Apple fully abandons disliked 'Genius' TV ads

The "Genius" advertisements, which featured Apple's retail support employees assisting troubled Mac users, debuted during the Summer Olympics, but stopped airing soon after. The ads were a stark contrast from Apple's more recent advertisements, which feature minimal human interaction.

After the "Genius" ads debuted, many panned the effort as below Apple's standards, and felt the commercials portrayed customers as incompetent and confused by Apple's products. A spokesperson for TBWA/Media/Arts Lab, Apple's ad agency, said earlier this month that the commercials were only intended for a "first run" during the opening weekend of the Olympics.

Though the commercials were no longer airing on television, they remained available for the past few weeks on Apple's official website and its YouTube account before disappearing this week. The removal of the videos was first noted on Wednesday by MacRumors.

A total of three "Genius" ads showed the retail employees called upon in outlandish situations: an airplane on final approach (entitled "Mayday"), a hot dog stand (called "Basically"), and an apartment where the Geniuses' wife has just given birth (dubbed "Labor Day"). Each of the short vignettes attempted to highlight in a humorous way the knowledge of the employee, and would allude to various products being used, such as iPhoto, Keynote, and the Cards application for iOS.