Amid condemnation over an advertisement, Apple finally issued a rare apology on Thursday, 9 May 2024. The Apple crush ad advertisement was touting the latest product Apple but the unusual approach of introducing or promoting the product has upset several creatives and other customers. Creators and netizens got outraged after watching the advertisement and claimed that Apple Inc. had hurt the feelings of artists. Since then, the company has been facing criticism over their Apple marketing campaign. After watching the criticism and backlash on social media, the company issued an apology and said the company would not air the “Apple Crush Ad” on television as earlier planned.
What Is “Apple’s iPad Pro Ad”?
The latest advertisement of Apple is about the latest edition of a new Apple product; “Apple’s iPad Pro”. The ad featured musical instruments, paint cans, TVs, and other creative tools that were being crushed and turned into iPads. However, creators and other customers are not pleased with the creative approach of the marketing campaign of Apple and expressed their criticism. All the objects that were crushed in the ad are linked to human creativity which made this campaign a subject of criticism.
Several social media users took their social media accounts to condemn the approach of the marketing campaign and labelled it as painful and tone-deaf at a time when the creative community is already worried about its future with the emergence and rising demand of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Actor Hugh Grant states that the ad promoted the “destruction of the human experience.” Some social media users said the Apple Crush ad did not bode well for the tech giant in the age of AI and as regulators look to break up key properties like the App Store.
Apple Issued An Apology Over Crush Advertisement
Tor Myhren, Apple’s Vice President of Marketing told a global media brand while seeking an apology, “Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world. Our goal is to always have the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through the iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we are sorry.”
As mentioned above, the company further added in their statement that Apple Inc. is not planning to air this ad on television. However, it is still available to watch on YouTube and other social media platforms.
An Apple spokesperson declined to make any comment over the controversy and apology but asked to make direct inquiries to the Ad Age report.
Apple Crush Ad Goes Viral On Social Media
The controversial ad Apple posted on YouTube Channel with the title “Crush”. It has accumulated over a million views on the official YouTube Channel of Apple. After posting on YouTube, the CEO of the firm, Tim Cook also shared it on his X (Formerly Twitter). The ad displays a wide range of creative tools and objects destroyed by an industrial crusher. Then the crusher reveals the newly undisclosed iPad, symbolising how much the new thinner model encompasses.
It is worth noting that Apple has an in-house marketing team that develops several of its advertisements, while it also works with the agency Media Arts Lab for some campaigns. It is not clear if Apple or its agency developed the iPad Pro Ad.
The tech giant revealed the tablet on Tuesday, May 7 with a new chip for AI computing as it rushes to catch up with its Big Tech rivals in a race to dominate the emerging AI Technology. Apple states that the latest edition of the iPad is “the thinnest Apple Product Ever.”