Apple has announced it will cancel the planned TV broadcast of its controversial ‘Crush’ ad after admitting it “missed its target.”
This week, Apple launched its new iPad And also shared the new advertisement on Tim Cook’s X account and Apple’s YouTube page. Instead of getting people excited about the AI-enhanced iPad, the ad left people angry and upset.
Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product ever, the most advanced display ever, with the incredible power of the M4 chip. Just imagine all the things it will be used to create. pic.twitter.com/6PeGXNoKgG
– Tim Cook (@tim_cook) 7 May 2024
“I’m not sure ’tis the undeserved destruction of all things good and beautiful [sic] ‘This World’ was exactly the vibe you were striving for,” said A user in response, one more Highlighting how this ad sits in contrast to an iconic Apple ad of the past: “Forty years ago, Apple released the 1984 ad as a bold statement against a dystopian future. Now you are that dystopian future. Congratulations.”
It appears the tech giant heard the message loud and clear. one in Statement given to AdAge, Apple acknowledged that the ad failed to meet its goal of empowering creators. Tor Myhren, the company’s Vice President of Marketing Communications, said,
At Apple, creativity is in our DNA, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creative people around the world. Our goal is always to celebrate the myriad ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the target in this video and we are sorry.
What did the Apple ‘Crush’ ad do and did it miss the mark?
The ad, which shows a crusher breaking creative objects ranging from paint to tools to sculptures before lifting it up to reveal a new iPad, is intended to convey the creative potential that lies within the device. ‘Look at all the things you can do and create with an iPad,’ was the point.
Instead, the message was along the lines that Apple would crush all creativity and happiness from the world so that it could live inside an iPad, and no one would be able to create with physical objects anymore.
One
I think the ad would work better if it was reversed. All objects should expand on the iPad instead of being squished into it
Made this edited version in five minutes (thanks iMovie!) pic.twitter.com/TZxzpuYzXu
– kepano (@kepano) 8 May 2024
Whatever your thoughts on the ad, it should be noted that this is not the first ad of its kind. In fact, phone maker LG made a remarkably similar one in 2008.
LG phone advertisement from 2008 (BBH London) pic.twitter.com/cWIDZx1d4a
-Andy Allen (@asallen) 9 May 2024
apple-cancels-planned-tv-spot-for-contentious-crush-ad
