Apple Slammed On X For Tone-Deaf "Crush!" iPad Pro AD

Source: Apple / iPad Pro M4 Chip

Apple usually nails its product ads, but the tech giant is now receiving backlash for its iPad Pro ad spot, which many perceive as tone-deaf.

Following its “Let Loose” event that was all about the Apple iPad, showing a new Pro model, refreshed iPad Air, and accessories, many on X, formerly Twitter, we’re not feeling the new spot called “Crush!” introducing the new iPad Pro to the world.

The company apologized for the commercial that showed creative tools and instruments, such as a piano, paint, record player, and more, being crushed to reveal the new, slimmer iPad Pro model.

In a statement shared with Ad Age, Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of marketing, said Apple “missed the mark.”

“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Myhren told the website. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”

Social Media Crushes The Tech Giant

The apology was a direct result of the well-deserved backlash against the ad. Creatives criticized the company on social media.

Actor Hugh Grant called the commercial “destruction of human experience,” and Handmaid’s Tale director Reed Morano instructed Apple CEO Tim Cook to “READ THE ROOM, BRO. CUZ THIS SHIT IS ACTUALLY PSYCHOTIC.”

“This feels like the first ad that is a tone deaf miss from Apple. An ad showing beautiful tools of human creativity being crushed to be replaced by the newest and thinnest gadget feels antithetical to Apple. I’d expect this from an AI company not Apple,” another user on X wrote. 

Even this company is capable of dropping the ball.

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