Apple Mocks Windows PCs in Humorous New 'Blue Screen of Death' Ad

Apple today shared a new "Blue Screen of Death" ad that appears to mock a major Windows computer outage that occurred last year, following a faulty CrowdStrike security update. Macs were unaffected, and they were unlikely to ever be, as Apple has gradually restricted low-level access to the macOS operating system.


The humorous ad stars "The Underdogs," a fictional team of workers who overcome obstacles by using Apple products and features.

"The Underdogs are ready for their first-ever trade show until a PC outage strikes and the Blue Screen of Death threatens their beloved Container Con," says Apple, in the video's description. "Thanks to the security of their Apple products, the Underdogs are unaffected and experience extraordinary success."

In the video's description, there is a link to the security section of Apple's enterprise page, which says "kernel-level protection is designed to safeguard your system against breaches, outages, and unauthorized access."

"There's no security like Mac security," the ad concludes.

Apple began its "The Underdogs" series of ads in 2019, with the humorous and dramatized videos promoting everything from AirDrop to FaceTime over the years.

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New MacBook Pros Could Now Arrive in March

Sunday February 8, 2026 6:02 am PST by
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Apple Expected to Launch These 10+ Products Over the Coming Months

Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more. Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...

Top Rated Comments

foobarbaz Avatar
18 weeks ago
Yeah … mocking competitors is just not a good look for big, powerful companies. In my book, it only ever works for underdogs (reference not intended) and Apple is absolutely the opposite of that.

The John Hodgman campaign was probably the last time that made sense for Apple. (I guess the 1984 commercial was the first one.)
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kalsta Avatar
18 weeks ago

I turned it off after 48 seconds
I watched the whole thing and laughed… zero times. A classic case of trying too hard to be funny. If humour has a blue screen of death, that was it.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
transpo1 Avatar
18 weeks ago
Surprised I didn't know about this video series until now but honestly, I turned it off after 48 seconds. Way too long, too complicated, and annoying. Maybe it's just me since I used to work in the 30 second to 60 second ad world, but these are bad. Although, I think it appropriate Apple resumes poking fun at Windows in general- just do it well!
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ksec Avatar
18 weeks ago
Apple used to make great Ads. Or may be Steve Jobs used to make "insanely great" Ads.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
appleuser21 Avatar
18 weeks ago
Who actually watches these ads?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
18 weeks ago
The audacity to be pointing fingers at anybody else about anything when they have this liquid glass vomit interface they rolled out … is quite something.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)