Apple in the dust after commercial for new iPad

Apple apologized on Thursday after a wave of criticism over a commercial for its new iPad Pro tablet.

In the commercial in question ‘Crush!’ shows a collection of objects related to human creativity, such as musical instruments, paint and books, being crushed by a hydraulic press, with the song ‘All I Need is You’ by Sony & Cher as the musical background. At the end of the clip, an iPad Pro emerges from the press.

The controversial commercial for the iPad Pro.

With the commercial, Apple seems to send the message that as an artist, a tablet computer is enough to unleash your creativity. But many creative people disagreed with that. When Apple CEO Tim Cook shared the video clip on X, he was inundated with a wave of criticism.

Apple was accused of declaring war on human art and culture. For example, actor Hugh Grant believes the ad represents “the destruction of the human experience, courtesy of Silicon Valley.”

Apple made a fuss in a written response to the advertising trade magazine Ad Age. “We’ve always been committed to celebrating the versatile ways in which users express themselves and bring their ideas to life on iPad. We missed the mark with this video, for which we apologize.”

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment further, but did refer to the Ad Age article. In the meantime, the video clip on Apple’s YouTube channel has already attracted more than 1 million viewers.

The new tablet computer, which was launched on Tuesday, contains a new chip that enables more AI functions. According to Apple, the iPad Pro has a better screen and is “the thinnest product Apple has ever released.”