Apple marketing video insults an entire country forcing the tech giant to take it down
Apple has taken down the latest episode of its humorous video series "The Underdogs" which was released on July 18th. The series started in 2019 and focuses on the antics of a group of four employees who started as employees of a small packaging unit that was owned by a larger company. The four use Apple devices exclusively and the point of these videos is to show how well these products fare in the office due to their numerous features.
Past episodes showed the four having to work from home thanks to COVID, and recently they quit their jobs to start their own company called "Better Bags." Of course, the new company relies onApple devices like the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and added in the latest video, the Vision Pro. The episodes have attracted a large number of viewers with the third video generating more than 33 million views.
But Apple today removed the latest video titled "OOO (Out of Office)" which showed three of our heroes flying to Thailand to source a large order for boxes from a crazy CEO. The fourth Underdog, at home nursing a broken leg, monitored the trip using FaceTime. He also used his Vision Pro to turn his bedroom into a workspace (and the ceiling of his room became a movie screen).
It all sounds like a typical video from this series but many went online to criticize Apple for the way it depicted Thailand in the video. The company did work with a local production company in the country but the video still showed the Underdogs staying at a run-down hotel (before changing reservations to a swankier place). Other scenes from the video garnering complaints showed the trio riding a Thai tuk-tuk (a motorized three -wheeled taxi), and conversing with characters that could be considered stereotypes.
Apple might have felt pressure to withdraw the ad and apologize after a spokesperson for a Thai committee of the House of Representatives said yesterday that "Thai people are deeply unhappy with the advertisement. I encourage Thai people to stop using Apple products and change to other brands." After Apple apologized, the same spokesman said this morning, "Let’s look at the positive side. Apple has shown a real intention to do business in Thailand."
"Our intent was to celebrate the country’s optimism and culture, and we apologize for not fully capturing the vibrancy of Thailand today. The film is no longer being aired."-Apple
Earlier this year, Apple also apologized and removed an ad for the new iPad Pro models it announced in May. The ad, titled "Crush," was created to show how thin the new iPad Pro tablets are. The video showed what appeared to be a hydraulic press crushing and destroying many items such as musical instruments, arcade-style video games, an Angry Bird ceramic piggy bank, a record player, and more.
Apple's latest episode of "The Underdogs" is no longer available on the company's YouTube channel and other platforms. For those not familiar with the series, we've included the previous episode of the series called "Swiped Mac" with this article.
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