When introducing the new M4 iPad Pro models, Apple showed a video of a hydraulic press crushing all manner of creative tools, including musical instruments, electronic equipment, arcade games, paint and brushes, computers, cameras, and more, with the aim of demonstrating how the iPad represents all of the tools condensed into a single device.
The ad was a play on the popular hydraulic press videos that are popular across social media sites, but creatives found the concept to be in poor taste. Actor Hugh Grant referred to the ad as the "destruction of the human experience," director Reed Morano told Apple to "read the room" and called it "actually psychotic," and Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson said it "symbolizes everything everyone has ever hated about digitization."
The upset over the Crush ad led Apple to issue an apology. In a statement to Ad Age, Apple marketing vice president Tor Myhren said that the video ultimately "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. 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.
Apple left the Crush video on its YouTube channel, but the ad won't be running on television.
