Apple is, as we’ve always known, one of those companies that care about everything related to their image. After all, it has been practically since its inception, and the way was clearly marked by the promotional campaign of the first Macintosh, whose debut at the 1984 Superbowl went down in history. I’m talking, of course, about the spot directed by Ridley Scott, who drew a parallel between the IBM PC and the world described by Orwell in his novel 1984, a dystopian world that saw the beginning of a rebellion that was obviously started by Apple. It’s always a good time to reminisce, so you can watch it again (or possibly enjoy it for the first time), below, restored and upscaled to 4K:

What few people remember is that only a year later those from Cupertino wanted to repeat the formula, but this time it didn’t go so well. They did it again in the Superbowl, take this opportunity to announce Macintosh Office. The problem was that if 1984 was a critique of the platform, the IBM-PC, Lemmings was interpreted by many as a direct attack on users of other productivity and office solutions, comparing them to… well, lemmings. That was the lesson that Apple didn’t repeat at the Superbowl after the criticism it received until 1999. Was Lemmings that bad? Judge for yourself:

Now let’s jump to the present to reminisce those from Cupertino just two days ago presented their new iPad Pro and iPad Air, as well as the next generation of Apple Silicon, M4 chips and some other news that we collect here. It was an interesting event, not particularly noteworthy, but with enough iPad-related news to warrant a celebration. And yes, it was the moment the company chose to announce a price cut for the “standard” iPad, which is excellent news in itself.

When I watched the event, live, I admit that there was a moment that caught my attention a little.That is what I thought a little more “violent” than usual for the brand (which is between zero and nothing at all). I’m talking about a video that was supposed to show both how good the new iPad Pro is (and it certainly is) and the amount of things you can do with it. And for those who missed it, for those who haven’t seen Let Loose live or on tape, it was recorded by Tim Cook to your Twitter accountcelebrating the virtues of this new generation:

Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created, the most advanced display we’ve ever produced, with the incredible power of the M4 chip. Just imagine all the things that will be used to create. pic.twitter.com/6PeGXNoKgG

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 7, 2024

It is evident that what is The goal is to represent that Apple has managed to bring all these elements together and incorporate them into an exceptionally fine tablet (0.53 and 0.51 centimeters). Now it is also true that the symbolic representation of the process in which the industrial press is literally bursting with all kinds of creative tools did not go down very well on social networks, where we find many responses from very, very upset people, for example, the symbolic act of destroying everything that remains in the press.

We won’t go into reproducing the huge number of critical responses that hang from Tim Cook’s tweet, if you are curious you can click on the tweet and view it on Twitter, suffice it to say that many users, quite a few, are directly related to one of the elements that are destroyed in promotional video, They seem to have interpreted it practically as an attack on various creative disciplines that those from Cupertino want to promote through the new iPad Pro And this is a problem for the technology company, since the world of creators is one of the markets that it always targets.

Maybe because I’m a person who mainly focuses on pacing, I totally understand the message Apple was trying to conveybut also that if, for example, you have dedicated your whole life to the piano, seeing how those from Cupertino think it’s a good idea to show you how an industrial press blows it up (although of course it’s animation) can be a little annoying.

My recommendation to Apple is to get out of this mess, significantly reduce the price of the iPad Pro. I don’t think this will help end the controversy, but you know, in the thick of it…

What do you think? Do you think this promotional video for the iPad Pro 2024 is successful or that Apple went too far by showing the destruction of the elements shown in it? Do you think the controversy is justified or does it seem exaggerated? We look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments.