Apple Will Not Allow Baddies To Use Their iPhones in Film and TV

By Holly
March 9, 2020

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An insight into how tightly the company manages it’s brand explains a lot about it’s success

The Apple brand is where it is in the global rankings for a reason. Aside from the fact that the company produces innovative and aesthetically pleasing products, it’s PR and marketing has also been ahead of it’s time for years.

For example, it is Apple that told it’s employees that they were never to produce leaflets with the logo on them in case then ended up in the bin or the floor. There may have been an environmental implication in there (one hopes) but from a branding perspective, it was all about how the company values itself.

This is a company with class. A company that has very high self esteem. A company that will not tolerate it’s logo being thrown in the trash.

It is these kind of standards and small details that show that this is a brand with self respect and with that commands an incredible amount of admiration and respect. Apple has lent it’s products out for use in television and film for decades, but they are always very careful about to which shows they offer this honour.

Imagine! A company that makes you feel special because they will allow you to place their products in a programme or film that you are already spending your money on creating and distributing.

They have similar lofty ideas about trade shows (I can tell you this as I used to be their Events Manager). Apple would never pay for stand space at a trade show as they considered themselves to be the honoured guest. They knew that just putting them on the bill would bring not only a tonne of Apple fans through the doors but also other top brands who would pay for the space.

Is it arrogance? Or just a quiet and resolute understanding that you are the best. I prefer the latter.

When Steve Jobs did product press releases, he managed everything from the angle of the sofa’s to the lighting. His vision was so specific that he was sometimes a very difficult man to work for. However, it is also this vision and high standards that live on in the company today so it is no surprise that baddies are not allowed to use Apple products!

Director Rian Johnson did an interview with Vanity Fair about his latest movie Knives Out recently where he disclosed that; “Apple, they let you use iPhones in movies but, and this is very pivotal if you’re ever watching a mystery movie, bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera.”

He joked that revealing this information could potentially spoil future mystery movies by revealing who the goodies and baddies are. “Every single filmmaker that has a bad guy in their movie that’s supposed to be a secret wants to murder me right now.”

The irony to all this is that Apple is at odds with the FBI in real life as the company refuses to unlock actual criminal’s iPhones, so clearly some baddies have slipped through the net even though their idols on screen prefer Android for their dastardly deeds. It’s a mystery.

Apple’s control of their brand with product placement seems to go back a while too. Check out this Wired article from 2002, which highlighted that all the good guys in 24 use Macs, and the bad guys use Windows PCs.

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