It’s long been a belief among advertising agencies that “sex sells.” However, that’s likely not what Apple was going for when it debuted a new billboard in Miami, FL.
Apple’s new “Shot on iPhone” billboard features a combination of iPhone photography and iPad illustrations, but as pointed out by one Reddit user, the whole thing looks a bit, um, phallic.
The new billboard was shared on the the Miami subreddit earlier this month by @TommyGunMassacre, and was published in the Miami New Times earlier today, with the headline “Did Apple Put a Giant Phallic Symbol on I-95?” The billboard, designed to show how users can add a bit of flair to their iPhone photos with the aid of an iPad, shows a photo of a shark along with a cartoon scuba diver that has an oversized finger because of the perspective.
The billboard is seen by thousands of commuters on Miami’s I-95 freeway, so it hasn’t gone unnoticed. The cartoon is part of Apple’s Shot on iPhone, Drawn on iPad series that features creations from eight artists. When you’re up close, things are a pretty clear as to what’s what, but if you’re farther away, things get a bit NSFW (or the commute).
The ads are part of a new campaign in the Miami area, which also include a person in polka-dot pajamas sleeping on a cloud, a giant purple man using gummy worms to fish for a real-life surfer, and a 100-foot-tall woman checking herself out in a skyscraper’s mirrored facade.
As you might imagine, the billboard has drawn several comments on Reddit.
“What’s the first thing you see on that ad?” writes TommyGunMassacre. “Cochino (dirty in English). Don’t tell me I’m the only one.”
“Can’t believe it got through legal,” one commenter wrote.
And my favorite: “Everything reminds me of him.”
It’s likely that Apple won’t take the billboard down, as it’s already been up (no pun intended) for several days, and the design has been shared on Instagram with no hullaballoo.
