Apple Pulls Ad Campaign Fronted by SNL Star Just One Day After Its Debut

Saturday Night Live writer/performer Martin Herlihy’s latest on-screen gig was short-lived.

The Please Don’t Destroy member starred in a new Apple back-to-school campaign aimed at college-bound teens—but the seven-minute branded short was quietly pulled from Apple’s YouTube channel just one day after its debut late last week.

In the video, Herlihy played a fictionalized version of himself guiding high schoolers through “The Parent Presentation”—an actual downloadable slideshow designed to help students convince their parents to buy them a MacBook. What started as a motivational pitch quickly unraveled into absurd chaos, complete with gymnasium awkwardness and PDD-style deadpan.

The short also marked a reunion for Herlihy and several SNL film unit regulars, including director Tim Wilkime, cinematographer Lance Kuhns, and editor Paul Del Gesso. In a since-deleted Instagram post, Herlihy joked about the collaboration:

“As an #ApplePartner and America’s leading expert on teenagers, it was 0% surprising when Apple personally asked me to help out with the Parent Presentation.”

Apple has not explained why it had pulled the video down, but apparently not everyone found the concept charming. The campaign drew criticism on social media for being “cringe,” “out of touch,” and even “manipulative.” The video is no longer accessible through official channels, although the presentation link remains active for now.

Meanwhile, a YouTuber with the handle “Phone Trailers” apparently captured the ad and uploaded a copy of it to their channel that was still live at press time:

While Please Don’t Destroy has taken on ad campaigns both inside and outside the walls of SNL, fronting solo brand partnerships are a less common occurrence for the group’s members. The most active in that regard has been Ben Marshall, who has appeared in spots for Away, Beats, and Goldfish .

Apple Ad or not, Herlilhy ias making the most of his summer off from SNL. Recent weeks have seen him in Atlanta shooting his role in The Breadwinner, the feature film debut of breakout SNL host Nate Bargatze whose cast also includes Colin Jost and Will Forte.

Herlihy and his PDD cohorts also have a number of items on their agenda together. As we’ve reported, the group has a string of live dates planned for this summer and a tour documentary/special on the way.

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