Michael Tsai - Blog - Advertising Cognitive Dissonance
Friday, July 24, 2026
Advertising Cognitive Dissonance
John Gruber (Mastodon):
This to me is proof that Apple leadership is suffering from cognitive dissonance over their slide into advertising. They’re conflating cause and effect. The Apple brand stands for high-quality superior user experiences because the devices and software Apple makes traditionally deliver high-quality superior user experiences. The work Apple ships is what makes the brand what it is. But now they’re stricken with the mindset that it’s the Apple brand that makes something a high-quality superior experience.
[…]
If you refuse to admit that the ads make these services worse, you also can’t admit that there’s a reason to offer an ad-free experience. So the thinking is something like “Apple always focuses on the user experience, and never deliberately makes the user experience worse. Therefore, if an Apple service shows ads, those ads are high quality and don’t detract from the quality of the product or the experience of using it. Therefore, there’s no reason to offer users a paid ad-free tier, because there’s no reason to want to avoid Apple’s ads.”
What a brand stands for can change over time. It’s eventually determined by the products, not the mantras.
“It just works.”
“A thousand no’s for every yes.”
“What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone.”
“Music runs deep in Apple’s DNA.”
“Design is how it works.”
Manton Reece (2010):
I feel bad admitting it, because some of my friends are betting on iAd revenue to feed their family, but I’m just not on board with Apple running an advertising network. I don’t want to see ads in my apps, and I don’t want Apple to ever lose even a little of what it means to be a product-driven company.
Previously:
Apple Financial Statements: Products vs. Services
App Store Personalized Recommendations and Keylogging
Ads in Apple Maps
Apple News Scam Ads
More App Store Ad Spots
Alan Dye Leaving Apple for Meta
Apps for YouTube℠™®•!
Giving Up on Siri and HomePod
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Permissions Requests
Warren Buffett’s Paper Wizard
Advertising Apple Maps Apple News Apple Services Business iOS iOS 26 Mac macOS Tahoe 26 Marketing
9 Comments<br>RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
Dave Polaschek
July 24, 2026 3:32 PM
Yeah,I had decided over a year ago I wouldn't ever buy another Apple product. Way to make me feel even more certain about that decision, Apple.
Niall
July 24, 2026 6:38 PM
Yeah Apple are so far down the slippery advertising slope already there's no way they're going to start clambering back up. Such a shame as they could really have set themselves up as the no-ads Operating System.
Google and Microsoft are even worse, of course, so Apple have that fact to help them justify their own step down in quality - but their actions prove that 'customer satisfaction' is way down the list of their priorities.
Consumer good will takes years to build up and can be lost in an instant. I think some / many Apple executives don't fully appreciate this danger as they chase greater and yet greater profit.
Dave
July 24, 2026 10:03 PM
Hope this link is posted:
https://www.cultofmac.com/news/apple-store-app-ai-shopping-assistant
Quote just in case:
"The Apple Store app’s privacy policy just got a new section titled “Virtual Shopping Assistant.” The company says the feature will use your account information, device identifiers, carrier details, and chat history to personalize responses. And if you allow location access, that gets factored in too."
SERIOUSLY???
So much for "privacy first", and everything else that may go along with positive changes with Apple like what is discussed in this post. The first comment (yeah, a different Dave) said something I'm still hoping to avoid... never buying another Apple product. Retired at 68 I'm too old to get acclimated to something like Linux (help, anyone?) much less going back to FireFox with yet more CONSTANT updates. I have what choices? HELP.
Damien
July 25, 2026 2:59 AM
> The work Apple ships is what makes the brand what it is. But now they’re stricken with the mindset that it’s the Apple brand that makes something a high-quality superior experience.
How naive Gruber is? Why does he think that Tim hired Angela Ahrendts for?
Apple is brand driven since a decade at least.
Kristoffer
July 25, 2026 4:21 AM
I think Gruber is over thinking the process behind Apple accepting ads in their services.
I think the only thought that went into it was how to make more money.
No one at the top is thinking about user experiences any more. It's all about making number go up
Jax Maihov
July 25, 2026 5:11 AM
@Kristoffer I think your thinking that Gruber over-thought the process behind Apple accepting...