“Every single filmmaker who has a bad guy in their movie that’s supposed to be a secret wants to murder me right now,” said Rian Johnson in a recent Vanity Fair interview. He had just let slip a (previously) well-kept industry secret: that Apple do not allow their products to be used by villainous characters. Rian, buddy, they just might.
The American filmmaker, whose credits include Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the festival-favourite murder mystery Knives Out, expressed some trepidation at revealing the fact: “I don’t know if I should say this or not,” he began, “but forget it, I’ll say it, it’s very interesting. 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.”
According to the MacRumors forum, Apple policy states that products bearing their trademark should always be portrayed “in the best light, in a manner or context that reflects favourably on the Apple products and on Apple Inc”.
Good branding means everything in the digital age, and Apple has always been very diligent about keeping theirs up. So perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised. Unfortunately, this means we’re never going to see Candyman wearing airpods. Disappointing imo.