Apple 'trash-talks' Samsung on Earth Day

It's Earth Day, but the occasion to promote environmental awareness did not stop some players in the tech industry from a little trash talking.

Apple Inc. took out full-page newspaper advertisements in the US and Germany to take a deep dig at Korea-based Samsung, its bitter rival in the mobile industry.

"There are some things we want every company to copy," it said in its ad, according to an article on enthusiast site 9to5mac.com.

The site posted a scanned image of the print ad showing the apparently double-entendre slogan in large print:



A clear jab

9to5mac.com said the ad highlighted Apple’s "commitment to its green energy plans and environmental sustainability," but it was also "a clear jab at Samsung."

"There’s one area where we actually encourage others to imitate us. Because when everyone makes the environment a priority, we all benefits. We’d be more than happy to see every data centre fuelled by 100% renewable energy sources. And we eagerly await the day when every product is made without the harmful toxins we have removed from ours," it quoted Apple as saying in the ad.

"Of course we know we can continue to do better. We’ve set some pretty ambitious goals for reducing our impact on climate change, making our products with greener materials and conserving our planet’s limited resources. So the next time we come across a great idea that can help leave the world better than we found it, we look forward to sharing," Apple added.

Meanwhile, 9to5mac.com said that for Earth Day, Apple adorned Apple Stores with green leaves and released a new video ad about Apple’s environmental efforts, narrated by Tim Cook.

Beleaguered court battle

Apple's ad comes amid a month-long patent court battle with Samsung, The Verge added.

"The ads have been placed in two British newspapers today, The Guardian and the free Metro paper that’s primarily distributed to commuters. While Apple is trying to convince a jury of eight that Samsung has copied features from iPhones, iPods, and iPads, Samsung Electronics is marking its 45th anniversary this week by opening its own Innovation Museum in South Korea to highlight historical inventions from its competitors. You won’t find any iPhones on display though, Samsung’s museum places the Galaxy S II on display as the centrepiece for the modern smartphone revolution," it added. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News