Apple has apologised for its latest iPad advertisement, which depicts an industrial hydraulic press crushing musical instruments, cans of paint, cameras, notebooks, a sculpture, art supplies and more.
The ad – which implies that owners of the new iPad Pro only need the tablet to produce music, art or literature – has sparked a backlash online. Celebrities and creatives are recoiling in horror from what they see as a depiction of the tech industry ruining cultural industries, Variety reports.
“The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley,” British actor Hugh Grant posted on X.
Apple issued a statement yesterday. “We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry,” said Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of marketing communications. The tech company has scrapped plans to roll out the ad on TV.
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British filmmaker Asif Kapadia described the ad, which was made by an in-house team at Apple, as “the most honest metaphor for what tech companies do to the arts, to artists, musicians, creators, writers, filmmakers: squeeze them, use them, not pay well, take everything then say it’s all created by them.”
Filmmaker and actor Justine Bateman, simply asked Apple CEO Tim Cook “Truly, what is wrong with you?”
The company released its latest iPad Pro on Tuesday. Other internet users have been quick to point out that the ad for it bears a striking similarity to a 2008 commercial for the LG KC910 Renoir phone.
