Apple Pulls 'Genius' TV Ads from YouTube and Apple.com - MacRumors
Skip to Content

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

Apple has removed the controversial 'Genius' TV spots from its YouTube channel and from the Apple.com marketing page for the Mac. The ads were poorly received with some critics asking if it was a good idea to make potential customers seem clueless. Others thought they were excellent ads that showed non-technical Mac buyers the support options available to them.

NewImage
Apple stopped airing the ads on television soon after they were introduced during the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, with Apple's ad agency saying they "were intended only for a 'first run' during the Olympics". They remained on YouTube and Apple's website for several weeks, and only in the past several days were they removed entirely.

Apple does tend to remove older advertisements from its website and YouTube over time, but the company still has ads on YouTube from as far back as November 2010.

Thanks Danny!

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Rumored Colors

What's Coming in September: New iPhones, Apple Watches and More

Thursday August 13, 2026 4:20 pm PDT by
Apple will introduce at least five new devices at its iPhone-centric event next month, and it's also possible we'll get devices waiting on Siri AI like the Apple TV. iPhone 18 Pro The iPhone 18 Pro is going to look like the iPhone 17 Pro, but with a smaller Dynamic Island. It's getting some internal updates, including a new Wide camera with a variable aperture for more control over lighting ...
iPhone 17 One Year Later Thumb 1

Should You Buy an iPhone 17 Now or Wait for iPhone 18?

Friday August 14, 2026 12:15 pm PDT by
For the first time since Apple started selling standard and "Pro" iPhones, we're not going to get an entry-level iPhone model this fall. Apple doesn't plan to release an iPhone 18 in September, and will only launch the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone Ultra. The lower-cost iPhone 18 won't come out until spring 2027. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Everything New Your iPhone Can Do on iOS 27 Feature 1

30 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27

Friday August 14, 2026 6:24 am PDT by
Apple will release iOS 27 in September, and despite the company's focus this year on refining its flagship operating system and nixing bugs, there are still many additional features on the way, not least of which is Apple's new context-aware Siri, re-tooled for the generative AI era. This year's major iPhone software update isn't all about AI, though, as the following feature list...

Top Rated Comments

CGagnon Avatar
183 months ago
These ads were bad and Apple should feel bad.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aluminum213 Avatar
183 months ago
the ads weren't awful, but Apple usually has the classiest ads on TV so by comparison to Apple's usual standards, the ads were junk
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
183 months ago
They weren't absolutely horrible, but it is good that they are taken down. The one where a guy asks how to use iPhoto left me puzzled. Isn't one of the big selling points of a Mac its ease of use? Yes. Yes it is.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
183 months ago
Didn't like 'em anyway. :rolleyes:
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
183 months ago
Whichever ad agency made these ads should be fired.

They were horrible...from the scripting to the shooting to the final post-production.

And whoever in Apple approved these should be demoted.

They obviously have no 'sense' of what the Apple brand is.
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.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
183 months ago
The ads should give the message "and we can help you personally if you need it" but they gave the feeling that you need to be taught how to use a Mac. It's scary for Windows users to switch to a Mac, and those commercials really didn't help IMO.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)