Apple crushed by negative feedback to ad
An advertisement promoting Apple's new iPad Pro has struck a nerve online.
The ad, released by the tech giant on Wednesday NZ time, shows a hydraulic press crushing just about every creative instrument artists and consumers have used over the years — from a piano and record player, to piles of paint, books, cameras and relics of arcade games. Resulting from the destruction? A pristine new iPad Pro.
“The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest,” a narrator says at the end of the commercial.
Apple's intention seems straightforward: look at all the things this new product can do. But critics have called it tone-deaf.
“I had a really disturbing reaction to the ad,” said Americus Reed II, professor of marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “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].”
The ad also arrives during a time many feel uncertain or fearful about seeing their work or everyday routines “replaced” by technological advances — particularly amid the rapid commercialisation of generative artificial intelligence. And watching beloved items get smashed into oblivion doesn't help curb those fears, Reed and others note.
Several celebrities were also among the voices critical of Apple’s “Crush!” commercial on social media this week.
“The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley,” actor Hugh Grant wrote on the social media platform X, in a repost of Apple CEO Tim Cook's sharing of the ad.
Filmmaker Justine Bateman wrote on X that the commercial “crushes the arts”.
Experts added the commercial marked a notable difference to Apple’s past marketing.
“My initial thought was that Apple has become exactly what it never wanted to be,” Vann Graves, executive director of the Virginia Commonwealth University's Brandcentre, said.
Graves pointed to Apple’s famous 1984 ad introducing the Macintosh computer, which he said focused more on uplifting creativity and thinking outside of the box as a unique individual. In contrast, Graves added, “this [new iPad] commercial says, ‘no, we’re going to take all the creativity in the world and use a hydraulic press to push it down into one device that everyone uses’.”
In a statement shared with Ad Age on Friday, Apple apologised for the ad. The outlet reported Apple no longer plans to run the spot on TV.
Tor Myhren, the company's vice president of marketing communications, told 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.”
Cupertino, California-based Apple unveiled its latest generation of iPad Pros and Airs earlier this week.
Apple is trying to juice demand for iPads after sales plunged 17 per cent from last year during the JanuaryMarch period. The iPad accounts for just 6 per cent of the company’s sales.