Apple has recently faced significant backlash for its new iPad advertisement, which has been widely criticized for its portrayal of crushing physical tools of creativity, such as musical instruments and cameras, under a giant industrial hydraulic press. This metaphor, intended to symbolize the condensation of creativity into the sleek, uniformized form of the new iPad, has instead been interpreted as a dystopian vision of technology overpowering human creative expression. Critics argue that the ad, by depicting the destruction of cultural and artistic tools into a sanitized 'product', sends a message that is out of touch with Apple's traditionally creative-friendly brand identity. The controversy has sparked discussions on the impact of technology on creativity and the role of physical tools in the artistic process.
“Whatever you are doing IRL, we will crush it and replace it with the black mirror” I’ll say this: it’s refreshingly honest https://t.co/1F7vhi2khc
Oh boy, the Apple ad turned inside out -- an anthem for the resistance :-) Brilliant! https://t.co/hqwC92URaA
Genius, this is why I love the Internets! I just wish they kept the soundtrack as is. https://t.co/k8EtHC2SVx
Hot take on the iPad ad, it’s fulfilling its purpose as an ad as it provokes. Potentially the most watched recent ad from Apple in a long while, for good or bad. plot twist, Apple says it’s all CGI, rendered and edited using the iPad Pro
Apple just straight-up took their overtly Orwellian 1984 ad as an unironic blueprint, huh? I've been an Apple acolyte for almost as long as there have been Apple computers, but W. T. F.? https://t.co/Cc6aT71qzq
Creative nitpick with the bad Apple ad, completely separate its conceptual badness: it clearly should have been a visual stunt where the industrial press is set to crush everything down to a 5.5mm thick block of smoosh, and only the ultra-slim iPad survives unscathed
Big Tech is slowly crushing Arts, music and culture. A perfect metaphor: https://t.co/1d7ClEBgBN
The tables seem to have turned. Apple did its 1984 ad smashing the computer overlords (IBM). Apple’s new ad could be interpreted as Apple being the dark tech overlord smashing things that many find dear. But it sure got us all talking about Apple! 🍎 https://t.co/vLGKsAl3uA https://t.co/KFIkUufzDY
Apple is getting roasted for its new ad that shows a bunch of musical instruments getting crushed into an iPad. The ad misunderstands the importance of physical tools in the creative process. Brian Eno has a great explainer on the advantage of physical instruments over… https://t.co/YVk134Mt6c
This is what the Apple add should have been. The sad thing is it’s the same ad, just in reverse. https://t.co/yrwr5KasDW
The latest Apple ad fail (a hydraulic press smashing beloved cultural artifacts and suggesting they can somehow be substituted with a tablet) is the second example in a year of a company appearing to fall out of touch with its customers. The other one that comes to mind is…
Someone in China just reversed the footage of Apple’s horrible iPad ad, and now the sentiment is beautiful lol https://t.co/RjaFMJXz7x
I don't care how you feel about it! It's Apple's best work. This is a phenomenal ad! 1) It's so visually clear; iconic visual hits are delivered one after another until we hit the crescendo. 2) The play with contrast & scale demonstrated is peak, monolithic plinth, massive… https://t.co/8zB1bdKvGp
Besides the dystopian symbolism of literally crushing creative tools under an industrial press to produce a uniformized, sanitized "product", it feels really uncomfortable to watch perfectly good instruments getting destroyed. Hopefully that was all CG. https://t.co/ptJcy1TqOY
I don't care how you feel about it! It's Apple's best work. This is a phenomenal ad! 1) It's so visually clear; iconic visual hits are delivered one after another, till we hit the crescendo. 2) The play with contrast & scale demonstrated is peak, monolithic plinth, massive… https://t.co/8zB1bdKvGp
CGI or not, I don’t get good vibes from seeming lots of art stuff get crushed. Especially musical instruments, wtf. A swing and a miss this one. Sooo off-brand for Apple, which normally courts artists. https://t.co/wCItmQoKPY
Someone in China reversed Apple's awful new iPad Pro ad — and made something surprisingly beautiful https://t.co/jafOep31gN
So many people hate this ad but I think it's a great ad. Here's why? 1. Clearly, hit a spot. Rises above the noise. 2. Makes one core point: thinner. 3. Showcases whole product value: many apps. If you are afraid to ruffle the feathers, you are not doing it right. https://t.co/P04AaFKTdu
I absolutely love this ad Apple just totally owning its role as arch-leveler — flattening all of human experience into a screen, Total Screen, destroying books, music, art — everything uniquely human — until finally it explodes a head and its eyes pop out. Reminds me of P… https://t.co/P2B9eG6En1
Apple: "let's literally crush all that is wonderful about human artistic creation." https://t.co/L7ir3KKxtx
Apple: let's literally crush all that is wonderful about human artistic creation. https://t.co/2nFBnPRamy
Are we really surprised Apple released an ad where they crushed creativity into one sleek package? https://t.co/AWmmZ7cf2o
This ad makes me sad. Apple has completely lost touch with creators and just became yet another tech monolith. https://t.co/HRe3OAqSSI
“That new iPad ad is the most anti-creativity and anti-human thing I have ever seen” - Area man who spends his time defending AI
I really can’t imagine no one at Apple saw the metaphor in this video of crushing the existing physical tools and ecosystem for human creativity (and so link to soulless #AI). Which makes it doubly weird they went with this ad/product, as no one cares about thinness anymore https://t.co/YpKAuW6uko
Curious…Apple might be the the tech giant you’d least expect to misfire in this way with this ad https://t.co/5bZsvWYry5
Apple, 2012 called and wants its commercial back. We no longer trust you & other tech co's not to *literally* crush art and things that bring humans joy. And obsession with thinness was cute once but with everything else going on, it now sounds like an eating disorder. Get help https://t.co/G2fLwcsphu
Creatives dub Apple's new iPad promo—where art and cultural materials are crushed to a pulp—as 'genuinely dystopian' and 'catastrophically awful.' https://t.co/b3s94iHCMQ
This Apple ad is what happens when you try to be “edgy” with no consideration for strategy. Consider first principles: 1) Apple is a brand built on giving people a sense of inspiration and joy (eg, the colorful 2000s iPod ads) 2) Their target audience is consumers who are… https://t.co/nS9EuXTghK
Apple's new ad met with widespread disgust and resentment over 'dystopian' messaging https://t.co/cIS4ByabmA https://t.co/RCNeMeVOro
For those saying Steve Jobs would have *never* focused on how thin a device is.. or that Apple lost it's way.. What do you make of this video from 16 years ago? https://t.co/Q5boUgrgiE
Of all the things a new iPad could be, I can’t believe ‘thinner’ gets the lead in this ad… Feels very Tim Cook, and a long way from Steve Jobs in the marketing https://t.co/vZKno15mCK
Steve Jobs had reverence for creatives and he understood symbolism. Here we see beautiful, classic objects being crushed to smithereens and being replaced with a digital device. It's uncomfortable to watch and it reminds me how powerless we are to stop digital tech taking over… https://t.co/MlRWTb3fYB
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single commercial offend and turn off a core customer base as much as this iPad spot. Achieves the opposite of their legendary 1984 spot. It’s not even that it’s boring or banal. It makes me feel… bad? Bummed out?
Apple's new "Crush" ad (let's call it "2024") is a visual & metaphorical bookend to the 1984 ad. 1984: Monochome, conformist, industrial world exploded by colourful, vibrant human 2024: Colourful, vibrant humanity is crushed by monochrome, conformist industrial press https://t.co/p0yqQ8ZGYL https://t.co/WkyAdubx2m
Ooof I'm not sure who thought this ad was a good idea. Let's show all these wonderful tools we use to be creative and human and then smash them up and reduce everything to a screen. Lovely. Job done. https://t.co/IxUUgBv2CI
can't believe Apple ran such an out of touch commercial that treats devices Steve Jobs would have cherished as trash https://t.co/BSk7QihI1w
This ad is (unintentional) perfect metaphor for today's creative dark age: compress organic instruments, joyful/imperfect machines, tangible art, our entire physical reality into a soulless, postmodern, read-only device a multi-trillion $ corporation controls what you do with https://t.co/mxtfOKloYV
This ad perfectly encapsulates the insight that people think technology is killing everything we ever found joy in. And then presents that as a good thing. I haven't seen such a visceral backlash to a spot in a long time. https://t.co/QWIHwPWgJ4
Let it be known that I love Apple products but the optics of this ad, which depicts crushing the products of human creativity under an industrial hydraulic press, speaks volumes about the dearth of imagination at the company right now. https://t.co/CCmtQUk9P7
wow this is a terrible ad. the symbolism of crushing creative equipment, almost in a comedic/dark way, to make place for a soulless product. dystopian https://t.co/LNWjjgro0t
Apple's new ad as a fashion metaphor https://t.co/tn1FEcfgz3 https://t.co/WkyAdubx2m
With precious few seconds to tell a story, metaphors are incredibly important in ads. But metaphors can be unintentional. Apple's intended metaphor: We've squeezing lots of creativity into a thin device. Apple's accidental metaphor: We're crushing creative expression. cc… https://t.co/WkyAdubx2m
With precious few second to tell a story, metaphors are incredibly important in ads. But metaphors can be unintentional. Apple's intended metaphor: We've squeezing lots of creativity into a thin device. Apple's accidental metaphor: We're crushing creative expression. cc… https://t.co/WkyAdubx2m
Apple is being slammed for producing a commercial for the new iPad which shows a huge version of the device crushing creative tools such as musical instruments, paint and cameras in a giant vice. https://t.co/lCeoHfu3uj
Apple: a giant chromed steel obelisk slowly crushes all symbols of culture and a rich creative life, with a final gasp of revulsion, it is all reduced to nothing - and we are left with a little magazine sized glass tablet of lightweight mediocrity 👍
You get the feeling the apple iPad ad must have been pitched as Sony Bravia bouncing balls 2.0 — explosions of colors, chaos etc it just comes across so dark and dystopic.