Criticism
Apple's advertising has come under criticism for allegedly copying other creative works and for inaccurate depictions of product functionality. A 2005 iPod campaign starring rapper Eminem, called "Detroit" was criticized for being similar to a previous campaign for Lugz boots. Lugz subsequently sent Apple a cease and desist letter to stop running the iPod ad.
Artist Christian Marclay denied Apple the rights to his 1995 short film "Telephones" to market their iPhone, but then decided against filing suit when Apple ran a similar ad during the 2007 Academy Awards broadcast.
In July 2007, Colorado-based photographer Louie Psihoyos filed suit against Apple for ripping his "wall of videos" imagery to advertise for Apple TV. Apple had allegedly been negotiating with Psihoyos for rights to the imagery, but backed out and promptly used the imagery anyway.
More recently, Apple has been criticized for its iPhone ads, which depict much faster network speeds than are realistically possible on current 3G network infrastructure, although they do include a disclaimer explaining that fact. In August 2008, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK had banned one iPhone ad from further broadcast in its current form due to "misleading claims". The ASA took issue with the ads' claim that "all parts of the internet are on the iPhone", when the device does not support Java or Flash. The newer iPhone ads show a caption, 'Sequence Shortened' at the beginning.
In 2012 Apple risked being fined millions of dollars in Australia for persistently branding its 2012 iPad as being 4G capable even though the iPad is not compatible with Australia's 4G network. Despite offering to refund customers for all iPads sold in Australia the iPad will still be branded "WiFi + 4G" and consequently, the matter will be proceeding to a full trial in court. Apple Inc. has agreed to pay A$2.25 million penalty for misleading Australian customers about its iPad being 4G capable.
Read more about this topic: Apple Inc. Advertising
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“A friend of mine spoke of books that are dedicated like this: “To my wife, by whose helpful criticism ...” and so on. He said the dedication should really read: “To my wife. If it had not been for her continual criticism and persistent nagging doubt as to my ability, this book would have appeared in Harper’s instead of The Hardware Age.””
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)
“In criticism I will be bold, and as sternly, absolutely just with friend and foe. From this purpose nothing shall turn me.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845)
“... criticism ... makes very little dent upon me, unless I think there is some real justification and something should be done.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)