“Crush!” An ad aimed to highlight the creative possibilities of the tablet by depicting musical instruments and other objects buckling under pressure. But it caused a backlash from the creative community, which forced the tech giant to publicly apologize.

The scandalous video was made public shortly after the introduction of the new iPad Pro with the M4 processor. Designed to promote the tablet’s innovative capabilities, the ad aimed to show how the iPad could eclipse other tools for creativity. However, it did not cause a positive reaction from the audience.

Advertisement for iPad Pro

What exactly creators don’t like about advertising

In a new ad for the latest iPad Pro, the company shows various tools, camera parts, paint, and more being crushed in a hydraulic press. There’s finally a new ultra-thin iPad Pro.

The advertising idea is quite clear – a new powerful tablet from Apple can to some extent “replace” all these devices and gadgets. However, the ad has been the target of criticism not only from the creators but also from the creators themselves.

In his post on social network X, director Asif Kapadia aptly expressed the main complaint about the ad:

It’s the most honest metaphor for what tech companies do to the arts, to artists, to musicians, to creators, to writers, to filmmakers: squeeze them, exploit them, underpay them, take everything away, and then tell them it was all done by them.

Famous British actor Hugh Grant also condemned the ad, calling it “the destruction of the human experience.” Similarly, Reed Morano, director of The Handmaid’s Tale series, advised Apple CEO Tim Cook to listen to criticism.

This is already

“Crush!” It is interesting that the series of commercials is interesting. He suspiciously repeats a similar LG commercial he shot in 2008 for the LG KC 910 phone.

It’s amazing how well these two ads match, even repeating the same shots of the press causes the glass in the camera lens to explode.

LG phone ad

Apple’s reaction

Apple’s initial silence on this issue further increased public dissatisfaction.

Thor Mihren, Apple’s vice president of marketing, later publicly apologized. Mihren emphasized Apple’s commitment to encouraging creativity and acknowledged that the ad failed to achieve its goal. He complained that the ad’s purpose was misinterpreted and said that the ad was intended to showcase the potential of the iPad Pro.