Apple Tosses Rotten Boy Genius Ads in the Trash

Remember those awful Genius ads Apple began airing during the Olympics? Reactions to the ads were overwhelmingly negative and were somewhat surprising for a multi-billion dollar company known for more creative ad spots that typically focused on the product. These new ads did not, and instead cast Apple users in an idiotic light. Or at least they used to. The new ads are no longer airing, and officially, that was the plan all along.

TBWA/Media/Arts Lab, the ad agency in charge of the commercials, claim they were never intended to run past the Olympics in London.

Apple Ad

"The ads were intended only for a 'first run' during the Olympcs, which meant just the first weekend of the Games," one of the ad agency's representative said.

That seems like an bogus excuse, though far be it for an ad agency to admit its creative team dropped the ball, even when it's obvious they did. These ads introduced a new character somewhat reminiscent of the Dell dude from several years back, and it seems beyond odd that Apple would approve a such a short-lived campaign consisting of three spots to be aired only during the first weekend of the Olympics.