A Chinese smartphone maker has apologized for an ad comparing Apple to mass-murdering Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler.
The ad depicted a cartoon Hitler performing the Nazi salute, with his red armband showing the Apple logo instead of a swastika.
Text on the advert read, “Under the arrogant regime of iOS domination that developers around the world love yet hate, we are always carefully asking, ‘is this kind of innovation okay?'” It went on to describe Apple as a “dusk empire,” suggesting that it’s on the wane as a company.
Check out the CEO’s grovelling apology below.
“I am deeply sorry for publishing the animation ad on Weibo on Friday,” Letv CEO Jia Yueting said in a statement issued to Cult of Mac. “In hindsight, it was a misstep and I have removed it. It was insensitive and wrong to try to use such an image in a lighthearted way … My intention was to express our vision that open-ended technology ecosystems are more beneficial to consumers and encourage true innovation. Please accept my sincere apologies, and thank you for your attention and understanding.”
While competing tech companies are always going to take potshots at one another, there’s a definite line that shouldn’t be crossed. And this ad was so far over it, the line was no longer even visible.
Hopefully lessons have been learned. Particularly if Letv wants any hope of eventually selling its products in the West.
