OK. I’ve been hearing all about these new ads since watching the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to actually sit down and watch them until today. I guess the fact that I missed them while they aired “live” on my TV set says something about their overall ability to attract a viewer’s attention but I tend to tune-out TV ads anyway, electing to use that time to tweet, grab a drink from the fridge or surf the web.
Having now watched all three back-to-back, I understand why these have been called out and discussed so much. I’m not exactly sure what the general theme for the campaign is but the ads (below) focus on a single Apple “Genius” getting caught in some “out of the ordinary” situations including answering questions about creating birth announcements and coffee table photo books in iPhoto while another mans wife is in labor. These are some pretty special customers considering I can’t get an appointment with an Apple Genius when I walk into a store with a problem, but instead have to reschedule my vist 3 days out.
To me, these ads do feel a little cheap and I think create an impression that all Mac users depend on these geniuses to get anything done. Maybe I’m wrong and missing the point but I’ll let you be the judge.