Apple ads are always emotional, energetic and dynamic to try to capture the user’s attention and evoke good feelings. A good advertisement shows the benefits of a product and engages the viewer in seeking information about it. One of the first announcements that Apple presented of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus was the so-called ‘Big and Bigger’. At the time the ad was launched thousands of users began to complain due to the confusion generated by part of the lyrics of the song chosen for the ad since it could be confused with a racist insult widely used in America. Months later, Apple has removed the voice to keep only the instrumental in this announcement.
The misinterpreted word ‘Bigger’ causes the voice to be removed from an iPhone 14 ad
The song chosen by Apple to be in the background in the ‘Big and Bigger’ ad is Biggest by Idris Elba. The objective of the ad is none other than highlight the virtues of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus in its two modalities. The large standard model, but the much larger Plus model. However, there is a part of the song where the following verse is sung repeatedly:
Biggest, biggest, biggest, biggest, biggest, biggest, biggest, biggest, biggest, bounce
Although at first glance there seems to be no problem, if we listen to the announcement and the song itself it can cause problems. Why? because it is confused with the word Nigger. For many Afro-Americans this English word is unpronounceable and they call it ‘the N-word’. It is nothing more and nothing less than a racist insult that continues to be used in America today. The story goes back to the 18th century where white Americans used it to refer to African-Americans, usually in racist terms and in violent behavior, lynching, etc. this indirectly generated an implicit threat to the use of this word. You can see the original ad in a reaction like this on YouTube.
When this announcement was first heard, the community was scandalized because they heard the word Nigger in an Apple ad. It was surprising because we know that Apple is always very careful with the music chosen, the image that it wants to give and take care of and, above all, the great collaboration that the Big Apple has with minorities. This caused a lot of commotion in networks.
Finally, two months later Apple has removed the voice from the ad leaving only the instrumental. However, there has been no official reaction from Cupertino. But it is clear that the sense of eliminating it is none other than the adaptation of the real problem with Apple’s standards. The ad currently available is as follows: