Apple apologizes after ‘really disturbing’ iPad ad sparks backlash – San Francisco Chronicle

A hydraulic press crushes an array of creative instruments in an Apple ad that has been pulled from television. Apple/Associated Press

Apple has apologized after facing backlash over a new iPad Pro commercial.

The short video titled “Crush!” was shared by Apple CEO Tim Cook on his social media channels Tuesday. It features a hydraulic press methodically flattening a collection of vintage instruments, video games, and audio equipment.

The press then opens to reveal a slim iPad Pro, suggesting that the capabilities of the crushed items have been incorporated into the new device. “The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest,” the narrator says of the $999 device, available starting Wednesday.

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But the wanton destruction of real-world creative tools, including a piano, guitar, record player, paint tubes, books, cameras, and retro arcade cabinets, was largely seen as distasteful — a sentiment the Cupertino tech giant acknowledged this week.

“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of marketing communications, said in a statement to Ad Age. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”

Myhren added that the ad will not air on television.

On Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared an online ad that showed a hydraulic press crushing an array of creative instruments. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 2023

The ad sparked anger among those increasingly wary of technology eroding genuine tactile talent, especially with the rising threat of generative artificial intelligence displacing creative jobs.

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Actor Hugh Grant responded to Cook’s post on Twitter, criticizing it as, “The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley.” Filmmaker Justine Bateman remarked that the ad “crushes the arts.”

Americus Reed II, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, commented that the ad was uncharacteristic of Apple, deviating from the company’s typically positive image.

“I had a really disturbing reaction to the ad,” he told the Associated Press. “I understood conceptually what they were trying to do, but … I think the way it came across is, here is technology crushing the life of that nostalgic sort of joy” from former times.”

Apple is trying to boost iPad demand after tablet sales dropped 17% year-over-year during January-March. Since its debut in 2010, which helped redefine the tablet market, the iPad has become a minor contributor to Apple’s success, accounting for just 6% of sales.

Despite the controversy, the advertisement remains on Cook’s and Apple’s YouTube channels. Other ads for the new iPad focus more on its technical aspects, highlighting the device’s processing power and graphics.

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Original Author: Aidin Vaziri | Source: San Francisco Chronicle