Apple thought it had a nice way to market the new iPad Pro, but things turned out a bit differently. People criticized the commercial mercilessly. Apple has since apologized.
The new Apple commercial shows a giant hydraulic press containing all kinds of equipment used to create art and music. For example, there is a guitar, paint, a piano and a metronome. And predictably, they are all brutally crushed by the press. When it then goes up again, only the new iPad Pro can be seen and ‘all I ever need is you’ is sung.
Disrespect
It is of course clear what Apple wants to say with this advertisement: the iPad Pro is the only creative tool you need. But now people feel that the materials are not being respected and that creators are being ridiculed. Critics also find it symbolic of what the tech industry does to people with a creative profession. This advertisement actually makes some people want to do more with analog materials and put the iPad away more often.
The commercial has earned Apple a lot of extra attention, because all major American media have paid attention to the criticism of the company today. For example, the Washington Post refers to the iconic Apple commercial ‘1984’, in which the then small computer company ‘resisted the mechanistic forces of conformity’. “Apple now risks becoming the villain of its own hero myth.”
‘Typical Silicon Valley’
Many people also agree: the stuff that Apple destroys in its video has its own added value. A record player, television or arcade cabinet cannot be completely replaced by an iPad. “It’s supplementary at best,” says The Verge. “This commercial is typical Silicon Valley: the past is portrayed as outdated.”
Numerous Hollywood celebrities and creatives have also responded. “The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley,” actor Hugh Grant responded. Filmmaker Justine Bateman addressed Apple CEO Tim Cook: “Really, what’s wrong with you?”
Apple apologizes
Apple CEO Tor Myhren, vice president of marketing communications, apologized for the commercial in a statement to AdAge on Thursday. “Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to create products that empower creatives. Our goal was to celebrate the countless ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. With this video we missed the mark, and we are sorry for that.”
It could have happened that way
Of course it is also a sad sight, all those precious materials being destroyed. But viewers have also already found a solution for Apple: just release the ad backwards. Then you start with the new iPad and end with the things you can use the iPad for. Then the commercial immediately becomes a lot more cheerful.
We have summarized for you what you need to know about the new iPads.
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