Redditors Gleefully Target Apple’s New ‘Phallic’ Billboard
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Yes, “sex sells” is a popular advertising theory, but Apple likely did not have that in mind when it, um, “erected” its latest billboard in the Miami area.
A new “Shot on iPhone” billboard advertising campaign features a combination of photos from an iPhone and illustrations created on an iPad, reports MacTrast. While in reality it’s all quite innocent, at a glance, the billboard appears to be, well, happy to see everyone.
The new billboard, which was shared on the Miami subreddit earlier this month by TommyGunMassacre, was published in the Miami New Times on Wednesday, under the headline “Did Apple Put a Giant Phallic Symbol on I-95?”
The billboard, designed to demonstrate how users can add more flair to their iPhone photos by using an iPad, shows an image of a shark with a cartoon scuba diver added to the photo, with what appears to be an oversized finger due to the perspective.
Unfortunately, due to the way the finger and its accompanying other fingers are drawn, the finger and hand instead appear to be, at first glance (and second and third glances), a male sex organ and his um, two friends, yanked straight from the pages of a ‘70s underground comic book.
The billboard is “erected” near Miami’s busy I-95 freeway, so thousands of drivers and their passengers see it daily. The ad is part of Apple’s Shot on iPhone, Drawn on iPad series that features creations from eight artists.
The new ad campaign in the Miami area also includes a giant purple guy fishing for a real-life surfer while using gummy worms as bait, a person in polka-dot pajamas sleeping on a cloud, and a 100-foot-tall woman looking at herself in a skyscraper’s mirrored facade.
As you might imagine, once a photo of the billboard was posted on Reddit, Redditors had plenty to say.
“What’s the first thing you see on that ad?” writes OG poster TommyGunMassacre. “Cochino (dirty in English). Don’t tell me I’m the only one.”
“Can’t believe it got through legal,” wrote one commenter.
My personal favorite is: “Everything reminds me of him.”
Other commenters reacted as a group, posting lines from scenes in the Austin Powers trilogy, where Dr. Evil’s rocket is described using phallic terms for comedic effect.
Apple is unlikely to remove the billboard, given that the ad has been “up” for several days and has been shared on Instagram without significant outcry.
Another Apple Advertising Misadventure
Apple’s Miami billboard isn’t the only advertising misadventure Apple has been involved with in the last week.
Earlier this week, a post on Apple’s official support account on China’s Weibo temporarily included a promotional trailer for Samsung‘s Galaxy Z Flip7.
The video promoted Samsung’s latest folding smartphone rather than Apple’s iPhone or another Apple product. While the social media post was quickly deleted, it wasn’t removed fast enough to prevent the blunder from circulating across the internet.
The mispost may not have been the fault of a clumsy human, but instead, as reported by 9to5Mac, what appears to have happened is that a Weibo client-side bug caused the Apple Support post to mistakenly be displayed with the Samsung video.
An Apple spokesperson merely told the publication: “Apple Support has only posted Apple content. We are working with Weibo to understand how this happened.”
