Microsoft promptly pulls iPhone spoof ads after criticisms

Ring, ring. Who’s there? It’s a cringe-worthy advertisement Microsoft made for Apple’s iPhone launch. While most high-profile smartphone companies are finding ways to take a dig at Apple for its newest iPhones, Microsoft came up with the unfunniest way to parody the event. Thankfully, Microsoft seems to have realised its folly and has pulled back the ads. The series of seven advertisements show a couple of Apple employees pitching ideas behind the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. The series is called “A fly on the wall at Cupertino?” and deliberates funny ideas that could have been behind certain features in the phones, including some like the “plastic” body of the iPhone 5C, the gold iPhone 5S and the fingerprint scanner. Except, these funny ideas are completely unfunny and cringe-worthy.

Steve, is that you?

The ideas seem like they’re being pitched to high-profile Apple employees like Tim Cook and Jony Ive. One of the figures even looks suspiciously like Steve Jobs, and that’s hitting completely below the belt. The terrible acting and low-budget production sees lines like, “Did we have to make the iPhone out of plastic to save money? Yeah, bro.” and “We’re going to give the people what they want. We’re going to give them the finger…print.” Even while Microsoft pulled the ads, copies have cropped up on YouTube. Take a look. Soon after Microsoft put these videos up on YouTube, social networking websites were filled with posts ridiculing the company over them. Hours after they were put up, Microsoft removed these advertisements to avoid further criticism. The campaign "was intended to be a lighthearted poke at our friends from Cupertino," a spokesperson said. "But it was off the mark, and we've decided to pull it down." It may be a sad state of affairs but it’s hard to miss the fact that at least Microsoft’s newest “acquisition” Nokia has been somewhere close to the mark when it comes to taking a dig at Apple’s newest iPhones, hinting that the colourful shells of the iPhone 5C were inspired by the Lumia series of phones.