While many tech fans are swooning over Apple's upcoming event on 4 March, rival brand Nothing has attempted to hijack the hype with its own exciting launch. The cheeky ad appropriation quite literally has Nothing written all over it, reinforcing the brand's role as tech's evolving counter culture pioneer.
While Nothing fans seemed suitably amused by the playful stunt, some criticised the announcement for 'stealing' Apple's thunder. As the leading force behind some of the tech world's best adverts, competing with Apple seems futile, a fact that Nothing's new ad unapologetically embraces. If you can't beat 'em, hijack 'em.
pic.twitter.com/W14DWrQ75PFebruary 17, 2026
When the new 'Apple Experience' invite dropped, fans launched into a flurry of theories, with many hopeful for the launch of new colourful MacBooks. Cutting through the hype, Nothing decided to drop its own product launch, spray painting 'Nothing' and '5th March' right over Apple's stripped back minimalist design.
While the appropriated invite is suitably cryptic, fans suspect that the date marks the announcement of the highly anticipated Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, sneakily launching the day after the new Apple release to boast Nothing's affordable pricing. The provocative announcement was, let's face it, probably made to piss off a few Apple fans, and that it did (perhaps a little too well).
"Okay, that's just a disgusting move... Think of something creative next time," one critic heatedly responded. "How very professional and mature of you," another sarcastically wrote. It seems Nothing has even lost a customer with the risky move, after one critic responded, "Hope nothing/android fans are happy with this. Because I was just thinking of buying Nothing as my second phone along with iPhone and this just shows what a cheap company yours is. So no more nothing phones for me." (I'm sure Nothing's marketing team is wiping away their tears as we speak.)
In a world of sterile, minimalist tech branding, I find Nothing the most exciting and engaging brand on the market today (you only have to look at its recent bizarre post to understand why). Unapologetically fun and unafraid to ruffle feathers, the brand's oftentimes provocative energy is a breath of fresh air. For more Nothing news, check out our Nothing Phone (3) review to find out why it surprised us.
