To Wife Denying Husband an iPad 2: 'Apple Said Yes'

File this one under the "Apple's Greatest PR Stunts" drawer, if you like, but here we have a prime example of why the wizards of marketing at Apple rule the world of technology. Dare telling me this isn't a textbook example of marketing done right. A husband apparently returns his iPad 2 to a local Apple store with a handwritten sticker note saying, "Wife said no." Store managers pondered a bit and then made a decision to send a free replacement accompanied by a surprise sticker note. It reads:

Apple said yes.

According to MacRumors, store managers "got wind of it" as they saw the note somewhat amusing:

[Apple's] focus this week has been to troubleshoot all the iPad 2s that customers are returning to the stores. One iPad came back with a post it note on it that said "Wife said no." It was escalated as something funny, and two of the VPs got wind of it. They sent the guy an iPad 2 with a note on it that said "Apple said yes."

This reminds me of another story when Apple reverted its strict credit card-only policy on buying new iPads when a Californian resident issued a public plea to Steve Jobs, asking him to "give a sister a break" after an Apple store refused to take her cash. Of course, there's no way of telling whether there is any substance to the wife story sourced from "an individual close to Apple," but it doesn't matter really. What matters is that Apple has either done the right thing or pulled another trademark PR stunt. Either way, that files as brilliant marketing in my book.