Hey everyone, there's a billboard that holds legendary status among GTA players—considered a traditional promotional hotspot for the series—but it's now been taken over by an iPhone ad for Apple's new phone. Recently, a user named PRESERKER posted about this on X, and it blew up immediately. The tweet racked up 565,000 views, and plenty of players were furious, ranting: "Damn Apple, you actually snatched away one of GTA's most iconic limited-time marketing spots!"
Fans familiar with the series know this real-world billboard is no ordinary one. Back when GTA 4 and GTA 5 were about to launch, Take-Two (2K) both set their sights on this location to run pre-release ads for the games. It's a nostalgic landmark in the hearts of veteran players. Now, when you look up, it's all covered in Apple's new phone ads—the nostalgia got hijacked, and the player community instantly erupted into chaos.
The comment section is absolutely saturated with memes. Some players joked with in-game references: "That's why I switched to iFruit—Lifeinvader is online." You see, the iFruit is the fictional phone in the GTA universe that parodies Apple, while Lifeinvader is the game's spoof of Facebook as a social platform. This level of irony is trolling carved into their DNA.
Of course, there are also optimistic players who point out that there's still time before launch—plenty of it—so Rockstar could still have a chance to grab this spot for a GTA 6 ad. But many are sweating it, just hoping Apple's ad lease doesn't run longer than a month. Some players even complained they'd rather see the billboard keep showing the ad for that old flip phone from the games than have it occupied by iPhone. Some even went so far as to speculate whether Apple had jumped ahead and locked down a long-term contract for this ad space.
So here's the question: can this billboard still wait for a GTA 6 poster? The truth is, ad spaces like this are leased through bidding and contracts—they're not Rockstar's exclusive private reserve. Besides, the new promotional strategy is already quite diverse: the giant Vice City billboard in Miami and the "Berger"-themed offline pop-up stores have already been arranged. Even if this classic spot is missed this time, it doesn't mean GTA 6's offline marketing push will be absent.
That said, looking at it from another angle—Rockstar has always loved satirizing big tech companies. Maybe this time they can pull off a reverse troll and take a savage jab at Apple right inside the game. So, folks, do you think Rockstar still has a chance to win back this billboard? Share your thoughts in the comments!