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No Hello Dalai (4/13/98)
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Ah, geez, so much for thinking different... Not long after hearing that Apple had snagged the Dalai Lama's image for use in its semi-controversial ad campaign, we're now being told that the spiritual leader of Tibet is being dropped from the campaign in China. Wired News claims that Vincent Lum, Apple's Asia-Pacific marketing director, thinks the Dalai Lama isn't "well-known" in China. Instead, Apple's using the images of Alfred Hitchcock, Pablo Picasso, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, and Amelia Earhart.
Waitaminnit... Amelia Earhart?! Sure, she's much more well-known in China than the Dalai Lama. If this all sounds more than a little suspicious to you, you're not alone. After all, Apple's got a much more likely reason for dropping the Dalai from the campaign in China-- like, maybe, not wanting to offend or alienate the Chinese government, whose fifty-year occupation of Tibet gives the Dalai Lama his raison d'être.
Not long after the, shall we say, "less than completely believable" excuse for the move hit the 'net, Apple rushed to (sort of) clarify the reasons for its decision. According to a Newsbytes article, Apple spokeswoman Rhona Hamilton attributed the confusion to possible "translation problems," and states clearly that the Dalai Lama was not dropped for Ameila Earhart. That's about all she said, though, implying strongly that Apple's playing a political game with its decision. Hmmmm...
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SceneLink (623)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 4/13/98 episode: April 13, 1998: The Dalai Lama doesn't make the cut of "easily recognizable" personalities for Apple's Asian "Think Different" campaign. Meanwhile, Microsoft finds yet another way to use Windows to flood the market with Internet Explorer (and drive up the price of snack foods at the same time), and the new Wall Street Powerbooks have more in common with flying saucers than we previously believed...
Other scenes from that episode: 624: Bill: Buy My Ruffles? (4/13/98) We have to admit, as time goes on, we're less and less outraged by Microsoft's monopolistic moves and more and more entertained by them. Perhaps it's because they've seen just how little the government is doing to stop them; for whatever reason, though, their recent moves and statements have been so brash and shameless, they're really quite amusing... 625: We Like Shiny Objects (4/13/98) Just a quick note on the eagerly-awaited Wall Street Powerbooks, as mentioned in Mac the Knife's latest missive from L.A. County Jail. The Knife's jailhouse compadres confirm the dates that AtAT received from various unsavory sources, by claiming the release date for these sleek new laptops is May 6th...
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