Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
Apple’s announcement of its new iPad Pro model was met with some unexpected backlash due to the ad used to reveal it. Titled “Crush!,” the ad depicts several instruments, tools, and devices being crushed by a hydraulic press, a visual metaphor that didn’t land with a lot of spectators. Apple has now issued an apology for the ad, and says it no longer plans to run it on television.
Apple provided an apology in a statement to AdAge. “Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” said Tor Myhren, Apple’s VP of marketing communications. “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.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook’s tweet containing the controversial ad currently sits at 57.4 million impressions, with many of the replies criticizing the ad for its depiction of the destruction of human tools used for creativity. “I felt sad when I saw creative tools such as musical instruments and cameras being destroyed,” wrote X/Twitter user @Takuta, whose reply has a million impressions of its own.
In the ad, various tools and devices (piano, paint, drums, etc.) are slowly crushed with a hydraulic press, eventually revealing the new iPad Pro left in the wake of the destruction. The new iPad Pro model, which packs the M4 chip, is Apple’s thinnest product ever.
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