Posts: 660member


    They were probably cheap to make, aired a few times, and got everyone talking. Sometimes "bad" ads are the best publicity ever. Think Menards or Empire Carpets.

     

  • Reply 7 of 57
    kpomkpom Posts: 660member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post



    Ellen Feiss is happy she is no longer the poster child for infamous Apple ads.




    I want to see an ad where Ellen Feiss asks for a Genius to help her set up her knockoff Ultrabook so she can create a video while she's on her way to the hospital to have a baby.

  • Reply 8 of 57

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post



    These ads were savaged as belittling the typical Mac user but Samsung's ads labeling Apple users as clueless lemmings were just fine, right?


    difference being is that this WAS APPLES doing! and they should have known better from all thier previous campaign showing how mac was easier to use vs, the PC and now they about face and say - well u got an apple u clueless dolt - but hey dont worry our snobby smarter then you staff will enlighten you.


     


    i think thats the point made here - that stupid samsung commercial was dumb too - but we got what they were saying - no reason apple should make a commercial campaign to agree with samsung. - IMHO.

  • Reply 9 of 57


    I'm a huge Apple fan...but I think these adds failed. I know it's been said they were directed at people who still don't own an Apple product....but again, they were a miss.

  • Reply 10 of 57
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by KPOM View Post


    They were probably cheap to make, aired a few times, and got everyone talking. Sometimes "bad" ads are the best publicity ever. Think Menards or Empire Carpets.

     



    I lived in Minnesota for a brief time and I'll never forget how horrid those Menards commercials were lol

  • Reply 11 of 57
    tribalogicaltribalogical Posts: 1,182member


    So, I take it they weren't universally loved… judging by the "neutral" journalist who opened the article with "...no longer have to endure…" the ads… nice.


     


     


    I got the impression they were going for a Ferris Bueller-esque vibe with the 'genius' character, a cocky mostly harmless kid, with smarts? Not a terrible idea in theory...


     


     


    I agree, they aren't Apple's best… but also far from their worst. None worth seeing twice, in any case. 


     


    I do miss the "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" series… those were almost all worth seeing more than twice...

  • Reply 12 of 57
    Apple's commercials in general have been horrible since Mr. Jobs passed. Seems no one there has close to the same eye and flair for advertising as him. They've really moved away from what's worked all these years.
  • Reply 13 of 57


    Yeah, these were pretty weak...

  • Reply 14 of 57
    winterwinter Posts: 1,238member
    The retina MBP commercial was just fine. Show the product you're trying to sell instead of trying to be goofy and hip. I wish other companies would do this more often. Less McDonalds, Taco Bell, Coca Cola, and more commercials for stuff like the HP Envy.
  • Reply 15 of 57


    I saw what Apple was trying to put across to consumers with these commercials while simultaneously feeling embarrassed how horribly they fell short of doing what was intended. The humor was subpar, the "solutions" the Genius was providing were off-screen and meaningless/worthless to the viewing consumer, and the environment choices for the differing ads were jarring (who wants to be bothered on a cramped airplane or at the front door of your place thrust into your neighbor's life).


     


    When Apple approved these ads, who said yes? Who would say yes to these? Any layman could tell you, and I think the entire internet has, these ads were not quality. Who was so blind at Apple to not see it?

  • Reply 16 of 57


    It's a tough business to be in - advertising, that is.  We can all complain that these ads were not Apple's finest, yet we don't know what Apple actually hoped to achieve with the ads.  Heck, I've been using Macs since the late 80's and think of myself as being pretty fluent in both Mac and PC software and hardware.  But I too find myself flustered with doing things like making a video.  iMovie, once you figure out what you're doing with it, IS a very easy to use program and the finished results can look terrific...but.  It's not just something I can fire up and start creating movies with.


     


    I think if Apple is trying to show how easy it can be to use their computers/programs, they should cut to the chase with things a good majority of the public should know about - iWork.  Those that are contemplating or have made the switch to Mac, should be shown just how easy it is to open, work on, save and send Word, Excel or PowerPoint files, not using MS's software, but Apple's Pages, Numbers and Keynote programs.  Sure, Numbers isn't quite as robust as Excel, but I've yet to encounter a situation that makes me question using Numbers over Excel.


     


    And given MS programs have and continue to prove themselves buggy on the Mac, it's just so much easier using iWork programs instead.  My wife is a perfect example - a Mac user for as long as I have been, but she's never gotten into using Apple programs - she was until last year using Outlook for Mac, along with Office programs.  I finally convinced her that Mail, Contact and Calendar really did work just fine for what she needed and then having everything sync on her iPhone was simple.  But today, she still fights with making the switch to iWork, just because it's what she's used to - even though she has, almost daily, issues with a bogged down system because of one or all of the MS apps she has running.

  • Reply 17 of 57
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post



    Ellen Feiss is happy she is no longer the poster child for infamous Apple ads.


    Is it wrong that I actually enjoyed that particular ad?

  • Reply 18 of 57


    I liked these ads. The part of the article that mentioned less human interaction isn't correct though. They've been having people since they started advertising iPad. kids, students, teachers. Siri's been using celebrities. This is just a cute revival of "I'm a mac, and I'm a PC."


     


    Also, if you listen to the ad, they aren't really for selling any of the hardware, they're for selling the iLife/iWork software.


     


    I loved them, and I hope to see more of them.

  • Reply 19 of 57
    rednivalrednival Posts: 331member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mesomorphicman View Post



    Apple's commercials in general have been horrible since Mr. Jobs passed. Seems no one there has close to the same eye and flair for advertising as him. They've really moved away from what's worked all these years.


     


    I think anything that Apple does that fans don't like now gets labeled as "Steve would have never allowed this...".  I think it detracts more than it adds.


     


    Steve Jobs allowed plenty of missteps to leave the doors of Apple (original Apple TV, Ping, MobileMe).  There was plenty of controversy too, including a lot of criticism of the original iPhone lacking 3rd party app support, which Apple added a year later and that's when sales really started to go through the roof (I am not saying they were bad before that- just that they were much better after).  No one remembers that now though.


     


    Steve Job's failures and oversights at Apple were largely outnumbered by his successes, so people remember him as perfect.  This is NOT a criticism of Steve Jobs, quite the opposite.


     


    I have pointed this all out to say that the beauty and genius of Steve Jobs was his ability to recognize missteps, change course, and make good products better- be that Apple products or products from competitors.  After the original iPhone sold well, 3rd party app support could have been ignored or delayed, but it was added because the potential was recognized.


     


    So to realize when something is not working or could work better is classic Steve Jobs.  I don't believe Steve Jobs would want to be remembered as an infallible genius, but one that learned from his mistakes and made good things better.

  • Reply 20 of 57
    zoolookzoolook Posts: 657member


    Thanks goodness.


     


    A nice simple ad showing how freaking awesome the Retina Mac would be a lot better.

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