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You would think that a contemporary company like Apple, with a brand-defining bread-and-butter advertising campaign that focuses on disparaging pudgy PC nerds, would be cool with satire -- but think again.
According to All Headline News, Ellen DeGeneres was compelled to air a public apology to Apple after poking fun at their iPhone touch pad during a spoof on her show:
The clip shows Ellen struggling to use the iPhone and failing to send a text message because her fingers are too thick," all against the plain white backdrop of real iPhone commercials.
Ellen had to apologize on-air to Apple for her fake commercial, saying she got in trouble with the product's creators.
"I thought it was funny. A bunch of people thought it was funny. You know who didn’t think it was funny? Yeah, the people at Apple didn’t think it was so funny,” she said on her show.
I thought it was funny, too. To me, it seems like Ellen's charming, self-deprecating, decidedly not mean nor damaging humor.
NBC Los Angeles' blogger Jere Hester suggests that Apple looks bad by exerting such heavy-handed brand protection on the heels of the recent Gizmodo drama. Hester's advice:
Someone might want to tell Apple's crew in Cupertino that being lampooned is sign of success, and that having a good sense of humor plays well with the public. And DeGeneres needs a reminder that you lose your comic cred when you start apologizing for jokes.
What do you think? Should Ellen have apologized for her comedy, or is this story another bite out of Apple's once-shiny image?
Contributing Editor Deb Rox blogs like a freaking butterfly and sting like a Tweet. She's both an Ellen devotee and an Apple fangirl, so she really hopes mom and dad kiss and make up. This fighting is stressful!
