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UPDATE:
Apple made the ad private on YouTube less than 24 hours after it debuted.
Apple hasn’t said why it was removed. The ad received some criticism from viewers in the comments, but that’s not unusual for YouTube (or those debating the merits of macOS versus Windows). It’s been uploaded by other accounts, which is embedded above. Apple might get the copies pulled down, so watch while you can.
In the commercial, an actor walks students through the process of asking their parents to get them a Mac. Alongside the ad, Apple released a presentation that’s still available to download on the company’s
College Students page
. Still, it’s buried at the bottom of that page; as
9to5Mac
points out, Apple put it front and center on Friday.
We asked Apple for clarification on why the ad was removed.
Over the last two years, we’ve seen Apple pull a few of its own ads for various different reasons. Most notably was the iPad Pro Crush ad from WWDC 2024, in which a hydraulic press tool crushed arcade machines, musical instruments, paint, and more to demonstrate how an iPad could replace those creative tools.
The reaction was negative from many creatives. Most notably, Hollywood actor Hugh Grant shared the video with the tagline, “The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley.” It was
removed from YouTube
, but lives on via CEO Tim Cook’s X account.
Original Story 6/20:
Apple is going out of its way to trash Windows PCs in a new video that urges incoming college students to adopt
MacBooks
.
Posted on YouTube, the 7-minute
video
features comedian Martin Herlihy holding a lecture before a group of high school students, with the goal of teaching them how to convince their parents to buy them a Mac for college.
To do so, Herlihy promotes the “Parent Presentation,” a real
downloadable
template that a high schooler or college student can use to talk up the merits of owning a Mac. The presentation includes a slide that says, “according to Vmeetsolutions, Mac is the most reliable laptop,” a reference to a survey of our users, who
voted
Apple as the most reliable PC brand.
(Credit: Apple)
Although Macs, especially the Pro models, are known to be pricey, the same presentation highlights that buying a 13-inch MacBook at the starting price of $899 amounts to paying $14.98 per month over five years. In both the video and in the downloadable presentation, Apple also takes some digs at Windows PCs.
At one point, Herlihy shows the dreaded
Blue Screen of Death
that can appear on a Windows PC when it hits a major error, and shouts: “Oh God! My computer crashes. What am I going to do?” before deadpanning, “I’m just kidding. This only happens on a PC.”
(Credit: Apple)
Later on, Herlihy shows another slide that places a thumbs up over buying a Mac and a thumbs down over purchasing a Windows PC. He then claims paying for a PC also requires additional costs, including buying
antivirus
and backup software, along with paying for “a guard dog to protect it from your roommate.” (We still recommend getting
antivirus software
for your Mac.)
Although Windows users might roll their eyes at the ad, the video does point out that Apple offers
discounts
on Macs to education users. Apple just kicked off
back-to-school sales
, which offers free accessories with a Mac or iPad purchase.
Still, the video overlooks some reasons why college kids pick a Windows PC over a Mac. Our own
guide
points out that some colleges and universities actually want their students on Windows-based laptops to cut down on software incompatibility issues. Many games and architecture software are also built for Windows.
Apple’s video arrives years after the company’s famous “I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC”
ads
took numerous jabs at the alleged deficiencies of Windows computers. Ironically, the actor Justin Long, who portrayed the Macs, later joined
Intel
and then
Qualcomm
in their own marketing to tout new Windows PCs over MacBooks.
You can also check out our own laptop
recommendations
, which include many Windows PCs.