Bad Apple: Thailand ad blunder sparks boycott fury (video)

A condescending new advertisement by US giant Apple sparked outrage in Thailand, with locals threatening to ditch Apple and their iPhones for Samsung.

Thai resident and English teacher David William, who boasts 1.6 million Facebook followers and 2.9 million TikTok followers, slammed the ad on his TikTok account @davidwilliamdw. His critique of the ad, The Underdogs: OOO (Out Of Office) | Apple at Work, has racked up over 9.7 million views and more than 10,000 comments.

William and many netizens are furious with Apple’s depiction of Thailand. Although filmed in Thailand and featuring Thai elements like food, clothing, and public transport, the ad’s old-fashioned colour tones and dated appearance portray the country as a third-world nation.

The 9.57-minute Apple ad follows the “Underdogs” on a business trip to Thailand to find a new packaging factory. It showcases Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, all while tackling last-minute design changes and language barriers.

Thai netizens are up in arms over the ad’s portrayal of Thailand. They criticise the adjusted colour tones, costumes, props, and vehicles, which all create a dated and backward image.

Even the airport, buses, taxis, and an executive hotel with a mosquito problem appear ancient.

Bad Apple

William accused Apple of making Thais look terrible in the eyes of the world.

“Both the airport and hotel look ancient, as if from 50 years ago. Compared to other Apple clips filmed in places like New York or Chicago, which look great. I want to ask Apple and their team, what’s wrong? You came all the way to Thailand, but sorry, it doesn’t look like this at all.

“Watching it, I wondered if this was Thailand 50 or 70 years ago. Why isn’t there any modernity? You didn’t need to come to my country. A quick Google search would show you that Thailand is modern. The answer that would immediately come up is Y-E-S, extremely modern.

“What Apple should know is that Thai people already feel looked down upon globally. Foreigners already tend to discriminate against us. The question is, was it necessary for you to add to this?

“Allow me to say, it’s not nice at all. If you’re going to sell things to us while looking down on us like this, making us look bad in the world’s eyes, out of the annoyance in my heart, I’ll run to buy a Samsung foldable phone immediately.”

What do The Thaiger readers make of it all? Watch the video and leave your comments.