Apple released the latest short film on it Underdogs: OOO (Out of Office) series set in Thailand. The tech giant scrapped it over complaints about the unusual portrayal of Thailand and its people in certain scenes.
reports that Apple has issued an apology to the people of Thailand for its fifth film The subordinates series. The series of ads features a group of tired itinerant office workers who travel around the world using various Apple products.
Several viewers posted comments criticizing the film’s use of a sepia filter to make Thailand appear underdeveloped. Commentary also flagged the cost and location decisions in the airport scene using outdated representations of Thai citizens.
Sattra Sripan, spokesperson for Thailand’s House of Representatives committee on tourism, called for a boycott of the ad.
“Thai people are very happy with this ad,” Sripan said in a statement. “I encourage Thai people to stop using Apple products and switch to other brands.”
Apple issued an apology for the ad shortly after removing it from YouTube. The lawmakers also invited Apple representatives to visit them to discuss the ads and how they portrayed Thailand in the film.
“Our intention was to celebrate the hope and culture of the country, and we apologize for not fully experiencing the vibrancy of Thailand today,” the statement read.
This is the second time this year that Apple has apologized for the commercial. that it said AdAge “missed the mark” for its new slim iPad Pro. The commercial features a large air compressor that crushes a large collection of materials used to represent artistic endeavors such as musical instruments, paints, a standard arcade cabinet, and camera equipment. The steel crusher smooths everything flat and lifts to reveal a solid iPad sitting on a steel block below that the voiceover describes as “the most powerful iPad ever made so small.”
Musicians, musicians and other creatives were outraged by the ad’s tone suggesting that artificial AI would replace human creative efforts. Apple has vowed not to run the ad on TV but on its YouTube page as the comment section has been turned off.
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