Someone missed the point of an iPhone billboard, prompting Apple to pull the advertisement down after it was accused of normalizing "electronic babysitting."
Apple has removed one of its billboards in Milan, Italy, after public outcry. The ad in question depicted a toddler holding a food-smeared iPhone paired with the text "Tutto ok, e iPhone," which translates to "It's okay, it's an iPhone."
Apparently, the Italian children's rights watchdog Autorita Garante per l'Infanzia e l'Adolescenza (AGIA) had received a call from a concerned citizen. The citizen believed that Apple was normalizing "electronic babysitting," or the act of placating a child with an electronic device.
So, AGIA wrote a statement, first spotted by 9to5Mac, that accused Apple of not taking the issue seriously. It said that Apple was putting children on the path to digital addiction and was potentially putting children's psychological and cognitive development at risk.
However, the advertisement campaign wasn't saying that toddlers should be given iPhones. Instead, it was part of Apple's larger "Relax, it's iPhone" campaign designed to promote the device's durability.
Other images in the campaign included someone using the iPhone in the rain, a dog with an iPhone in its mouth, and an iPhone sitting at the edge of a bathtub. All situations that used to make smartphone owners cringe before companies like Apple made extra efforts to increase device durability.
Yet Apple is still aware of the ad's optics. So, down it came.
It has since been replaced with an advertisement showcasing the device's Find My capabilities, as reported by la Repubblica.
