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Comedian Ellen DeGeneres apologizes for iPhone commercial parody - Page 2

post #41 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post

1- It doesn't sound funny. 2- Apple is stupid for complaining 3- She is stupid for apologizing.

Seconded.
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post #42 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:27pm
She should be ashamed for accepting to apologize.
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post #43 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by g3pro View Post

Unbelievable. Apple needs thicker skin.

Apple is under massive and coordinated attack at the moment and they're responding in a defensive mode. What else would you expect them to do?
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post #44 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by voodooru View Post

Mod edit: Do. Not. Quote. Trolls.:

Care to try being a little mature?
Nah... Wouldn't expect that from a child.
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post #45 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post

Nothing to do with protecting Apple from comedians but remember Apple is a major sponsor of Idol where no doubt she is very well paid. So it was tactless for her to do the skit in the first place as it would be for any personality that makes money from a sponsor to make fun of their product. Perhaps this could explain the apology.

the late night talk show hosts lampoon their networks all the time.
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post #46 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:38pm
It seemed pretty funny to me... Imagine trying to do tech-support for someone that bad at using the phone!

Reminds me of a situation where the computer lab instructor of a class told everyone to "use the mouse to click the button" and one of the students, not knowing how to use a mouse, actually put the mouse against the monitor to attempt the click!
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post #47 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GQB View Post

Care to try being a little mature?
Nah... Wouldn't expect that from a child.

I'm being as mature as Apple.
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post #48 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:45pm
i don't like her show, but that was funny. and her apology was funny too. hmm.
:-D * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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:-D * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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post #49 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:49pm
I wish AppleInsider was able to let me view this video on my iPad.
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post #50 of 147
5/4/10 at 8:50pm
Dear Mr. Macintosh, Apple needs to get an iClue and a sense of humor. Rather than getting bent out of shape over a comedians joke, they need to watch their own house and monitor those prototypes being left at the brewhouses and massege parlors around town. Be thankful that Apple products are so popular that they are becoming verbs and that nearly everyone actually "gets" the joke. BTW, I could not watch the clip posted because it was flash.
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post #51 of 147
5/4/10 at 9:03pm
I think a lot of people are missing the real problem that Apple had here with this "bit".
It was a network broadcast of a simulated (look-alike) Apple commercial for the iPhone.

If she had just did a "bit" where she starts talking about here fantastic iPhone; and then she takes it out; and has it projected on the studio screen while she shows everybody a bunch of "neato" things about it (but is constantly flubbing it up (like she did in the mock commercial); and everybody laughs, etc. etc. I think Apple would have reacted differently (if at all)

She went to the trouble to make it look like an Apple commercial, AND to make it look like the device, generally, sort of sucks to boot.

She can actually be quite funny. I remember here really old standup specials. Great self-effacing stuff (which she attempted here) It's just that making this look like an Apple commercial made the iPhone look klutzy, rather than herself.
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post #52 of 147
5/4/10 at 9:12pm
i don't think it was funny at all...it was stupid enough to make me believe it could have been a pr move by apple...but who knows

ellen's show is a bullshit program in which she invites people and tells them how much she loves them and everything they do. i don't buy it at all.

i can't get over how lame the fake commercial and her apology were...if you think something is so great...why mock it? it doesn't make sense to me...
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post #53 of 147
5/4/10 at 9:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GQB View Post

Apple is under massive and coordinated attack at the moment and they're responding in a defensive mode. What else would you expect them to do?

You're right. Ellen is clearly a part of the gizmodo conspiracy. REACT should be dispatched immediately.

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post #54 of 147
5/4/10 at 9:16pm
Millions of fans watch Ellen.

Whether she wants to admit it or not, she has influence on those viewers.

If she said a Ford automobile had defective airbags you bet your ass she's going to make an apology.
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post #55 of 147
5/4/10 at 9:23pm
The best way for Apple to have handled this would have been for Steve to appear on the show the next day to personally show Ellen how to use the phone. No interview, just a 30 second tutorial from teh Steve. And then give each audience member a phone or iPad. Could have been funny and fantastic ad/pr.
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post #56 of 147
5/4/10 at 9:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by isaidso View Post

I think a lot of people are missing the real problem that Apple had here with this "bit". It was a network broadcast of a simulated (look-alike) Apple commercial for the iPhone.

It seems that the only problem is the people that would take an Onion story seriously. I don't know if they really should want that kind of customer, but money is money, hopefully they don't cause too many support problems. But I suppose humor impairment doesn't necessarily mean lack of intelligence, at least it means a momentary lapse of thinking.
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post #57 of 147
5/4/10 at 9:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by voodooru View Post

Mod Edit: Don't feed the trolls..

He has navy people working for him?
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post #58 of 147
5/4/10 at 10:39pm
Ellen > Finding Nemo > Pixar > Steve Jobs

Could have something to do with it....
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post #59 of 147
5/4/10 at 10:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DESuserIGN View Post

Oh come on.
Who even says Apple officially contacted her?

indeed. who knows who contacted her or what was said. she could be spinning this to make another joke. rather than telling the full truth

i am not really shocked at the idea that someone at Apple didn't think it was so funny. I myself thought it was pretty lame.
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post #60 of 147
5/4/10 at 10:47pm
apple really needs to take it easy. everyone (and yes apple even you) will get made fun of. next thing you know their gonna break down ellens door demanding the tape!
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post #61 of 147
5/4/10 at 10:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris_CA View Post

He has navy people working for him?

hehe

FYI - why yes, you don't know about NCIS? (they're a part of REACT)

or perhaps you should watch more TV?
May the Blue Bird of Happiness leave a deposit with you and yours.
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May the Blue Bird of Happiness leave a deposit with you and yours.
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post #62 of 147
5/4/10 at 11:13pm
Regime Apple.
If they are trying to be unsymphatetic they are doing well the past few months.
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post #63 of 147
5/4/10 at 11:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WelshDog View Post

The best way for Apple to have handled this would have been for Steve to appear on the show the next day to personally show Ellen how to use the phone. No interview, just a 30 second tutorial from teh Steve. And then give each audience member a phone or iPad. Could have been funny and fantastic ad/pr.

Amen. Handing out ipads to the public would be expensive though but yes, it be the best pr stunt :-)
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post #64 of 147
5/4/10 at 11:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhyde View Post

perhaps someone needs to learn how to tell a joke :-)

Hehe... yeeeah, I thought it was kind of funny. Especially the opening joke where she presses the map. But ending with iPhone 3Gs logo and the corporate logo... I understand Apple's blood pressure must have boomed.

The way she apologized though I thought was very humble and down to earth. She didn't need to, no, but it's a nice gesture, good karma and she didn't at all make herself or Apple look bad. Apple was upset, and she got them to calm in a very humble and sincere way.
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post #65 of 147
5/5/10 at 2:12am
This happens pretty frequently.

Ellen's salary on American Idol is paid partially by Apple, and she forgot that when she did the parody.

Why do you think the American television news sugar coats the american oil industry and car industry, rarely names specific fast food restaurants when they're reporting about how awful they are, almost never expose how shitty health insurance companies are, etc etc.

Because they don't want to lose all that sweet money!
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post #66 of 147
5/5/10 at 3:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Superbass View Post

This happens pretty frequently.

Ellen's salary on American Idol is paid partially by Apple, and she forgot that when she did the parody.

Why do you think the American television news sugar coats the american oil industry and car industry, rarely names specific fast food restaurants when they're reporting about how awful they are, almost never expose how shitty health insurance companies are, etc etc.

Because they don't want to lose all that sweet money!

Every NATO allies News is brought to you by a conglomeration of corporations. Next.
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post #67 of 147
5/5/10 at 3:28am
Considering we have no clue what Apple's or an Appe's employee contact with Ellen was seems a bit of jumping to conslusion here.

Could be a simple as "Hey, you know we are an advertiser for yours show, and we didn't think that iPhone parody was very funny considering simplicity is our #1 advertising point."

No threats, no lawyers, just a reaction which is normal.

Frankly I have no problem with iproduct parodies since they are generally funny, (aka Mad TV 1-2-3-4 parody), but saying iPhones are hard to use, that's funny, really?
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post #68 of 147
5/5/10 at 3:35am
A J O K E "Mr. Macintosh". Lighten the fu&^ck up. Jesus Christ (no not you Steve), life is pretty god damn short, you of all people should know this. If you can't find something funny in what people are saying about your products, then I suggest you take some more time off, and let others do this for you. Laugh and get on with the next part of your day.

Let folks ENJOY life and laugh a little. What is it going to hurt?

First off you got FREE air time, and then you got some MORE free air time, for that kudos.

Remember folks "Laughter IS the BEST Medicine"!

Skip
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post #69 of 147
5/5/10 at 3:51am
Ellen The Degenerate at it again!
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post #70 of 147
5/5/10 at 3:57am
good stuff.
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post #71 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dualie View Post

Not sure who looks the bigger fool here, Apple for complaining or DeGeneres for apologizing.

Apple, because DeGeneres probably got a big fat cheque for it and the fawning followup.
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post #72 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post

Nothing to do with protecting Apple from comedians but remember Apple is a major sponsor of Idol where no doubt she is very well paid. So it was tactless for her to do the skit in the first place as it would be for any personality that makes money from a sponsor to make fun of their product. Perhaps this could explain the apology.

Except that she wasn't making fun of the product, she was making fun of baby boomers using technology. And it was spot on.

You and Apple both need a sense of humor. Apple is the one that comes off tactless and über-lame by making Ellen do an on-air apology.
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post #73 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoopmac View Post

Not defending Apple's reaction, but my guess is that it comes down to the fact that Apple is a signature sponsor of American Idol. This must cost millions. Since Ellen is a judge of American Idol, they are probably not thrilled with her poking fun at their products.

Precisely.

For this reason I would never believe that Apple has been stupid enough to ask for public apologies, which only makes them look worse. A warning must have been enough.

So I suppose the relationship between DeGeneres and Apple has not become any better now that she did come back to the subject in public...

Glad she did it though - apologizing makes her seem a bit stupid at first, but as a sarcastic way to discomfort Apple a bit more after their dorky complaint, there is actually something cool about it.
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post #74 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:22am
Ellen might have been straying into a bit of misrepresentation here. It's not actually satire or parody, which are situations that no reasonable person would believe to be true. Ellen depicted the iPhone as hard to use (regardless of her intent), aping the Apple-style commercial, and then followed up with the iPhone 3G and Apple logos. We've got potential copyright issues, libel issues, etc.
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post #75 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HiroProtagonist View Post

Except that she wasn't making fun of the product, she was making fun of baby boomers using technology. And it was spot on.

You and Apple both need a sense of humor. Apple is the one that comes off tactless and über-lame by making Ellen do an on-air apology.

You need to read the first few words I wrote again, I stated I wasn't passing judgment nor defending Apple. I have an excellent sense of humor thank you. I was simply hazarding a guess at her reason for apologizing, i.e. perhaps a sponsorship agreement was in place ... I have no idea ... it was just a suggestion. There are numerous cases of celebs getting in trouble from sponsors due to things they say and do that are outside the guidelines of the conditions of sponsorship. BTW I come to this blog to chat with smart people with similar interests not jump down the throats of people I disagree with and make personal attacks.
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Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
Long on AAPL so biased. Strong advocate for separation of technology and politics on AI.
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post #76 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doxxic View Post

Precisely.

For this reason I would never believe that Apple has been stupid enough to ask for public apologies, which only makes them look worse. A warning must have been enough.

So I suppose the relationship between DeGeneres and Apple has not become any better now that she did come back to the subject in public...

Glad she did it though - apologizing makes her seem a bit stupid at first, but as a sarcastic way to discomfort Apple a bit more after their dorky complaint, there is actually something cool about it.

Agreed, and it may not even have been Apple that recognized a potential sponsorship gaff (assuming that theory even has any legs) it could have been her own staff or Idol's.
Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
Long on AAPL so biased. Strong advocate for separation of technology and politics on AI.
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Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
Long on AAPL so biased. Strong advocate for separation of technology and politics on AI.
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post #77 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:45am
If Apple really did complain, it's almost certainly misuse of corporate logos. Apple has to protect their trademarks or they lose them. The Apple brand is worth a TON of money which they have to protect.

Apple didn't complain about the other people who make fun of them - because the others didn't misuse Apple's trademarks by making their jokes look like a real Apple ad.

You folks are the ones who need to lighten up.
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post #78 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhyde View Post

perhaps someone needs to learn how to take a joke :-)

Corrected.

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Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others.
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post #79 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HiroProtagonist View Post

Except that she wasn't making fun of the product, she was making fun of baby boomers using technology. And it was spot on.

You and Apple both need a sense of humor. Apple is the one that comes off tactless and über-lame by making Ellen do an on-air apology.

Exactly. As I said before, this exactly mirrors my 60-year-old mom trying to use my iPhone. I'm sure some of you will respond back saying that "any idiot can use an iPhone", but not everyone simply "gets it" -- especially if you've never used a touch interface before.
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post #80 of 147
5/5/10 at 4:59am
Come on, Apple bashers. This is not SJ writing from his iPad. This is someone deep in the bowels of the legal department being, well, litigious. The parody most likely crossed some legal boundary with logos and trademarks and likely has nothing to do with content. Some attorney did her job. That is what they are paid to do.

Naturally, Ellen did not come out and say that she crossed some boring, oblique legal boundary; she got as much mileage out of it as she could. That is exactly what a good comedian should do. Her apology was much funnier than the original joke. It wouldn't surprise me if there was no contact from Apple. The producers may have found that the joke fell somewhat flat, and found a way to spice it up.

Finally, if this was really a serious legal action from Apple, I think they would have demanded something more than an apology. This is not a playground. If they thought they were damaged, they would likely have demanded damages. People who are complaining that Apple should grow a sense of humor just don't get it. If Apple is really involved in this, then this IS Apple's sense of humor. It is some of the posters around here that should lighten up.
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