Comments on: Wanna take bets on how long before Apple is forced to pull this headline and apologize?

By: Dr. Macenstein

Dr. Macenstein — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 06:40:16 +0000

Testing.

By: maleeha

maleeha — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 04:56:14 +0000

bravo christine

i came across the ad when apple first launched the new imac, and i did nothing more than exchange a few incredulous emails with friends and other mac babies. i never followed up to see the issue had been noticed by others too, or objected to as eloquently as you have done.

one would expect apple to be somehow above all this, but as a friend and a committed mac baby said, ‘why should apple be different?’ which i think is an excellent question. apple’s image (and the level of respect it used to command from its niche market) has certainly undergone several waves of transformation recently. the question is not how we interpret humor (or the lack thereof) but rather, in what context a certain statement is made in the first place (as christine puts it, ‘i do not believe this was an innocent mistake’). this was an insensitive tagline and the humor was cheeky at best , and just because you’re expected to be smart enough to see through the layers of ‘humor’ in such a case does not make it any less insensitive.

having said that, apple is anything but dumb, and they must have anticipated the ferment this would cause. all the more reason for me to believe this was not an innocent mistake. no publicity is bad publicity after all, and if they’re trying to chuck out their old target market and attract idiots, this tagline certainly fits in with the rest of their recent activities. you didn’t think they actually WANT just the 5% market share now do you?

By: CJ

CJ — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 10:52:55 +0000

…it’s just a pity the Apple stores in the UK and Canada are so far behind, they still have the ‘thin’ tagline :-0

By: CJ

CJ — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 10:50:07 +0000

Bravo Christine! Your ‘I do not…” post is a classic.

I do not think that people should shut up when they see something so blatantly wrong. I dare say you, like me and probably many others emailled Apple directly with their concerns. Apple have responded (perhaps for business reasons but perhaps not soley) and changed their marketing approach just like they are (finally) responding to environmental concens about thei products (again the result of pressure). That my dear friends is what freedom of speech is all about.

Bravo.

By: Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 23:11:27 +0000

Well, looks like they finally changed it…. check out the Apple.com home page.

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:58:24 +0000

I love the fact that my outrage and honesty really bothers people. You can call me insecure, (is there anyone out there who is not insecure about something?) and compare me to what ever and whom ever you’de like, but I won’t back down from this issue and I won’t stop reading into anything. I also won’t resort to insults. I guess I did tell someone at some point to read a book or a newspaper, so, I guess I should apologize for that. “Sorry for the low-blow.” All I want is for folks to recognize that this tagline is offensive to a large group of people. I never said that it was offensive to everyone because obviously it is not. Hey, I’m the type of person that is considerate of other peoples feelings. I think that Apple should be held accountable for this. Eating disorder or not, I think the tagline, “You can’t be too rich. Or too powereful,” is WRONG.

The more you try and shut-me-up, the more I will speak.

Christine
(Insecure and proud of it!)

By: Helena

Helena — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:05:33 +0000

As a recovering anorexic, I worry about this slogan because it could be triggering to those who are currently suffering or have suffered from the disease. I just think it is in poor taste. I am a faithful mac user and the products speak for themselves without such an odd slogan. I do not think that apple is making fun of anorexics, but they didn’t consider how a slogan like that may trigger them. It didn’t sit well with me.

By: StandardsDT

StandardsDT — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:39:05 +0000

“seriously, if anyone develops an eating disorder based on apples new slogan, then they have bigger things to worry about.”

Agreed.

By: StandardsDT

StandardsDT — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:37:35 +0000

Christine you are reading way way to far into this. Do you honestly think Apple is referring to people? They are a computer company why would they attack people with eating disorders? Are you just reading that one line? It says “The New iMac. You Canâ€™t Be Too Thin. Or Too Powerful. ” You are just as bad as the people I used have to serve because an item cost 50 cents they’d throw a fit and get all upset. You are foolish to think that both females and males will stop buying their products all because of a slogan that you are reading to far into. Stop trying to push your feelings on to others because you are insecure. Apple has a huge customer base. Do you really honestly think thousands or even millions of people are going to stop purchasing a product of a slogan? Seriously you are just as bad as the customer who walks into a store and throws a fit because an item cost 50 cents.

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:56:03 +0000

I do not think that Apple made the right marketing choice with the tagline, “You can’t be too thin. Or too powerful.” I do not think that it was an innocent mistake. I do not think that most men understand what it is like to be forced into thinking about ones weight or ones body 24/7. I do not think that an eating disorder has anything to do with, or should be compared to Calcutta or Darfur or any other horrid world issue. I do not think that Apple will or should pull anything. I do not think that Apple would have used this tagline if they really think that it is offensive. I do not think that Apple is a trustworthy company (anymore). I do not think that this issue has anything to do with “freedom of speech.” I do not think that Apple has a vested interest in women. I do not think that Apple’s new tagline only affects females with eating disorders. I do not think that the ad is only referring to computers. I do not think that anyone who is offended should remain silent. I do not think that the world likes it when people take a stand about anything that affects women. I do not think that many women (not all) will buy Apple computers after this stunt. I do not think that this was an innocent mistake. I do not think that this was an innocent mistake. I do not think that this was an innocent mistake. I do not think that this was an innocent mistake. I do not think that this was an innocent mistake.

Christine