View this article at: http://www.macnn.com/articles/03/12/01/ipod.ads.branded.with.smear/ Monday, Dec 01, 2003 9:35pm Reader: Apple iPod ads "branded" with smear message A MacNN reader reports that disgruntled iPod users have vandalized advertisements for the music player in Manhattan. "Just noticed as I walked down 6th Avenue in Manhattan, only a few blocks from the Apple store [...] all iPod posters have been "branded" with a smear-like message," the reader reports. The branding reads, "iPod's unreplaceable (sic) battery lasts only 18 months.” Last week we reported on a "anti-advertising" Web site launched to highlight this problem with the popular music player. Update: Meanwhile, one reader calls the video "grossly inaccurate" in his iPod retailation video, while another MacNN reader has posted a conversation with the authors that sheds a different light on their "sensationalism" message; however, the Neistat brothers have subsequently updated their page with more (accurate) information.