The new Ads from Apple have received a lot of criticism from people who consider themselves to be Apple fans. Personally I find the Ads to be in poor taste and a shift from what Apple Ads have always been about - the product. The beautiful, amazing, most awesome product Apple has ever built in it's category till they build the next one. The Ads have had one actor, the product.
But the question is are these Ads even meant for people like us? I currently own every possible Apple device in all the major product lineups except a Mac Pro. I wonder if people who are reading this post or complaining on Twitter, fall in the same category, broadly. See the thing is Apple has got us hooked. All they now need to do is keep making these products better and we will rush to buy them. The keynote, the billboards showing just an iPad are enough to get us to pay for the next shiny device. So strategically it is wiser to target those who are still on the edge. I know so many of my friends who have been pondering to get one, but can't because they are not sure if they want to invest time in learning a new OS, after having been used something else for years. Remember the average, the common world is not like us. They do not get excited to download the next OS because it has that one feature that we have really wanted for a long time.
People who have been using a PC or some other OS for years and are worried that if they buy a Mac (which they might be tempted to), they would not be able to make a seamless transition. Those people are the perfect target group for these ads. Sure the ads are not cool. They are not jaw dropping or emotional like most of the Apple ads in the recent past have been. But they get the point across. The point that help is available at the Apple Store. That Apple Store is not a place to just buy a new Mac or go for repair. But it is a place to go when you need any kind of help or advice or have the slightest doubt about your Apple device. Go find a Genius and they will help you, no matter what your problem is. That's a strong message to convoke people who are on the edge.
I would go a step further an say, that this is an Ad for Apple Store as a go to place. Advertisement about people who work at the Genius bar, and everything that comes with buying an Apple product. An Ad for the Apple way of things.
Footnotes
[1] I often visit the Youtube page of Apple to see how the Ads have evolved over the years.
[2] I think the Siri ads are meant to do something similar. I have never found it easy to use Siri because of behavioral reasons. I don't want to be seen talking to my phone and everyone around me knowing that I need to be reminded to buy grocery tonight. But the ads, showing celebrities are to remind, ingrain into us that, it's OK. It's normal. And that, it is not awkward.
[3] For the love of God, please don't raise the "This is what happens now that Steve is not around" card every time Apple does something that does not serve your misaligned sense of what Apple is supposed to do. I am pretty sure most of the folks at Apple are smart and talented enough to know how to do this better than any one of us.