Why Apple is Flooding TikTok With ‘Unhinged' Videos
Apple has unveiled a new marketing strategy on TikTok, posting a number of intentionally odd videos to advertise their new low-cost, colorful MacBook Neo.
The MacBook Neo was announced last week starting at $599. The laptop will be available on Wednesday and Applesays it will help you, “fly through everyday tasks.”
The A18 Pro chip, “breezes through your go‑to apps and [artificial intelligence] activities, putting power and efficiency at your fingertips,” the tech giant claimed in its marketing.
However, on TikTok-where absurdist and surreal content often generates a lot of engagement-Apple struck a different tone with its marketing campaign, which one viralReddit thread on the r/Apple forum described as “unhinged.”
‘Welcome to the world’
Apple took down all of its other TikTok content-the company now has just 12 videos live on its official account.
The first is an announcement.
“Welcome to the world, MacBook Neo, weighing 2.7 pounds, 13 inches, arriving March 11th, 2026,” the company wrote in the caption of a video of a MacBook Neo, as confetti pops and balloons rise to the ceiling.
From there, Apple’s videos got more absurdist, but they all followed themes of the Neo’s colorways: Silver, Blush, Citrus and Indigo.
In one video, a lemon makes a FaceTime call with a lime, complete with classic camera angles.
In another, the MacOS logo blinks twice, then opens its eyes wide and blushes.
Not every video was quite so obvious, however: In one, a circle of hands painted blue are filmed from above and they turn over to display their palms.
The next clip is blue water sloshing, before a clip showing single blue hand, which also turns over.
“Apple,” one critic asked in response to the blue hands video, “what the heck are you doing?”
‘The new generation’
A number of commentators, however, thought the videos worked quite well.
AppleInsider called the ad campaign, “a very rare demonstration of a company ‘getting it’,” pointing to Gen Z‘s and Gen Alpha‘s tendency toward surreal content on social media.
“90's Apple is back in full force, updated for the new generation,” a pundit on Reddit noted.
Many other contributors agreed.
“Honestly, I love it,” a fan declared, adding, “I hate modern ads, they’re too formal and safe. It feels like a corporate training video.”
Elsewhere, “I love how some people are trying to make this a, ‘Ugh Gen Z/Alpha are so weird, this is brain rot,’ as if those Gushers commercials from the 90s don't exist,” an individual offered.
Newsweek has reached out to Apple for comment via email.
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This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 8:45 AM.