Tech giant Apple is taking heat for its new ad promoting the latest iPad, and they quickly issued an apology and pulled it from TV after its unveiling.
The spot is clearly not meant to offend any specific group, nor does it engage in any incendiary political rhetoric—I’ll get that part out of the way immediately. Nevertheless, I agree with many critics that it’s just plain bad and a rare misstep for a company that had become legendary for some of its powerful commercials (like Ridley Scott's seminal 1984 Super Bowl Macintosh ad).
The point of this new spot is to highlight the incredible power of the iPad, which I don’t deny—it's an amazing innovation—but where they failed was when they crushed iconic creative equipment and wonderful instruments of art to prove that we don’t need such things anymore. Hint: yes, we do still need such things, and touch screens and AI can never truly replace them.
Watch and see what you think:
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 it’ll be used to create. pic.twitter.com/6PeGXNoKgG
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 7, 2024
The spot starts with a Sonny and Cher song, which seems happy enough—but then a machine (just like the one that finally crushed the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, also known as “The Terminator,” in James Cameron’s brilliant 1984 film of the same name), smooshes pianos, trumpets, classic arcade games, an Angry Bird, non-digital SLR cameras (which many of us remember fondly), and much more. They add in some paint cans that, when crushed, make the scene more cinematic as the colorful liquid bursts onto the mayhem.
A lot of backlash at this Apple iPad ad.
— Gabbar (@GabbbarSingh) May 9, 2024
Justified. Breaking musical instruments is an imagery you associate with Taliban. pic.twitter.com/uuty6AjaC5
Apple, to their credit, quickly responded:
“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” said Tor Myhren, the company’s VP of marketing communications. “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.”
The spot rolled out on Apple’s YouTube and CEO Tim Cook’s X account on Tuesday, but had not received any paid media. Plans for a TV run have now been scrapped.
Here’s the problem with the video: people aren’t feeling so jokey about the power of artificial intelligence at this point in history, and are actually quite concerned that it could wreak havoc on society:
The spot, created in-house and unveiled Tuesday, was intended as a metaphor to suggest how much creative potential is packed inside the latest edition of its signature tablet, and to promote how thin the tablet is. (At 5.1 millimeters, it’s Apple’s thinnest product ever.)
But many viewers had a more chilling interpretation, seeing the spot as a grim representation of technology crushing the history of human creativity—something the creative industry is already existentially worried about with the rise of AI.
I can’t speak for others, but I for one was not pleased to see all that glorious vintage equipment being crushed—all for an Apple product that I’m guessing will be a high-priced item that’s too rich for my blood. But try to destroy my old acoustic guitar, and we’re going to have a problem.
Plus, I have no idea how to play a D chord on an iPad.
Everybody hated That Apple Ad but the Japanese REALLY hated it. I’ve never seen so many upset Japanese ppl commenting on a single thread: pic.twitter.com/OyAOl37ilr
— Angelica 🌐⚛️🇹🇼 (@AngelicaOung) May 8, 2024
One genius X poster came up with a far better ad: just play it backward.
@Apple I fixed it for you! pic.twitter.com/RG8zf38wTl
— nagolinc (@nagolinc) May 8, 2024
Creativity up to this point in the history of the universe has been a uniquely human thing—as far as we know—but can AI and silicon chips replace it, even improve on it? Perhaps, but it will still be the result of programming and not the human heart.
I’m not going to say that I’m “deeply outraged” or profoundly triggered by this spot; I find the news each day of Biden’s depravity and the seeming utter moral decline of our nation’s students much more concerning. That being said, I think the ad was an unforced error. Anyone who’s ever tried to do anything creative understands that you can certainly make missteps even when you're acting in good faith—and this unquestionably is a misstep.
My theory: there were some young 'uns on staff, and they were given a huge Big Tech-sized budget, and they thought, “Hey! Let’s destroy some stuff—that would be fun!” And normally it would be. But in this case, they misfired—and misfired badly.
This kind of destruction is far more amusing:
More Apple:
Blinded by the Light: Customers Start Returning $3,500 Apple Vision Pro As Complaints Pour In
Futuristic Tech Is Happening Sooner Than Later, the Question of How Is Up to You
