Apple apologized Thursday after an ad for its latest iPad Pro model drew criticism for showing an animation of musical instruments and other symbols of creativity being crushed, Ad Age magazine reported.
“Our goal is always to celebrate the myriad ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through the iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry,” said Ad Age, citing the iPhone maker.
An Apple spokesman declined to comment, but referred inquiries to the Ad Age report.
The ad, titled “Crush,” has over one million views on Apple's YouTube channel and was shared by CEO Tim Cook on social media platform X. It showcases a variety of creative tools and objects such as a camera, a guitar, a piano and a painting that are destroyed by an industrial shredder.
The shredder then reveals the newly unveiled iPad, symbolizing just how much the new slimmer model encompasses.
Online commentators criticized the ad as insensitive and an unwelcome departure from the company's historical positioning of its brand as maverick, people-friendly and an antidote to a dystopian, colorless world.
In a post on X, actor Hugh Grant said the ad showed “the destruction of the human experience courtesy of Silicon Valley.”
The Cupertino-California tech giant on Tuesday unveiled a tablet with a new chip for artificial intelligence computing as it rushes to catch up with its Big Tech rivals in a race to dominate the emerging technology .
Apple said the iPad Pro, which became available for order on Tuesday, has improved displays and is “the thinnest Apple product ever.”
© Thomson Reuters 2024
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
