I did hear recently that Apple was going to make all its phones USB C compatible versus its own propriety lightning cable due to regulations in various countries that are requiring devices to have USB C. With that, it seems like Google made this video that in a sense makes fun of Apple for not doing it a long time ago. I would imagine it helped the company make a lot of money in using their own propriety connection slots. For this case it does bring up an interesting topic on whether or not you should take shots at your competitors while they are down.
I know when it comes to ads Apple did a lot humorous commercials in the past that seemed to be poking fun at Microsoft who was its biggest competitors. In that regards, I guess with how big they are as a company the tables have turned as other players are now trying to take their market share. I think it’s been a long tradition for companies to gloat about their success while trying to highlight the negatives of its competitors. Funny enough, as the consumer I often see these types of things as like a comedy roast of sort. I wouldn’t necessarily buy one product over the other due to the highlighted issues. But if it is entertaining you tend to keep the company in mind just like any other commercial.
I think the only real off limits aspect is if the company had something tragic happen that caused things like a loss of life which should be common sense. Depending on the industry you may actually expect companies to be vocal about the competition such as sporting events.