Another Apple ad campaign crashes and burns under pressure from viewers

AppleInsider

Just two weeks after release, the latest chapter of Apple's "The Underdogs: OOO" has been pulled, under withering criticism from the Thailand government and viewers.

Actor and comedian Mia Schauffler stars in a new "Underdogs" ad for Apple

Back in 2019

, "The Underdogs" was a seemingly one-off ad showing a group of office colleagues. Since then, it's become a whole series of adventures in advertising.

In the style of 2023's episode, the new edition is a ten-minute comedy thriller called "The Underdogs: OOO (Out of Office)." Having left their corporate office jobs to start a company in 2022's video, the team is now trying to secure an order for their packaging business.

For most of the video, most of the team are racing around Thailand trying to meet the quantities and design demands of their client.

But, the response to the latest chapter of the ad effort was not positive. Apple came under fire on social media for being insensitive to Thailand's modernization.

The company was also slammed for depicting the country as backwards, and criticized for other production aspects that were viewed as not showing Thailand in a positive light.

As they will, politicians seized on the public backlash to make their own points.

"Thai people are deeply unhappy with the advertisement," head of the country's tourism committee Sattra Saipan said on Thursday. "I encourage Thai people to stop using Apple products and change to other brands."

Like with the iPad Pro "Crush" ad campaign blowback, the response from Apple was relatively swift. The video was removed, and the company made a rare statement about the matter.

"Our intent was to celebrate the country's optimism and culture," Apple said in a statement. We apologize for not fully capturing the vibrancy of Thailand today."

The video is still mirrored here and there on unofficial venues. But as of Friday morning, it has been withdrawn from Apple's distribution methods.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin appears to have put the matter behind him.

"Let's look at the positive side," he said. "Apple has shown a real intention to do business in Thailand."

The "Underdogs" saga is Apple's third advertising mis-step in less than a year. Apple's iPad Pro "Crush" ad showed paints, guitars, toys, sculptures, and more, all being crushed by a hydraulic press, which then rises up again to reveal the iPad Pro. Artists quickly pointed out the ad was insensitive -- and potentially disturbing.

While the ad was meant to highlight how many features were packed into Apple's thinnest product ever, many creatives felt it more allegorical to technology crushing human creativity.

"Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world," Apple's company's VP of marketing communications said in a statement at the time. "Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry."

Apple then pulled that ad.

And before then, during the iPhone 15 event in September, Apple aired a five-minute comedy sketch meant to highlight the company's environmental efforts. Instead, most viewers found the ad awkward and repetitive.



Read on AppleInsider

Cesar Battistini Maziero

The video was great! People are getting so miserable.

robin huber

Glad I saw it when I did! A hoot. A did wonder, though, about the broad humor of the main Thai character. But there were many other local characters played more naturalistically to balance. Maybe they can “fix” it with computer graphic editing!

mikethemartian

One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster

Stabitha_Christie

Cesar Battistini Maziero said:

The video was great! People are getting so miserable.

Who’s gracious of you to designate yourself as the gatekeeper of how the citizens of another country should feel about their depiction. Why would you ever want to let people speak for themselves, that would just be ridiculous.  

jib

I thought both commercials were interesting, and fun to watch.  People do get overly sensitive however.

ducarmur

Apple owes no one an apology for any of their commercials. mind you, no other company does. if you don't like it CHANGE THE CHANNEL. The ad was one of the funniest I have seen in a while, very entertaining. Keep it up and put on some big man pants and stop succumbing to people pressure.

I agree with a few commenters points ----- people are too sensitive because they have an invisible voice ---- social media!!

The EVIL we have created.

lotones

Stabitha_Christie said:

Cesar Battistini Maziero said:

The video was great! People are getting so miserable.

Who’s gracious of you to designate yourself as the gatekeeper of how the citizens of another country should feel about their depiction. Why would you ever want to let people speak for themselves, that would just be ridiculous.  

Over-sensitivity to something as mundane as a well-intentioned ad is a symptom of the pervasive intolerance infesting our planet.

People need to get over themselves and lighten up. There are a lot more important things to get upset about.

eriamjh

So places in Thailand are not like they are depicted in the ad?

gcc

I thought it was good. They were telling a story and it was nicely done. I’ve spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia and no, not everywhere is like that, but some parts are and when you get unlucky (a theme of the story) you find those situations.

kellie

It’s amusing seeing a super woke company like Apple getting skewered and canceled by the woke culture that has proliferated the world.  A culture Apple has helped to create and spread. Is it ironic or hypocritical of Apple - the way their product announcements are made, embracing environmentalism, DEI, LGBTQ, etc. - to produce advertising content that triggers the demographics they try to appeal to and highlight?  Just goes to show, when you get wrapped up in the politics of diversity, super sensitivity to particular groups of people and a general sense of pandering to so many sub groups of people, that you can’t succeed because you can’t please everybody, all the time.  I enjoyed the commercial.  It was very humorous.  The cinematography was top notch. It was a fun story line.  Bottom line, in the end, the Thai boxing company was able to produce the 500,000 boxes the company needed to please their very unlikeable customer Chad. Thailand you delivered the goods.  Now everyone , take a chill pill. 

SkylightActive

Personally, I feel the whole banning of this ad in Thailand is a lil overkill. Having said that this movement started with Western Expats living in Bangkok / Thailand who felt that Apple had misrepresented a place they now call home. To which Thai people caught wind and rallied with it. 

Extremism imagery like the use of the old airport terminal which hasn't been used for 15 years, or places that you'd have to really dig in to find such conditions is very far from truth. Not to say that there aren't, but it's becoming harder to find now. Im in Thailand at the moment and understand why people aren't ok with it. Bangkok has come a long way since the Vietnam war era. The imagery depicted in the ad is how it felt like. The old view of South East Asia during that era. Unfortunately modern day Bangkok (if you've visited it) you'd know that it's not like that at all. You can see it for your self on Youtube vloggers. Finding the supposed 5star hotel that looks darn old in the ad nowadays is hard. Most 3-4 stars hotel looks like 5 star hotels in western countries already. The massive roads and toll ways. The cab thing, even I haven't seen it in years (the whole vibe of third world Taxis). When I travel it's either the Metro/Skytrain or Uber (Grab) now. Even the busses are now converting to EV. Overall I think the people who call Thailand home (westerners or Thais) felt that what was depicted was very far from truth. Which is why they reacted as such. 

However, as a creative person who does these kinds of jobs, I think they nailed it. It's funny, nailed the brief. When you have a script like this, to make things funny, you need to use extremism and stereotypes in order to create humor. Which is why I get it why they used this extremism. Because it wouldn't be funny if it wasn't. Lavish offices or settings doesn't get people to laugh. To extrapolate it as insensitive is stretching it too far. 

humbug1873

As always: Thai Politicians complaining about Apple, because the major investments from Apple are in Vietnam and India but not in Thailand. That's probably the 'real' reason they complain.

nubus

ducarmur said:

Apple owes no one an apology for any of their commercials.

Apple can do any ad without apologizing. As customers we can decide if we like the message or not.

The iPad "Crush" commercial was destructive, disturbing (destroying tools of art that people are passionate about), and negative. Apple is seen as an enabler. A company that allow us to do more, saves lives, protects privacy, and enables us to create, keep, and share moments. Car companies don't crush bikes and you don't incinerate stuffed toys unless you sell insurance.

"Destroy wonderful tools and go spend on iPad" - so off-brand. It passed all checks and ended up in a keynote. That is the problem.

The Thai-commercial was never in a keynote. Apple could have invented a country "Lambastian" or "Mid Nowheria". Toasting a real country is stupid but at least on-brand with how Americans are seen abroad.

godofbiscuitssf

robin huber said:

Glad I saw it when I did! A hoot. A did wonder, though, about the broad humor of the main Thai character. But there were many other local characters played more naturalistically to balance. Maybe they can “fix” it with computer graphic editing!

"Balance". Balance what?  Reality against cartoonish cliches?

longfang

nubus said:

ducarmur said:

Apple owes no one an apology for any of their commercials.

Apple can do any ad without apologizing. As customers we can decide if we like the message or not.

The iPad "Crush" commercial was destructive, disturbing (destroying tools of art that people are passionate about), and negative. Apple is seen as an enabler. A company that allow us to do more, saves lives, protects privacy, and enables us to create, keep, and share moments. Car companies don't crush bikes and you don't incinerate stuffed toys unless you sell insurance.

"Destroy wonderful tools and go spend on iPad" - so off-brand. It passed all checks and ended up in a keynote. That is the problem.

The Thai-commercial was never in a keynote. Apple could have invented a country "Lambastian" or "Mid Nowheria". Toasting a real country is stupid but at least on-brand with how Americans are seen abroad.

To each their own I guess. I wasn’t fazed by the iPad ad.  Picked up an M4 iPad Pro as soon as it was available. 

ITGUYINSD

Stabitha_Christie said:

Cesar Battistini Maziero said:

The video was great! People are getting so miserable.

Who’s gracious of you to designate yourself as the gatekeeper of how the citizens of another country should feel about their depiction. Why would you ever want to let people speak for themselves, that would just be ridiculous.  

Oh look!  It's the opinion police!  Did you even watch the ad?  The Americans were made to look way more inept than Thailand was made to look like a 3rd-world country, but no one is complaining about that!  

wonkothesane

I’m curious why no one has criticized Apple on the cliches and stereotypes of the underdogs themselves. 

Which reminds me: stereotyping, cliches, their juxtaposition, exaggeration, sarcasm,  etc have always been the foundation of humor. Guess, humor is not “desirable” anymore. What a pity. 

reiszrie

Stabitha_Christie said:

Cesar Battistini Maziero said:

The video was great! People are getting so miserable.

Who’s gracious of you to designate yourself as the gatekeeper of how the citizens of another country should feel about their depiction. Why would you ever want to let people speak for themselves, that would just be ridiculous.  

and i'm guessing you have the census of the entire thai population's thoughts on this ad and not just the comments from a politician with an agenda? if you're gonna speak as though your position represents a truer truth than the one you're against, you best be able to back it up.

reiszrie

SkylightActive said:

Personally, I feel the whole banning of this ad in Thailand is a lil overkill. Having said that this movement started with Western Expats living in Bangkok / Thailand who felt that Apple had misrepresented a place they now call home. To which Thai people caught wind and rallied with it. 

Extremism imagery like the use of the old airport terminal which hasn't been used for 15 years, or places that you'd have to really dig in to find such conditions is very far from truth. Not to say that there aren't, but it's becoming harder to find now. Im in Thailand at the moment and understand why people aren't ok with it. Bangkok has come a long way since the Vietnam war era. The imagery depicted in the ad is how it felt like. The old view of South East Asia during that era. Unfortunately modern day Bangkok (if you've visited it) you'd know that it's not like that at all. You can see it for your self on Youtube vloggers. Finding the supposed 5star hotel that looks darn old in the ad nowadays is hard. Most 3-4 stars hotel looks like 5 star hotels in western countries already. The massive roads and toll ways. The cab thing, even I haven't seen it in years (the whole vibe of third world Taxis). When I travel it's either the Metro/Skytrain or Uber (Grab) now. Even the busses are now converting to EV. Overall I think the people who call Thailand home (westerners or Thais) felt that what was depicted was very far from truth. Which is why they reacted as such. 

However, as a creative person who does these kinds of jobs, I think they nailed it. It's funny, nailed the brief. When you have a script like this, to make things funny, you need to use extremism and stereotypes in order to create humor. Which is why I get it why they used this extremism. Because it wouldn't be funny if it wasn't. Lavish offices or settings doesn't get people to laugh. To extrapolate it as insensitive is stretching it too far. 

thats real funny as you seem to be rather delusional in your view of bangkok, that the majority of bangkok is pristine, modern, spacious with massive roads when traffic congestion and bad air quality is a daily occurance. some parts are very clean and modern sure, but a large part of bangkok is still under-developed and badly managed. 

as much as we'd like to not stereotype a country, it is also important to be accurate and not over-hype a country as a reaction.

reiszrie

wonkothesane said:

I’m curious why no one has criticized Apple on the cliches and stereotypes of the underdogs themselves. 

Which reminds me: stereotyping, cliches, their juxtaposition, exaggeration, sarcasm,  etc have always been the foundation of humor. Guess, humor is not “desirable” anymore. What a pity. 

in 2024 when skibidi toilet is thought of as humour and actual humour is thought of as outrage.