By John Glenday The long-heralded arrival of ‘peak iPhone‘ has weighed heavily on Apple’s latest quarterly profits, which have slumped 10% to $13bn. The double-digit decline was precipitated largely by sales of its flagship handset slowing, slumping by 12% over the same period to hit $25.06bn. Despite having first launched over a decade ago, Apple continues to derive over half its profits from iPhone sales, making the waxing and waning of its popularity a key indicator of its underlying health. In recent times the iPhone has acted as a drag on profits rather than supercharging them as consumers resist the urge to Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy Shawn Lim The racist advertisement on e-payment in Singapore continues to stay in the spotlight even after it was taken down. The ad was put out by E-Pay, a Singapore government agency that encourages the public to use electronic payment solutions in coffee shops, hawker centres, and industrial canteens across the country. It featured Dennis Chew, a Mediacorp actor, dressed in various forms of garb to represent the main races of Singapore – Chinese, Malay, Indian. His skin was darkened and he also dressed up as a woman. It was created by Havas for E-Pay, who hired Chew from the talent arm of local Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy Danielle Long Australia’s advertising industry watchdog, Ad Standards, has launched a “provocative” campaign to draw attention to sexism, racism and other issues in advertising. The campaign, which is running across TV, newspapers, radio and outdoor aims to generate awareness of the advertising codes while showcasing how the majority of marketing messages portray sexist gender stereotypes and fail to reflect the multicultural population. The ‘Kinder Conditions’ ads feature lines such as “This ad is for white people only”, “If you’re a woman don’t bother reading this ad” and “This ad is brainwashing your children”. Fiona Jolly, CEO of Ad Standards, said the campaign aims to remind Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy John Glenday Giffgaff is today counting the cost of a billing scandal after it was found to have overcharged around 2.6 million customers to the tune of £2.9m. The pricing error has seen Giffgaff landed with an outsize bill of its own from Ofcom which has fined the Telefonica-owned mobile operator £1.4m over its failings in the case – despite it refunding £2.1m of this cash to affected individuals, with the outstanding amount being donated to charity in cases where it was unable to identify the individuals concerned. The fine could have been even higher but incorporated a Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy Matt Barnes Two weeks ago, Instagram expanded on an experiment to multiple countries including New Zealand — to hide how many ‘likes’ people’s posts receive. People can still see how many likes their own photos receive, but won’t see counts for other people’s posts. This is a really positive move, as well as a new challenge for influencers and marketers. Removing the metric of likes reduces the hunger for success and the urge to compare yourself against your peers. It should reset the experience, making it less addictive and competitive, and more about sharing and connection. It had to happen, and it’s refreshing Read full story › Source: The Drum...
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