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Leaked email shows Apple marketing SVP Phil Schiller rage over ‘shocking response’ by ad agency

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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

April 8, 2014 | 2 min read

A leaked letter from Phil Schiller, Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing, saw the man rage at ad agency TBWA/Media Arts Lab following Samsung’s Next Best Thing ad: a campaign which suggested the Samsung Galaxy 4 was much better than the iPhone.

Samsung lawyer Jon Quinn – who earlier this year claimed that Schiller wanted to change ad agencies following last year’s advert – has sudden proof in a series of leaked emails between the SVP and his ad agency, dated January 2013.

While the original email from Schiller was not leaked, the somewhat defensive response from TBWA/Media Arts Lab begins “We understand the totally critical nature of this moment. This perfect storm of factors is driving a chilling negative narrative on Apple.”

The author of the letter then goes on to discuss what Apple could do to become better, including the suggesting to “change the conversation” in advertising, while making a reference to 1997 – where Apple was close to closure.

“I am quite shocked at this response,” Schiller wrote in a sharp reply. “To come back and suggest that Apple needs to think dramatically about how we are running our company is a shocking response.”He went on to add “This doesn’t sound like a path toward making great ads for iPhone and iPad that everyone inside and outside Apple are proud of. That is what we were asked to do.”
The agency then came back with an apology, below, admitting it may have had an ‘over-blown’ reaction to the original email.
Email Apple Samsung

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