Grant joins criticism of ‘dystopian’ Apple ad
ACTOR Hugh Grant has accused Apple of “the destruction of the human experience” amid a backlash after the tech giant crushed musical instruments and art in an ipad advertisement.
The minute-long advert for the tech giant’s new ipad Pro shows pianos, guitars and sculptures being squashed by an industrial press, in a reference to the thinness of the new models and the array of tasks artists can supposedly accomplish with the device. However, when Apple chief Tim Cook posted the ad on social network X, it was besieged by thousands of negative responses. Mr Grant wrote: “The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley.”
Apple apologised for the ad late yesterday, saying it had “missed the mark”.
Authors, designers, artists and musicians were among those who criticised the Silicon Valley company, with some dubbing the advert “dystopian”.
Critics contrasted the new commerical with Apple’s celebrated 1984 advert based on the George Orwell book of that name, in which the company presented itself as a rebellious antidote to a status quo represented by its then rival IBM.
Apple told the Adage website: “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves ... We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”