Apple says sorry for not crushing it with its controversial iPad Pro ad
“We missed the mark,” says the tech firm.
Image: Apple
Apple‘s latest iPad Pro advertisement most certainly did not crush it. Not in the way the Cupertino giant would’ve preferred, anyway.
The company issued an apology Thursday (9 May) after its commercial for the new iPad Pro model – its “thinnest ever” by the way – sparked criticism for depicting a hydraulic press crushing and destroying thousands of pounds worth of music and studio equipment (and our hopes and dreams).
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“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Apple’s Vice President of Marketing Communications Tor Myhren tells 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.”
Commenters were quick to condemn the ad after Apple CEO Tim Cook posted the video on X earlier this week, with many outraged by the seemingly dystopian and cruel depiction of gear destruction by a brand that has long prided itself on being creative, friendly, and user-centric.
“Crushing symbols of human creativity and cultural achievements to appeal to pro creators, nice,” wrote Sterling Crispin, a software developer and former Neurotechnology Prototyping Researcher at Apple.
“Maybe for the next Apple Watch Pro you should crush sports equipment, show a robot running faster than a man, then turn to the camera and say, ‘God is dead and we have killed him.’”
Posting on X, Actor Hugh Grant said that the ad showed “the destruction of the human experience courtesy of Silicon Valley.”
The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley. https://t.co/273XB3CfnF
— Hugh Grant (@HackedOffHugh) May 8, 2024
That said, while the ad didn’t win many hearts, Apple’s newly released iPad Pro just might. Users get “the world’s most advanced display” (yes, it’s OLED) and an all new M4 chip, all within a thinner and lighter outer shell. Now available for orders, the device arrives in stores 15 May.
Learn more at Apple.
