Apple's 'Genius' Olympic Ads Draw Huge Negative Backlash

Apple's 'Genius' Olympic Ads Draw Huge Negative Backlash

Apple's adverts have always divided opinion - and annoyed somebody.

Usually they just come across a little bit smug - think the Mac vs. PC campaign starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, or even the award-winning but arch '1984' Superbowl clip introducing the Mac.

Recently its campaign featuring celebrities talking to Siri have also had a mixed reaction.

But with its new campaign Apple might finally have found a way to annoy everyone.

It broadcast three new commercials during NBC's Olympic coverage on Friday, in the United States - and the reaction has been somewhere between ridicule to horror.

The ads feature an Apple Store employee (a 'genius') - complete with the blue T-shirt and irritating grin - who has to help idiotic Mac users make videos and other simple tasks.

Reviews have not been kind.

"They feel intellectually cheap," said US tech website The Verge. "We have no idea how these got greenlit, much less how the company decided they were worth paying for a fraction of the $1 billion NBCUniversal made in Olympics-class airtime this year."

Even famed Apple fan and observer John Gruber said the spots "don't appeal to me".

"They're not cool. But they're not supposed to be cool, and they're not targeted at existing Mac users," Gruber said.

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