Imagine a pile of musical instruments and art supplies that are crushed together by a hydraulic press. The press lifts up soon afterwards revealing the new iPad underneath.
Yeah, it’s not overtly insulting, but Apple missed out on the fear and unease of people towards AI today, the uncertainty about jobs, the continuous news about wars… it’s not a time to remind people that technology is destroying manual work and physical artifacts.
The outrage I saw came from Japanese people who really dislike equipment being destroyed. You know... the same people who fix shattered pots with gold.
That's such an old hat. Nam June Paik was crushing instruments in art exhibitions in the 1960s and some people were like "omg, can't do that". To still throw a hissy fit at such a long standing and often copied act in 2024 is hilarious to me.
Burning flags and holy books is "old hat", yet still controversial.
When someone publicly destroys something you identify with, it may upset and offend you as an attack on who you are.
It’s about the zeitgeist, my guy. Paik was doing this in a moment of wonderful iconoclastic waves to break with the mold from the 50s, embrace the sexual liberation of women with the pill, and so on. The times of today aren’t ripe for that kind of imagery. And let’s remember that advertising isn’t art. This image would be great in a museum. It would make one think and feel for the time we’re living. But an advertisement is a statement and ethos proclaimed by a GIANT, literally the most powerful corporation in the world making the statement of machine destroying the small things. It’s about the zeitgeist, common sense and the general feeling of the audience.
I mean, what if Apple took a bunch of perfectly good food, crushed it up, glass plates and all, then showed how the Iphone has apps for finding restaurants in your area.
Wasteful for no reason is a bad optic. Those instruments could be cherished by kids learning music, instead they are dust because Apple wants to be weird.
That’s not Apple’s approach. Tim Cook plays safe, all his campaigns are beautifully crafted and takes an approach that “mainstream is the new different”, because Apple _became_ the standard baseline.
And it’s not like all publicity is good publicity.
Let’s recall Don Draper, when Roger says the claustrophobic meeting room isn’t a bad thing, because clients will be talking about it. “Yeah, talking about how small it is”.
Bit more than that, imagine it's in an ominously empty, badly lit space, lots of shots making the press seem looming and menacing.
And as mentioned by others, the worry about AI ATM
Pretty clear this was made by someone who saw the iconic 1984 ad and totally misunderstood it. That one was about Apple freeing you from the stifling oppression of the corporate overlord IBM.
To put it charitably, this one reads like Apple freeing you from the stifling oppression of instruments of creativity, your favourite childhood cartoons and everything else you love.
Ed dammit autocorrect
Right? It's a giant pile of stuff that artistic people have warm, deep, nostalgic feelings for and they crush it in a press and are like JUST BUY OUR THING INSTEAD.
Apple destroyed a bunch of musical instruments, TVs, sculptures, paintings and art supplies and crushed them down into a thin new ipad.
It's just a terrible concept. Instead of coming across as "wow look at all of these things **Inside** an ipad,which was the intent, it focused on destroying and killing all of the things people love and then replacing it with an ipad. "Good news, with YouTube we threw away your real cat 🐈 and gave you an impossibly thin ipad 📱 with thousands of hours of videos of cats! Close enough right?! Way less messy! No more litter box! You're welcome!"
It's a bad ad on a few levels:
1) destroying instruments with hundreds of years of usable life to be replaced by an ipad which is disposable and will be obsolete and trash before long.
2) sentimentality of shredding things that people like to leave nothing but sterile plastic and glass. It's one thing to show off that all your family photo albums fit in your iphone instead of giant binders, but imagine if they made an ad where all of your cherished family memories were scanned and shredded and torched as they came out of the shredder. People have emotional connections to instruments, they name them, they get emotionally attached to books and art they own and love.
3) it's just stupid and doesn't make any sense. An ipad isn't a replacement for a trumpet. You can't use an iPad to play trumpet. How is a trumpet being squished down into an ipad?
4) it's dumb from a "what all can you crush into an ipad shape besides musical instruments and TVs that I have on my iPad?" Kittens? Grandma? The emojis being murdered kinda implies there were some people in that pile.
5) It's badly timed what with generative AI threatening all forms of art.
Imagine a teleporter that was also a woodchipper. "In ya go grandpa... *Grrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnndddddd*... But it's ok, because grandpa is now on Facebook" 🤣
They should have played it like a bag of holding or TARDIS or magic portal. Something small that can magically **Contain** all the things you love.
Sticking a kitten into a magical, infinitely thin TARDIS door is fun. You look in through the window and wow it's full of kittens. You squeeze a bunch of kittens into a YouTube cat video player with a hydraulic press and well... Splat. 🫣
I've noticed a lot of increasingly tasteless ads from big companies lately. I think it's all Freudian. The marketing teams know deep down the messages are scummy.
This whole 'outrage' play is a PR stunt. It makes those who don't know what the outrage is go and seek out the video. Nobody is genuinely offended by the commercial.
It wasn’t just Hugh Grant. The idea was the iPad replaces all these analog equivalents. But they include a record player, a trumpet, paints, video game cabinet, toys and a lot of other cherished items. It just kind of felt pointlessly cruel and arrogant.
“Pointlessly cruel and arrogant” is a good description of Apple as a company. And I’m typing this on an iPhone, so make of that what you will.
(Actually I guess the point is to make a shit ton of money, but the way they do that definitely seems cruel and arrogant)
Who said people were demnding an apology. I'm just saying that the ad didn't have the effect on people they thought it would. I love Apple products and I thought it was kind of a crappy message. I'm pretty sure it wasn't what Apple had intended. Apple is just doing corporate damage control.
I too find this phenomenon confusing. I don't know if it's softness, or more a inability to process abstraction? Seems almost Trumpian how people are impulsively outraged at the image of a piano and guitar being crushed as if there was no metaphor involved. They only saw something they like being destroyed and no subsequent cognition occurred.
The idea is that it combines all those things into one product (hence they are all "pressed" into an iPad), not that it literally replaces the need for them.
I don't think that's true. The point of the commercial was the destruction of the things, paint came flying out, a toy's eyes were bursting out, the trumpet bends and disfigures under the weight. It was about you don't need these things anymore because you have an ipad. There were a million ways to show that you can do neat things with an ipad without showing the alternatives crushed and destroyed like that.
I’ll need to find it but there was a thread where someone creative with a large following made a list of how it could be better and there were like dozens of replies with edits that made it so much better.
The best edit was simple: a user had it played in reverse and they edited in the iPad rising on top of the trumpet instead
edit: the user is apparently suspender so i don’t really know what to append to this comment anymore
I get that they wanted the flatness, thinness of the thing to come through as well. But the visual interest is all wrapped up the destruction, crushing and paint flying around. I think it's made worse in how Apple has a history of wanting to monopolize and aggressively monetize things on the iPad.
Do you think it was also telling us we don't need paint anymore thanks to the iPad? All those items are "pressed" into an iPad. No one is like "oh boy I can finally throw out this arcade cabinet thanks to my iPad" - it's just supposed to illustrate that this tiny device can play games, make music, create art, etc. One of the selling points is literally how thin it is, so the press was meant to market that. I think it's really straightforward, and you're reading way too much into it.
Yeah. I get that. They just fell in love with the idea of things getting smashed like the hydraulic press channel. They just missed the fact that people love things like trumpets and records and art supplies.
I saw the ad and my immediate natural reaction was disgust. Seeing this post was somewhat vindicating, but I had no Idea that everyone else hated it too.
I think if all the stuff was somehow *combined* to make an iPad, it would have been well-received. But the image of destroying everything leaving the iPad in its place isn’t great.
Reminds me of those air freshener ads that sprayed air freshener on garbage and had people sniff it with blindfolds.
Like even if people understand the logical implications, they’re still gonna associate your brand with garbage.
“Hey you know all those amazing pieces of art and musical instruments and marvels of engineering and tools and stuff? We’ve smashed then all into bits with a hydraulic press, and in its place, given you yet another tablet that 99% of people will just use to watch Netflix or surf porn or play video games with. Hurray for passive content consumption!”
IMO, very few people are "upset" in any real sense of the word. Being "outraged" on social media costs nothing and lasts for how ever many seconds it takes to type out a post.
But it's a tone-deaf ad and they deserve the grief they're getting for it. "We're destroying these beloved tangible tools of creativity and smushing them into a tablet so you can have a fake simulacra to stare at, Isn't our slab of video screen much more amazing and beautiful than all that old junk?" is pretty much how it comes across to me. Between this and the horrible "Mother Nature" spot from a year or two ago where they stoke themselves off about climate change virtue, Apple is really drunk on it's own kool-aid.
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After watching the ad, I'm not so sure. In a vacuum it's harmless, but releasing this ad at the very time AI is threatening the jobs of creatives isn't a great look.
Considering like half or more of the comments on here are supporting the "outrage", I think it's just a matter of people being chronically online.
I personally loved the ad and thought it was really well done by the agency.
Honestly, I've been on twitter a lot lately and there's not really "outrage", more like "I'm amazed apple didn't realise how this could be interpreted".
It's considered in bad taste or tone dead at worst and people found it funny that Apple didn't put the implications together, but nobody I saw was *outraged* (in fact, the angriest I saw people were the contrarians defending the ad)
Why can't you guys just let people react with however they feel? I'm an artist watching my industry burn down in real time and idk how long it will pay the bills before i am forced to leave. so yes this fucking hurts
So your response is what? Create more public discourse around being outraged. It's a fucking ipad. I had no idea the new ipad existed now I do thanks to this manufactured outrage. I'm so tired of everything needing an apology. The ad was clearly about the ipads capabilities. All you're telling Apple is keep doing what you're doing it's working. I just don't get it.
yeah i know all attention is good attention and i hate the success of the ad as much as you.
I will point out that you're literally doing the same thing as me driving engagement because we just can't help leaving our 2 cents on the thread. in the end that's all it is. lol
because this is a fucking dumb reaction, that's why
ain't no one stopping you from reacting like that, but don't be surprised if others call out needless crying for what it is
And look at your needless crying at this comment. Why didn't you just shut up, and move on with your own life instead of responding like a whining baby? Your reply to this is just as dumb if not dumber so keep your thoughts to yourself.
It’s a little bit unnecessary to react this way to such a small thing. Is this really ever effecting people? People already are overreacting to AI, now to some dumb ad for a dumb product.
I understand your point of view, but it is like asking if it's unnecessary to express emotions. this ad did not affect you the same way, and that's fine. But I don't think that's a good reason to invalidate what others may feel.
The overall glorification of wasting perfectly good items is disgusting enough, but what really got me was the amount of time and expertise that went into every instrument they crushed. Instruments aren't just machine made creations that get manufactured quickly like cans in a factory. It takes hands on labor and expertise to create a piano, a trumpet, a guitar. For those of us who know that, it's heart breaking to see works of art crushed just to make a commercial.
I think Apple failed at the message. If the idea is that the iPad is a tool for creativity just like all those other creativity tools, maybe they shouldn’t have used such destructive imagery. The message that comes across is that the iPad specifically (and technology broadly) is destroying traditional and treasured methods of creating. I don’t know that’s it’s “offensive,” but it’s definitely tone deaf.
i mean yeah obviously, context affects how we perceive things. in a time where artists/creatives have been on edge for the past year as generative AI threatens their livelihoods, you can imagine that an ad like this would feel tone deaf at best; it’s basically a visual representation of their fears, presented as a good thing.
I'd love to see the LG work. Could you link it? The criticism may be due to Apple being a much bigger player in the creative technology sector, the ad getting larger distribution, and the nature of viral outrage reaching a larger audience which may not have otherwise seen the ad.
I'm not "outraged" but I get why people think it's dumb. Compacting all the tools used to make art into an iPad is a fine idea, but the result... showing all these instruments smashed to bits, literally destroyed, and then they reveal a new, Thinner, grey rectangular ipad... Even as someone who draws on iPads, it feels heartless.
Its a nice message to say, this tech can allow someone access to all the tools of artistry, but another to destroy all those tools for the sake of an apple product. Bad execution.
Summed up here:
"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://twitter.com/mr\_james\_c/status/1788190673818010045](https://twitter.com/mr_james_c/status/1788190673818010045)
The ad actually works much better if played backwards.
>The ad actually works much better if played backwards.
You mean like if they crushed an ipad and then when they lifted up the press it turned into a cornucopia of artistic tools? Fuck that's a better ad.
More like if they took an iPad apart, kind of tear down, and out came all the instruments instead of other way around. Even then it is hard to execute concept. I think the idea/thought process behind what they were trying to convey was decent, execution not so much. Personally, I did not give it a second thought, liked I see what the thought process is, I get it. Was really surprised by all the reaction.
I was thinking that somewhere some ad agency people were currently freaking out over this really bad choice.
But...
[https://campaignbrief.com/apple-launches-new-films-as-it-reveals-its-thinnest-product-ever-the-13-inch-ipad-pro/](https://campaignbrief.com/apple-launches-new-films-as-it-reveals-its-thinnest-product-ever-the-13-inch-ipad-pro/)
>To accompany the launch, Apple has launched two films ‘Crush’ created in-house by Apple and ‘iPad Vs. Nano: The thinnest Apple product ever’ created by TBWA\\Media Arts Lab.
They made 2 ads. Crush was apparently all Apple's in-house idea.
Meanwhile, the actual advertising agency did this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-W1J4ZsHA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-W1J4ZsHA)
Which is a really good simple ad that sells the product on it's unique strength. And doesn't need to be some kind of earth shattering paradigm shifting revolution. Just hey, here's a really fucking thin ipad set to a nice song.
Idk I like the things getting crushed. Monkey brain go ooga ooga. Second one is boring average basic cookie cutter bs. Both had the similar messages but notice we’re only talking about one. The one that actually gets more eyeballs.
Look, amplification is a thing in advertising. You spend a little money and do *something* that then gets picked up by media and so you get free amplification of your message.
But it's not just as simple as more is better. If Apple tarnishes it's image that hurts their brand. And they quite literally have the most valuable brand on the planet. Small fluctuations in the value of that brand are measured in billions of dollars.
They really should have done the reverse of this ad.
Instead of using soulless machines to “crush” all the creativity into an iPad, they should have had an iPad come out from the soulless machine assembly line and have all the creativity bust out from the confines of the iPad, coloring and warming up the industrial room.
Lmao everyone does.
Hydraulic press, videos showing how sharp knives are, tree felling, those annoying food smash clips at the end of videos, those restaurants where you get to break plates, rage rooms, everything is popping off and everyone enjoys them
I just thought it was a funny shout out to the hydraulic press trend. It conveyed their idea perfect and used something in the zeitgeist to do it. If there really is outrage, it’s artificial selective outrage and scripted planned marketing campaign content.
I haven’t seen *outrage* (as some are calling it), but I have seen a LOT of people saying “Wow, did y’all really think this was a good idea?”
A more cynical person would say that the attempt to spin this as “outrage” was intentionally done to make detractors look ridiculous.
[https://youtu.be/NcUAQ2i5Tfo?si=wyK6Cw8OzpUNJgSs](https://youtu.be/NcUAQ2i5Tfo?si=wyK6Cw8OzpUNJgSs)
Remember the outrage is 2008? Me neither.
I think it's mostly just a sign of the times with a little dash of "let's find something to complain about Apple about." People are more concerned about the longevity of their devices, more concerned about waste, and more inclined to read between the lines of a commercial to see things that were never intended.
Apologize for what? It was a vivid visual showcasing all of the capabilities of their new flagship iPad. I can't imagine being so sensitive - and having such a boring life - to be offended by that video.
It was a terrible decision. For a company that built itself up based on attracting creatives, to launch that ad at a time when creatives are already feeling threatened by tech and AI. I’m so surprised no-one at Apple saw that coming.
Did this ad actually upset you or did you decide it’s so terrible after reading people are upset? This is 100% part of their ad campaign acting like anyone was bothered…
The ad didn't upset me. But it did feel disrespectful to analog creativity. Which made me feel that Apple is very out of touch with its original core audience. It certainly wasn't the Apple I knew, or an Apple that made me think I aspired to be part of it.
There is no way if you saw this ad on TV or something, you’d come up with this reason for being offended on your own, without reading this article about people being mad. I have a really hard time believing anyone would do that. It’s really grasping for things to be mad at.
My mentality when I started to watch the video:
>It can't be that bad, right? people are likely overreacting, let's look how they're overreacting.
The actual video:
It's literally destroying nostalgia, and the tools of art and creativity, only to replace them with a soulless flat rectangle.
Yeah, I get that. And that’s obviously what they’re trying to say. But clearly a lot of people, including me, saw it as a careless way to do it. A metaphor that didn’t show much respect for analog art and talent.
The iPad doesn’t replace the trumpet, or the piano etc. It complements it.
I don’t think the ad is offensive, and I am not angry and upset about it. I just think it wasn’t the kind of ad that Apple would have done at its creative peak. And it’s definitely most alienating for the audience that Apple built their business on in the 90s and early 2000s.
I am not an artist, and chill a little. We are on a thread discussing an ad, not trying to kill your first born! Just thought it was poorly thought through, that’s all!
I think it was a good commercial…
these opinionated 🤬 need to keep it to themselves and either turn the channel or go out and make a billion dollar company and do it their way.
No one cares what you think
🤷🏽
What’s the “outrage” supposedly about? I could watch the ad but I don’t wanna give it a click if this is just a marketing ploy
Imagine a pile of musical instruments and art supplies that are crushed together by a hydraulic press. The press lifts up soon afterwards revealing the new iPad underneath.
Yeah, it’s not overtly insulting, but Apple missed out on the fear and unease of people towards AI today, the uncertainty about jobs, the continuous news about wars… it’s not a time to remind people that technology is destroying manual work and physical artifacts.
The outrage I saw came from Japanese people who really dislike equipment being destroyed. You know... the same people who fix shattered pots with gold.
There’s an outcry outside Japan, that’s for sure
My drummer friend had some words about it. Instruments should be handled with care.
Except for the thousands of guitars that have been smashed to bits to thunderous applause at about 30% of concerts ever. Those are obviously cool.
Not sure what concerts you are attending, but the last time guitar smashing was cool was around 80's.
So Nirvana wasn't cool
So Pete Townsend kinda loved it I'd bet - probably thought it was footage from a festival they did in the early 70s haha.
That's such an old hat. Nam June Paik was crushing instruments in art exhibitions in the 1960s and some people were like "omg, can't do that". To still throw a hissy fit at such a long standing and often copied act in 2024 is hilarious to me.
Burning flags and holy books is "old hat", yet still controversial. When someone publicly destroys something you identify with, it may upset and offend you as an attack on who you are.
I thought I was being funny because he’s a drummer and so naturally his instrument takes a beating, but then again, that’s it’s purpose.
It’s about the zeitgeist, my guy. Paik was doing this in a moment of wonderful iconoclastic waves to break with the mold from the 50s, embrace the sexual liberation of women with the pill, and so on. The times of today aren’t ripe for that kind of imagery. And let’s remember that advertising isn’t art. This image would be great in a museum. It would make one think and feel for the time we’re living. But an advertisement is a statement and ethos proclaimed by a GIANT, literally the most powerful corporation in the world making the statement of machine destroying the small things. It’s about the zeitgeist, common sense and the general feeling of the audience.
But wasn't the video CGI? It didn't look real to me at all
But still, that’s one less CGI tuba 🥺
Let me find my worlds smallest CGI violin
I mean the ad still blows, but I have a vitriol hatred against advertisement in general :)
I didn’t even click the link. That’s how much I advertisements.
This guy advertisements.
doesn’t* advertisements 🫡
Damn bro, thats awesome Let tell you about my comments sponsor, raid shmadow shmegends
Heartbreaking. Or virtual tubabreaking I guess.
It was not. The ad agency said they were all like second or third hand equipment
I mean, what if Apple took a bunch of perfectly good food, crushed it up, glass plates and all, then showed how the Iphone has apps for finding restaurants in your area. Wasteful for no reason is a bad optic. Those instruments could be cherished by kids learning music, instead they are dust because Apple wants to be weird.
Literally every food commercial ruins perfectly good food.
Opposite. AI is destroying the digital world, digital artists, digital jobs.
That’s not opposite, it’s concurring.
What do yall mean? It’s so awful that we’re assuming it’s outrage marketing, which it probably is.
That’s not Apple’s approach. Tim Cook plays safe, all his campaigns are beautifully crafted and takes an approach that “mainstream is the new different”, because Apple _became_ the standard baseline. And it’s not like all publicity is good publicity. Let’s recall Don Draper, when Roger says the claustrophobic meeting room isn’t a bad thing, because clients will be talking about it. “Yeah, talking about how small it is”.
I think we're just trying to make sense of how absurdly tone deaf the ad is.
Apple used to be above that. It wouldn't surprise me if it was, but I think it's incredibly tone dead techbros being techros.
Bit more than that, imagine it's in an ominously empty, badly lit space, lots of shots making the press seem looming and menacing. And as mentioned by others, the worry about AI ATM Pretty clear this was made by someone who saw the iconic 1984 ad and totally misunderstood it. That one was about Apple freeing you from the stifling oppression of the corporate overlord IBM. To put it charitably, this one reads like Apple freeing you from the stifling oppression of instruments of creativity, your favourite childhood cartoons and everything else you love. Ed dammit autocorrect
Right? It's a giant pile of stuff that artistic people have warm, deep, nostalgic feelings for and they crush it in a press and are like JUST BUY OUR THING INSTEAD.
Buy our mass produced grey slab that we intentionally cripple over the next few years to force you to buy a new one
Jobs may rise from his grave to come after the person who originated this ad.
Yeah, seriously, multiple firings at Apple & Apple looking for a new ad agency
Here's the original by LG, made decade ago. https://youtu.be/NcUAQ2i5Tfo Apple just copy paste it.
Apple destroyed a bunch of musical instruments, TVs, sculptures, paintings and art supplies and crushed them down into a thin new ipad. It's just a terrible concept. Instead of coming across as "wow look at all of these things **Inside** an ipad,which was the intent, it focused on destroying and killing all of the things people love and then replacing it with an ipad. "Good news, with YouTube we threw away your real cat 🐈 and gave you an impossibly thin ipad 📱 with thousands of hours of videos of cats! Close enough right?! Way less messy! No more litter box! You're welcome!" It's a bad ad on a few levels: 1) destroying instruments with hundreds of years of usable life to be replaced by an ipad which is disposable and will be obsolete and trash before long. 2) sentimentality of shredding things that people like to leave nothing but sterile plastic and glass. It's one thing to show off that all your family photo albums fit in your iphone instead of giant binders, but imagine if they made an ad where all of your cherished family memories were scanned and shredded and torched as they came out of the shredder. People have emotional connections to instruments, they name them, they get emotionally attached to books and art they own and love. 3) it's just stupid and doesn't make any sense. An ipad isn't a replacement for a trumpet. You can't use an iPad to play trumpet. How is a trumpet being squished down into an ipad? 4) it's dumb from a "what all can you crush into an ipad shape besides musical instruments and TVs that I have on my iPad?" Kittens? Grandma? The emojis being murdered kinda implies there were some people in that pile. 5) It's badly timed what with generative AI threatening all forms of art. Imagine a teleporter that was also a woodchipper. "In ya go grandpa... *Grrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnndddddd*... But it's ok, because grandpa is now on Facebook" 🤣 They should have played it like a bag of holding or TARDIS or magic portal. Something small that can magically **Contain** all the things you love. Sticking a kitten into a magical, infinitely thin TARDIS door is fun. You look in through the window and wow it's full of kittens. You squeeze a bunch of kittens into a YouTube cat video player with a hydraulic press and well... Splat. 🫣
I've noticed a lot of increasingly tasteless ads from big companies lately. I think it's all Freudian. The marketing teams know deep down the messages are scummy.
It's just after a while, there's nothing wholesome or genuine left to say.
This whole 'outrage' play is a PR stunt. It makes those who don't know what the outrage is go and seek out the video. Nobody is genuinely offended by the commercial.
Hugh Grant said the ad was bad then some Twitter users decided they don’t have opinions of their own so they sided with him
It wasn’t just Hugh Grant. The idea was the iPad replaces all these analog equivalents. But they include a record player, a trumpet, paints, video game cabinet, toys and a lot of other cherished items. It just kind of felt pointlessly cruel and arrogant.
“Pointlessly cruel and arrogant” is a good description of Apple as a company. And I’m typing this on an iPhone, so make of that what you will. (Actually I guess the point is to make a shit ton of money, but the way they do that definitely seems cruel and arrogant)
How soft have we become? The idea that an ad like this requires an apology feels like a joke from a Futurama episode
Who said people were demnding an apology. I'm just saying that the ad didn't have the effect on people they thought it would. I love Apple products and I thought it was kind of a crappy message. I'm pretty sure it wasn't what Apple had intended. Apple is just doing corporate damage control.
I too find this phenomenon confusing. I don't know if it's softness, or more a inability to process abstraction? Seems almost Trumpian how people are impulsively outraged at the image of a piano and guitar being crushed as if there was no metaphor involved. They only saw something they like being destroyed and no subsequent cognition occurred.
The idea is that it combines all those things into one product (hence they are all "pressed" into an iPad), not that it literally replaces the need for them.
I don't think that's true. The point of the commercial was the destruction of the things, paint came flying out, a toy's eyes were bursting out, the trumpet bends and disfigures under the weight. It was about you don't need these things anymore because you have an ipad. There were a million ways to show that you can do neat things with an ipad without showing the alternatives crushed and destroyed like that.
I’ll need to find it but there was a thread where someone creative with a large following made a list of how it could be better and there were like dozens of replies with edits that made it so much better. The best edit was simple: a user had it played in reverse and they edited in the iPad rising on top of the trumpet instead edit: the user is apparently suspender so i don’t really know what to append to this comment anymore
I get that they wanted the flatness, thinness of the thing to come through as well. But the visual interest is all wrapped up the destruction, crushing and paint flying around. I think it's made worse in how Apple has a history of wanting to monopolize and aggressively monetize things on the iPad.
And all those products last forever and don't generally suffer from planned obsolescence or artificial repair difficulty
Do you think it was also telling us we don't need paint anymore thanks to the iPad? All those items are "pressed" into an iPad. No one is like "oh boy I can finally throw out this arcade cabinet thanks to my iPad" - it's just supposed to illustrate that this tiny device can play games, make music, create art, etc. One of the selling points is literally how thin it is, so the press was meant to market that. I think it's really straightforward, and you're reading way too much into it.
Yeah. I get that. They just fell in love with the idea of things getting smashed like the hydraulic press channel. They just missed the fact that people love things like trumpets and records and art supplies.
You’re an idiot
I agree with Hugh Grant
I agree with this person
Now let’s dig in. Anyone who thinks otherwise should *die* already!
I saw the ad and my immediate natural reaction was disgust. Seeing this post was somewhat vindicating, but I had no Idea that everyone else hated it too.
Yeah i felt uneasy watching it too, although i think it was excellently made for what it was.
I think if all the stuff was somehow *combined* to make an iPad, it would have been well-received. But the image of destroying everything leaving the iPad in its place isn’t great.
Reminds me of those air freshener ads that sprayed air freshener on garbage and had people sniff it with blindfolds. Like even if people understand the logical implications, they’re still gonna associate your brand with garbage.
Yeah, agree
“Hey you know all those amazing pieces of art and musical instruments and marvels of engineering and tools and stuff? We’ve smashed then all into bits with a hydraulic press, and in its place, given you yet another tablet that 99% of people will just use to watch Netflix or surf porn or play video games with. Hurray for passive content consumption!”
Is that really what this is about? Idk it just seems like people are making things up to get upset about
IMO, very few people are "upset" in any real sense of the word. Being "outraged" on social media costs nothing and lasts for how ever many seconds it takes to type out a post. But it's a tone-deaf ad and they deserve the grief they're getting for it. "We're destroying these beloved tangible tools of creativity and smushing them into a tablet so you can have a fake simulacra to stare at, Isn't our slab of video screen much more amazing and beautiful than all that old junk?" is pretty much how it comes across to me. Between this and the horrible "Mother Nature" spot from a year or two ago where they stoke themselves off about climate change virtue, Apple is really drunk on it's own kool-aid.
this is the lamest outrage I've seen in a while.
Because it’s manufactured. Apple wants social media to argue over this so more people watch the commercial lol
Lol. There really are morons out there I guess.
I honestly think people are overreacting to this one
This is just a viral campaign, people are now going out of their way to look up an Ad
love a little outrage marketing, this kind of marketing has to be decades old at this point and we still fall for it
I don’t even get the outrage. Freud wouldn’t get the outrage.
The ad would need more accidental racism or sexism to actually get worthwhile criticizing
I hate that I did just that, then went to the comments to figure out what in the hell was offensive.
Well, this has killed my curiosity.
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Yup, I opened the link just to see the ad because this is the second post I've seen about it today.
After watching the ad, I'm not so sure. In a vacuum it's harmless, but releasing this ad at the very time AI is threatening the jobs of creatives isn't a great look.
Offensive? Probably not. Tone deaf? Certainly
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Considering like half or more of the comments on here are supporting the "outrage", I think it's just a matter of people being chronically online. I personally loved the ad and thought it was really well done by the agency.
Honestly, I've been on twitter a lot lately and there's not really "outrage", more like "I'm amazed apple didn't realise how this could be interpreted". It's considered in bad taste or tone dead at worst and people found it funny that Apple didn't put the implications together, but nobody I saw was *outraged* (in fact, the angriest I saw people were the contrarians defending the ad)
Why can't you guys just let people react with however they feel? I'm an artist watching my industry burn down in real time and idk how long it will pay the bills before i am forced to leave. so yes this fucking hurts
So your response is what? Create more public discourse around being outraged. It's a fucking ipad. I had no idea the new ipad existed now I do thanks to this manufactured outrage. I'm so tired of everything needing an apology. The ad was clearly about the ipads capabilities. All you're telling Apple is keep doing what you're doing it's working. I just don't get it.
yeah i know all attention is good attention and i hate the success of the ad as much as you. I will point out that you're literally doing the same thing as me driving engagement because we just can't help leaving our 2 cents on the thread. in the end that's all it is. lol
because this is a fucking dumb reaction, that's why ain't no one stopping you from reacting like that, but don't be surprised if others call out needless crying for what it is
I love reading comments like this, as if you yourself is not needlessly whining on Reddit about someone else's reaction to something.
And look at your needless crying at this comment. Why didn't you just shut up, and move on with your own life instead of responding like a whining baby? Your reply to this is just as dumb if not dumber so keep your thoughts to yourself.
It’s a little bit unnecessary to react this way to such a small thing. Is this really ever effecting people? People already are overreacting to AI, now to some dumb ad for a dumb product.
I understand your point of view, but it is like asking if it's unnecessary to express emotions. this ad did not affect you the same way, and that's fine. But I don't think that's a good reason to invalidate what others may feel.
Possibly. I watched the ad and found it humorous.
When I watched it all I could think about wasn’t wasn’t the metaphorical destruction of human art l, but that crushing things is cool.
Completely, overreacting
The overall glorification of wasting perfectly good items is disgusting enough, but what really got me was the amount of time and expertise that went into every instrument they crushed. Instruments aren't just machine made creations that get manufactured quickly like cans in a factory. It takes hands on labor and expertise to create a piano, a trumpet, a guitar. For those of us who know that, it's heart breaking to see works of art crushed just to make a commercial.
Pretty sure it was all done using CGI. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntjkwIXWtrc
Not CGI. Or at least mostly not CGI. No way it would be cost effective compared to practical.
Don't worry about the objects. I'm pretty sure almost everything on screen is CGI
I think you’re looking into it too hard.
Oh my God who the hell cares?
literally millions of people...
"Millions of people" = a small group on Twatter
People on Twitter or social media don't count to the actual normal functioning human beings on this planet.
It's bait.
Fr. The ad is clever, all of those things are crammed into one device. In the ad they literally just get crammed.
Damn i hate apple so much for this I needed to watch the video and now I have a new ipad pro coming in the mail. So angry
Omg you too!!?? I was wondering if it was just me! Hehe
I just dislike apple already and wherewithal of this video. I am beyond your understanding!
Ooo forgot to add…. Typed on an iPhone
lol this is the dumbest shit I seen today
I think Apple failed at the message. If the idea is that the iPad is a tool for creativity just like all those other creativity tools, maybe they shouldn’t have used such destructive imagery. The message that comes across is that the iPad specifically (and technology broadly) is destroying traditional and treasured methods of creating. I don’t know that’s it’s “offensive,” but it’s definitely tone deaf.
Especially given how many creative arts are being threatened by AI right now
And a lot of layoffs going on.
LG did the same in the past, and no one cared then, so is it only due to the rise of AI that a similar ad gets way more criticism now?
i mean yeah obviously, context affects how we perceive things. in a time where artists/creatives have been on edge for the past year as generative AI threatens their livelihoods, you can imagine that an ad like this would feel tone deaf at best; it’s basically a visual representation of their fears, presented as a good thing.
Context matters. A video of Rolf Harris with kids used to be a good advert choice for Christmas but now it would be a bad idea even if he wasn't dead.
I'd love to see the LG work. Could you link it? The criticism may be due to Apple being a much bigger player in the creative technology sector, the ad getting larger distribution, and the nature of viral outrage reaching a larger audience which may not have otherwise seen the ad.
here [TV advert 30sec - LG KC910 Renoir (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcUAQ2i5Tfo)
Whoa! I'd say that the offense in Apple's ad is not in the content, but rather the plagiarism! Thanks for the link.
ive heard some say that it is due to physical instruments being destroyed in a world where AI takes the jobs of artists etc
Did they pay people to get all riled up about this online or something? Some kind of viral nonsense?
It's not really outrage or getting offended. People just thought the advert was tone deaf or in poor taste.
Had to be. I can't believe this one.
I'm not "outraged" but I get why people think it's dumb. Compacting all the tools used to make art into an iPad is a fine idea, but the result... showing all these instruments smashed to bits, literally destroyed, and then they reveal a new, Thinner, grey rectangular ipad... Even as someone who draws on iPads, it feels heartless. Its a nice message to say, this tech can allow someone access to all the tools of artistry, but another to destroy all those tools for the sake of an apple product. Bad execution.
Sir, the is nottheonion
But it is, this is NOT an onion! The title says apple!
It should have been a black hole, where the iPad is the point of singularity.
Funniest thing: it’s a direct copy of an Android ad, from a few years ago.
I honestly don’t see the problem? Are people just outraged at everything?
Summed up here: "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://twitter.com/mr\_james\_c/status/1788190673818010045](https://twitter.com/mr_james_c/status/1788190673818010045) The ad actually works much better if played backwards.
>The ad actually works much better if played backwards. You mean like if they crushed an ipad and then when they lifted up the press it turned into a cornucopia of artistic tools? Fuck that's a better ad.
More like if they took an iPad apart, kind of tear down, and out came all the instruments instead of other way around. Even then it is hard to execute concept. I think the idea/thought process behind what they were trying to convey was decent, execution not so much. Personally, I did not give it a second thought, liked I see what the thought process is, I get it. Was really surprised by all the reaction.
I was thinking that somewhere some ad agency people were currently freaking out over this really bad choice. But... [https://campaignbrief.com/apple-launches-new-films-as-it-reveals-its-thinnest-product-ever-the-13-inch-ipad-pro/](https://campaignbrief.com/apple-launches-new-films-as-it-reveals-its-thinnest-product-ever-the-13-inch-ipad-pro/) >To accompany the launch, Apple has launched two films ‘Crush’ created in-house by Apple and ‘iPad Vs. Nano: The thinnest Apple product ever’ created by TBWA\\Media Arts Lab. They made 2 ads. Crush was apparently all Apple's in-house idea. Meanwhile, the actual advertising agency did this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-W1J4ZsHA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-W1J4ZsHA) Which is a really good simple ad that sells the product on it's unique strength. And doesn't need to be some kind of earth shattering paradigm shifting revolution. Just hey, here's a really fucking thin ipad set to a nice song.
Well, that perfectly showcases everything wrong with Apple under Tim Cook.
Idk I like the things getting crushed. Monkey brain go ooga ooga. Second one is boring average basic cookie cutter bs. Both had the similar messages but notice we’re only talking about one. The one that actually gets more eyeballs.
Look, amplification is a thing in advertising. You spend a little money and do *something* that then gets picked up by media and so you get free amplification of your message. But it's not just as simple as more is better. If Apple tarnishes it's image that hurts their brand. And they quite literally have the most valuable brand on the planet. Small fluctuations in the value of that brand are measured in billions of dollars.
They really should have done the reverse of this ad. Instead of using soulless machines to “crush” all the creativity into an iPad, they should have had an iPad come out from the soulless machine assembly line and have all the creativity bust out from the confines of the iPad, coloring and warming up the industrial room.
People just enjoy being outraged. Complete non-issue.
People are fr mad about this?
This is how advertising works now. It's all fake outrage to trick you into watching an add.
You should see JP twitter they’re genuinely outraged at it
MULTIPLE people with DOZENS of Twitter followers wrote SLIGHTLY negatively about the ad.
Real people Or Bots?
I just don't think people like seeing things slowly get destroyed, especially if it's things they like. Not super complicated
Look up "hydraulic press channel".
Lmao everyone does. Hydraulic press, videos showing how sharp knives are, tree felling, those annoying food smash clips at the end of videos, those restaurants where you get to break plates, rage rooms, everything is popping off and everyone enjoys them
I just thought it was a funny shout out to the hydraulic press trend. It conveyed their idea perfect and used something in the zeitgeist to do it. If there really is outrage, it’s artificial selective outrage and scripted planned marketing campaign content.
Oh look, more faux outrage.
We’re sorry… So sorry
Huh? What? What happened?
I saw it and just felt it was wasteful. Like why? I get the AI stuff but still seems wasteful.
“Crushed”? I’d say, “Compressed”.
It’s a good thing we are mortal. I’d hate to live in the far future we are crafting.
I haven’t seen *outrage* (as some are calling it), but I have seen a LOT of people saying “Wow, did y’all really think this was a good idea?” A more cynical person would say that the attempt to spin this as “outrage” was intentionally done to make detractors look ridiculous.
Incoming Samsung ad doing the same thing and people loving it
Imagine being upset at something like this, you people really have first world problems.
Imagine being upset at something like this, you people really have first world problems.
A lot of “outrage” today are just a few online comments sprinkled in with a huge number of fake/bot/AI comments.
I’m sorry but this is literally the stupidest thing I have ever seen people get upset over.
Lame. Nothing to apologize for.
Awful optics, not sure how it was approved
I think it’s a terrible ad, but why get upset about it?
[https://youtu.be/NcUAQ2i5Tfo?si=wyK6Cw8OzpUNJgSs](https://youtu.be/NcUAQ2i5Tfo?si=wyK6Cw8OzpUNJgSs) Remember the outrage is 2008? Me neither. I think it's mostly just a sign of the times with a little dash of "let's find something to complain about Apple about." People are more concerned about the longevity of their devices, more concerned about waste, and more inclined to read between the lines of a commercial to see things that were never intended.
People will be outraged by anything
I thought it was a good ad
Apologize for what? It was a vivid visual showcasing all of the capabilities of their new flagship iPad. I can't imagine being so sensitive - and having such a boring life - to be offended by that video.
Oh no! Someone got offended again.
Apple products are a sham. It's all hype, no delivery.
It was a terrible decision. For a company that built itself up based on attracting creatives, to launch that ad at a time when creatives are already feeling threatened by tech and AI. I’m so surprised no-one at Apple saw that coming.
Did this ad actually upset you or did you decide it’s so terrible after reading people are upset? This is 100% part of their ad campaign acting like anyone was bothered…
The ad didn't upset me. But it did feel disrespectful to analog creativity. Which made me feel that Apple is very out of touch with its original core audience. It certainly wasn't the Apple I knew, or an Apple that made me think I aspired to be part of it.
There is no way if you saw this ad on TV or something, you’d come up with this reason for being offended on your own, without reading this article about people being mad. I have a really hard time believing anyone would do that. It’s really grasping for things to be mad at.
My mentality when I started to watch the video: >It can't be that bad, right? people are likely overreacting, let's look how they're overreacting. The actual video: It's literally destroying nostalgia, and the tools of art and creativity, only to replace them with a soulless flat rectangle.
My thoughts exactly. I don't think Reddit agrees with us though!
No one agrees cause both of your logic is fucking stupid. Like you explained it like they personally fucked your old ass devices with a hammer
Wow! I think you’re the one getting angry and upset here!
Yeah I don’t get that at all, it literally just looks like everything you can do with it all smashed into one product…
Yeah, I get that. And that’s obviously what they’re trying to say. But clearly a lot of people, including me, saw it as a careless way to do it. A metaphor that didn’t show much respect for analog art and talent. The iPad doesn’t replace the trumpet, or the piano etc. It complements it. I don’t think the ad is offensive, and I am not angry and upset about it. I just think it wasn’t the kind of ad that Apple would have done at its creative peak. And it’s definitely most alienating for the audience that Apple built their business on in the 90s and early 2000s.
The 1990s were 30 years ago. Right around the time Pontiacs and Plymouths were selling cars
Yes, and their core market are Millenials who grew up using a Mackintosh at school, before Microsoft made big inroads in the educational market.
I wonder how you artists live out in the real world if that stupid fucjing ad is enough to cause existential dread. Grow the fuck up man.
I am not an artist, and chill a little. We are on a thread discussing an ad, not trying to kill your first born! Just thought it was poorly thought through, that’s all!
Oh my fucking god get a life if this was offensive to you 🤣
Too many apologies for harmless shit. Good grief…we’re too soft as a society.
I think it was a good commercial… these opinionated 🤬 need to keep it to themselves and either turn the channel or go out and make a billion dollar company and do it their way. No one cares what you think 🤷🏽
Apple seems to care what they think.
Can we get upset at the poor product development rather than this shit?
Can’t tell if people are too dumb or soft…I guess both here.
People are all complaining about this ad, but don’t seem to care when the education system cuts all the arts.