APPLE SUED OVER PREJUDICIAL COMMERCIALS

September 13 2009

Cupertino, CA – It’s fair to say that life has been pretty good at Apple for the last few years. The incredible success of the iPod and iPhone as well as a resurgence of their computer lines have made the 21st century, at least the first decade of it, a very
good one for the once struggling company. It is the computer realm though that the company has still had trouble dominating like they have other realms. That moderate success has no doubt been a thorn in the side of founder Steve Jobs despite major movement in recent years.

Now the company has taken another hit in its efforts to dominate the home computer market with a lawsuit filed on Friday. The suit, filed by a group of independent PC manufacturers, accuses the company of faulty advertising and defamatory behaviour in relation to its famous PC vs. Mac commercials. At the heart of the suit is the portrayal of the PC as a bumbling, overweight nerd while Mac’s are portrayed as suave and handsome. The series of award winning commercials have been a flashpoint in the battle between the two types of machines, something that is likely to only escalate as the lawsuit progresses.

“We feel that those commercials have done significant harm to our business and to us
as people and we are asking them to stop. These commercials were amusing at first
but things have changed in recent years and it is doing serious damage to our businesses and that is something we can no longer put up with any longer,” said Kevin Sills, spokesperson for the group. “I can’t tell you how many people come into my store expecting a fat nerd sitting behind the counter. I work out regularly, I watch what I eat and I watch NASCAR and Football so I can tell you that you perception is totally inaccurate. Despite that people expect that from us and make their buying decisions on what they perceive as cool which now is not PCs. We want Apple to offer a more balanced presentation in their commercials and will not stop until that happens.”

Sills did acknowledge that a few of the people behind the lawsuit do fit the perception but even they suffer from that perception.

“Advertising is always about perception. That is essentially the crux of its power and its effect on determining the market. By influencing how people think advertisers can turn consumers to their product and thus create more sales. There are rules regarding mentioning competing products but belittling your opposition is a tried and true method,” said Scrape TV Legal analyst Gabe Hawthorne. “That history is going to make this lawsuit a little more difficult to gain ground. Simply put companies are not obligated to offer a fair and reasonable portrait of their competition no matter how fair or unfair that might be. Yes, it can hurt the competition but that is kind of the point. Hurt feelings, legally speaking, have little or no sway in the courts.”

Sills and his fellow suitors also reported bouts of depression related to the perceptions directed towards them.

“There’s little doubt that people who love Apple and Macs feel a particular way about PC’s and their owners. Yes Apple has tried to portray Macs as cool and young and hip but that has gained relatively little ground in terms of sales. Apple still only controls 95 per cent of the market so perhaps instead of filing a lawsuit they can use their thousands of dollars on dressing up their stores and buying new clothes,” said Scrape TV Technology analyst Ken Kevins. “It’s all about perception and always will be. It’s very unlikely Apple will hire Brad Pitt for their commercials so PC makers will just have to change that perception on their own.”

Brad Pitt’s asking price is apparently much higher than major PC manufacturers are willing to pay.

Martin Philton, Technology Correspondent  

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