Apple Apologizes For Controversial iPad Pro Ad

Like its unique products, Apple is also known for its ads. The silicon giant uses video masterfully to sell itself and its products. Apple’s ads, product launch videos, and marketing films highlight thematic threads the company has carefully spun throughout its history. Old-school Apple ads, such as the notorious “1984″ Super Bowl spot, painted the company as a liberator from tech giants like IBM. Other ad campaigns, for instance, “Think Different,” encouraged users to trust their creativity. Steve Jobs has always been a champion of design and artists.

In a recent development, Apple released a new iPad Pro ad that featured several creative objects—including a piano, video cameras, and cans of paint—being destroyed by a hydraulic press. The ad met with fierce backlash from people who believed Apple’s ad was at odds with what Steve Jobs and the company claimed to stand for. As a result, Apple apologized saying that it “missed the mark.”

New iPad Pro Ad Received Widespread Backlash

The latest iPad Pro ad features a myriad of objects getting smashed in a large hydraulic press. The ad was named “Crush.” It received millions of views on Apple’s YouTube channel and CEO Tim Cook’s X account. According to the company, Crush never made it to TV, and plans for a TV run have reportedly been dumped. Tor Myhren, the company’s VP of marketing communications stated:

“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 celebrate 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’re sorry.”

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