The Drum’s Daily Briefing: Apple’s ad apology and beware the WPP AI voice scam

As we reported yesterday, few ads in recent memory have elicited the kind of backlash this Apple commercial faced from the ad industry and beyond. Writing on X, the actor Hugh Grant summarized it as “the destruction of the human experience, courtesy of Silicon Valley”. Now, it has been pulled from TV broadcast following negative reactions across social media and Apple has promised to revisit its campaign strategy. Read more on AdAge.

The ad industry observers who panned the commercial will treat Apple’s concession as vindication. But with some of their counterparts decrying that the outpouring of fury over the ad left little room for nuanced debate, did the backlash go too far?

WPP CEO deepfake scam

Mark Read, the CEO of WPP, the world’s largest advertising company, has reportedly been used as the focal point of a sophisticated deepfake scam in the agency. Using publicly available imagery, Microsoft Teams, and an artificial voice clone, scammers attempted to solicit money from an agency leader.

Read has since offered the network some pointers on avoiding scams, likely expecting more attempts in future. Remain vigilant, imagery and audio can now be faked and cloned. Ask yourself how likely Mark Read, whose pay package was £4.5m last year, is to ask you for money before getting out those card details. Full story on The Guardian.

O2 withdraws strobe lighting ad

Mobile carrier O2 has removed one of its adverts from circulation following a complaint from the Epilepsy Society. The ad, which contained rapidly flashing images, was deemed potentially harmful to individuals with photosensitive epilepsy. O2 has expressed regret for the oversight and affirmed its commitment to safer advertising practices. Details at Epilepsy Society.

Warner Bros Discovery faces financial misses

Warner Bros Discovery’s latest earnings report shows a significant miss on quarterly profit and revenue estimates. Advertising revenues decreased by 6.5% to $2.14bn. Disappointing box office returns have prompted the company to reassess its upcoming film slate and strategic priorities. Analysis on Forbes.

Burning flag ad lights up South African politics

A provocative ad from South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA), which features the national flag burning, has stirred intense debate three weeks before the national election. Viewed over 3 million times, warns of a potential “coalition of corruption” involving the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and radical parties if the ANC loses its majority. President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the advert as “treasonous,” and other officials have criticized it as unpatriotic. Critics argue the ad’s imagery is excessively divisive in a country still striving for unity post-apartheid. More on the Financial Times.

The S4 Capital slide continues

S4Capital, founded by Sir Martin Sorrell, experienced a significant slowdown in revenue for the first quarter, with a like-for-like net revenue decline of 11.7% and a reported revenue decline of 14.9%. The company attributes this downturn to ongoing client caution and a reduction in technology activity services, particularly affecting its technology services division, which saw a 28.4% decline.

Sir Martin Sorrell expressed confidence in the company’s strategy and market position, particularly highlighting the potential of AI and new business ventures. City AM reports.

Stay tuned to The Drum for more updates and in-depth coverage of these stories and more from around the advertising and media landscape.