Apple Store Customers Targeted With Creative AirDropped Ad Campaign to Promote 'Cheaper and Greener' Refurbished Devices

Apple Store customers in Paris, Berlin, and London shopping for a new iPhone were recently presented with a unique and creative surprise when they saw an AirDrop message appear on the devices that aimed to convince them to purchase a refurbished ‌iPhone‌ instead of a completely new model.

back market airdrop Large
The ad campaign by Back Market, a website that specializes in selling refurbished consumer electronics, consisted of sending an AirDrop message to iPhones on display in Apple's retail store that led to a webpage that promotes refurbished devices.

"Quick! Security isn't looking... It's time to go refurbished with a cheaper and greener model," the webpage read. "Did you know this ‌iPhone‌ is available in white, black, blue, and greener?" it added.

Back Market offers a wide range of refurbished devices for sale. Back Market offers a wide range of refurbished devices for sale, with prices varying depending on model and condition. Back Market says that a "refurbished phone represents 176 lbs off of our collective carbon footprint. Manufacturing a new smartphone produces about 191 lbs of CO2e. Refurbishing? Just 15 lbs. Lose the weight: no extra effort, just extra savings."

Apple does have its own refurbished program, but unlike Back Market, it's only currently offering the iPhone 11 Pro from three years ago for $919.

Popular Stories

Verizon New

Verizon is Down: iPhones Show 'SOS' Mode Due to Network Outage [Resolved]

Wednesday January 14, 2026 10:18 am PST by
Verizon is experiencing a major outage across the U.S. today, with hundreds of thousands of customers reporting issues with the network on the website Downdetector. There are also complaints across Reddit and other social media platforms. iPhone users and others with Verizon service are generally unable to make phone calls, send text messages, or use data over 5G or LTE due to the outage....
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

New Leak Reveals iPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes, Under-Screen Face ID, and More

Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Consistent with previous...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased. iPhone ...
maxresdefault

Google Gemini-Powered Siri Will Reportedly Have These 7 New Features

Tuesday January 13, 2026 7:52 pm PST by
Apple and Google this week announced that Gemini will help power a more personalized Siri, and The Information has provided more details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. As soon as this spring, the report said the revamped version of Siri will be able to… Answer more factual/world knowledge questions in a conversational manner Tell more stories Provide...

Top Rated Comments

bLackjackj Avatar
49 months ago
Even better,..they managed to dupe MacRumors into advertising them for FREE! ?‍♂️
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
japanime Avatar
49 months ago
Oh, I'm for sure gonna click on an AirDropped link from somebody or something I don't know. ?

"Creative surprise"? Is that what you really think this is, Sami?
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rorschach Avatar
49 months ago
This is why my AirDrop stays off or on "Contacts Only".
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ruka.snow Avatar
49 months ago
Well there is a company to strike off ever doing business with. It is completely unacceptable that they feel they are allowed to send messages to my or anyone else’s phone.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrENGLISH Avatar
49 months ago

Well there is a company to strike off ever doing business with. It is completely unacceptable that they feel they are allowed to send messages to my or anyone else’s phone.
Exactly! I'm also cringing at the idea that articles like this are also giving them all this free marketing exposure. I find all of this disgusting.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
49 months ago
This looks like regular Airdrop spam. How is it "unique" and "creative"? Is there something different that I missed?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)