Apple's iPhone Air ad released worldwide includes a "pinching hand" (a hand with the thumb and index finger together), but it turned out that only the Korean homepage posted an iPhone photo without the fingers.
On the 9th (local time), Apple unveiled new products, including the latest iPhone 17 lineup, at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park in Cupertino, California. This year, it drew attention by introducing a new model called "iPhone Air" in place of the existing Plus model.
The iPhone Air is the thinnest model ever, and its promotional image emphasized the slim design by showing the thin product held between two fingers. The same image was posted on Apple homepages in about 100 countries, including the United States, Japan, and China, but the Korean domain used an ad with the fingers removed.
At home, the "pinching hand" sparked controversy in various ads and promotional materials. Several domestic corporations canceled the use of related images and issued apologies. The "pinching finger" shape is used in some women's online communities in Korea to belittle and mock the size of men's genitals.
As this everyday hand gesture escalated into a "gender war," foreign media including CNN also took note of the anti-feminism phenomenon in Korea. Apple's differentiated ad image appears to be a strategy to preempt controversy.
Online internet users said Apple "made a wise choice," but there was also no shortage of criticism calling it "excessive censorship."