According to a story on Network World a cease and desist letter was sent by Apple to Newsday about their popular and viral iPad app commercial that I wrote about last week.
The commercial demonstrated one way the iPad could not possibly replace a newspaper — using it as a fly swatter. If you use the iPad to swat flies according to the commercial the iPad screen will shatter. Allegedly Apple wasn’t to happy about that ad.
Network World received the e-mail below, but wasn’t able to confirm its authenticity:
“Newsday got a cease and desist letter threatening all of our apps, if we did not remove the commercial immediately. They took exception to the fact that the (iPad) glass shattered into large jagged pieces … Your instincts are correct.”
The e-mail above leaves me feeling a bit disturbed, since we all know how controlling Apple has been over iTunes App Store content. However, I highly doubt that Apple would resort to these tactics just to get a commercial pulled.
Something doesn’t feel right about this and I’ve contacted Apple for comment. I’ll post their response or refusal to respond here later.
In the mean time you can try to catch a glimpse of this commercial, while you still can, via YouTube. The original video that I linked to last week has been pulled from YouTube.
[via Network World]
