Apple apologizes for new iPad ad that shows musical instruments being crushed

By Louis Goss

Apple has apologized for posting an ad for its new iPad Pro that shows a stack of cameras, musical instruments, and art materials being crushed in an industrial press.

The ad that was posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, by Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday, shows various objects including cans of paint and a record player being flattened in a hydraulic press, to leave behind what a voiceover describes as the "most powerful iPad ever."

The minute-long video sparked furious backlash from an array of celebrities and commentators, including British actor Hugh Grant, who slammed the Silicon Valley giant for promoting "the destruction of the human experience."

Opinion: Apple's shockingly bad iPad ad is poorly timed and raising many questions

Now, Apple has apologized for the ad, which a spokesperson said "missed the mark," in seeking to promote the company's thinnest iPad ever. Apple said the advert for the iPad Pro will also be pulled from appearing on television.

"Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world," Apple's vice president of communications Tor Myhren told AdAge.

"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," Myhren said.

Apple (AAPL) shares were up fractionally in premarket trade on Friday having advanced by 6% over the previous 12 months.

Apple's apology followed widespread criticism of the ad from a line-up of creatives and marketing experts, who criticized the company for its "tone-deaf" video.

In a post on Linkedin, long-time advertising executive Peter Intermaggio described the ad as a "rare fail" from Apple, as he said the video reminded him of "the Taliban destroying the Buddhas of Bamiyan."

Songwriter Crispin Hunt, who has written hit songs by bands including Florence and the Machine and U2, said in a post on X: "Crushing a piano, trumpet & guitar evokes the same primal horrific sacrilege as watching books burn."

"The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley," actor Hugh Grant said in a concise post on X.

In a post on X, futurist commentator Theo Priestly also pointed out that Apple's ad shares a number of similarities to an LG phone ad from 2008 in which various cameras and musical instruments are also crushed in a press.

Apple's revenue declined in its fiscal second quarter, and analysts are expecting just 1% revenue growth this fiscal year, according to a FactSet-compiled consensus.

-Louis Goss

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05-10-24 0615ET

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