Apple Pulls 'Convince Your Parents to Get You a Mac' Ad From YouTube - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Pulls 'Convince Your Parents to Get You a Mac' Ad From YouTube

Apple has marked as private its day-old The Parent Presentation video on YouTube, meaning that it is no longer available to watch.

The Parent Presentation Apple Ad Thumbnail
Apple has also moved The Parent Presentation to the bottom of its College Students page, effectively burying it. When we reported on the marketing campaign yesterday, the presentation was prominently featured at the top of the page.

It is unclear why Apple is suddenly hiding the ad, or if it will return. Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

On social media, some people said that the ad was cringe or gross, so perhaps Apple pulled the video due to overly negative reception. To be clear, this is merely speculation, and there were others who found humor in the video.

Teenagers can be a tough crowd to impress.

It would not be the first time that Apple pulled ads from YouTube that did not go over well, or became the subject of a class action lawsuit.

Why Mac
The Parent Presentation is a customizable slideshow that explains why a Mac is a useful tool in college. The presentation is available to download for free in PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides formats. Students can customize the presentation slides, and then show it to their parents to convince them to buy them a Mac.

In an accompanying YouTube video shared by Apple, comedian Martin Herlihy showed a group of high school students how to effectively use The Parent Presentation.

It is that video that is now hidden.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...

Top Rated Comments

10 months ago
I have archived the video, if anyone's interested
Link:
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
10 months ago
I see the marketing missteps are continuing to occur.

This feels like an area of the company that needs to be examined and reformed.

I still can’t believe that horrendous “Forgot my husband’s birthday. Let me have my iphone make a photo slideshow birthday gift.” AD ever made it out to public eyes.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
10 months ago
Here's why the ad doesn't work: It features a shady salesman. The implication is that you have to be shady to convince someone to buy a Mac (which makes no sense given that Apple arguably makes the best laptops, with the highest quality hardware and OS). The tone of the ad is off base relative to the real-world value proposition of a Mac.

The "presentation" is reminiscent of other shady sales pitches, like selling timeshares or any disreputable door-to-door business of the past (expensive vacuums, magazine subscriptions, etc).

I understand it's trying to be funny (and I also found the comedian to be funny), but the tone and connotation of the ad don't align with Apple's brand. Don Draper would not have greenlit this.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
10 months ago
I found that it gives the impression that they're helping people manipulate their parents to buy a Mac, using a presentation put together by Apple. It doesn't make me feel like Macs are actually good, but rather that Apple wants to trick your parents into buying you one, while admitting they're more expensive than the competition, and coming up with "yes but" excuses that they're actually worth the money. All while trying to make it sound like they're tongue-in-cheek making fun of this silly premise, as if they were admitting that they also thought this whole thing was too weird and had to add "haha just kidding" but then not actually kidding.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
10 months ago
Apple has gone from cool Uncle magic to your cringe Boomer Dad.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Digital Dude Avatar
10 months ago
These days, every misstep at Apple seems to stem from poor leadership. After 42 years as a loyal customer, I no longer feel the same about the company. While they still build the best mousetraps compared to the competition, my opinion of the company now plays a role in my purchasing decisions.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)