December 23, 2024

CEO Apologizes for Comparing Apple to Hitler

Posted April 1, 2015 at 12:31am by iClarified · 11081 views
CEO of Leshi TV Jia Yueting has issued an apology after posting an offensive ad that declared Apple as Hitler. The ad featured Adolf Hitler wearing a red armband with the Apple logo in place of the Nazi swastika.

The poster read "Crowdsourced, Freedom vs. Arrogance, Tyranny" and was supposed to illustrate that Apple is stifling innovation and harming the interests of users.

After the image drew international attention, Yueting issued the following apology:

"I am deeply sorry for publishing the animation ad on Weibo on Friday. 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."

Yueting also replaced the image of Hitler in the ad with that of a king. You can see the new ad below. It's meant to promote LeTV's upcoming LeTV X900 smartphone.

Read More [via CultofMac]