The recently published advertisement of the new iPad Pro from Apple caused quite a stir on the network. Here's what's wrong with the video, and why it's so infuriating.
The ad released by the tech giant on Tuesday shows a hydraulic press crushing nearly every creative tool that artists and from pianos and record players to piles of paint, books, cameras and arcade game relics. What appeared as a result of destruction? Impeccable new iPad Pro, writes AP.
“The most powerful iPad in history is also the thinnest,”says the announcer at the end of the commercial.
Apple's intention seems simple: “Look at everything this new product can do.” But critics called it tone-deaf – several marketing experts noted that the implementation of the campaign failed.
I had a really anxious reaction to the ad, said Americus Reed II, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. – Conceptually, I understood what they were trying to do, but… I think it looked like this: here is technology destroying the life of nostalgic joy (in the past – Radio MAXIMUM).
The advertisement also appears in a time when many feel insecure or afraid that their work or daily routine will be “replaced” by technological progress. Especially against the background of rapid commercialization of generative artificial intelligence. And watching loved ones disappear doesn't help quell those fears, Reid and others note.
The Apple ad that made a lot of noise: watch the video
This week, criticism of Apple's commercial “Crush!” several celebrities joined in on social media.
“Destroying the human experience. Thanks to Silicon Valley,” wrote actor Hugh Grant on the social network X, reposting Apple CEO Tim Cook's post , who shared the ad.
Some see the ad as a telling metaphor for today's industry — specifically, concerns about the negative impact of big technology on creativity. Filmmaker Justine Bateman wrote on X that advertising is “destroying art”.
Experts added that this ad is a marked departure from Apple's marketing in the past, which has often used more positive and uplifting approaches.
My initial thought was that Apple has become exactly what it never wanted to be,
said Vann Graves, executive director of the Brandcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Graves pointed to Apple's famous 1984 ad showing the Macintosh computer, which, according to him, focused more on raising the creative potential and non-standard thinking of a unique individual. In contrast, Graves added, “this ad (for the new iPad – Radio MAXIMUM) says, 'No, we're going to take all the creativity in the world and hydraulically squeeze it into one device that everyone uses.'
< p>In a statement published Thursday on the Ad Age website, Apple apologized for the ad. The publication also reported that Apple no longer plans to show this clip on television.