Apple has apologised for its latest-edition iPad 'Crush' ad after it sparked backlash from the creative community. The ad, initially posted on X by Apple CEO Tim Cook, was criticized for being tone-deaf, particularly when the creative community is concerned about the impact of generative AI on their future. The ad depicted an industrial press crushing objects associated with human creativity, such as a guitar, piano, and paint cans, which many found offensive.
"The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley," wrote actor Hugh Grant in response to Cook's tweet.
Apple's vice president of marketing, Tor Myhren, stated that creativity is integral to Apple's DNA and aims to design products that empower creatives worldwide. He admitted that they missed the mark with this video and apologized for the same. Apple has also decided not to air the ad on television as initially planned.
"Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives worldwide," Apple's vice president of marketing Tor Myhren told Ad Age.
"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."
The ad, set to the song "All I ever need is you" by Sonny and Cher, ends with the reveal of Apple's latest tablet, the iPad Pro, promoted as ultra-thin. Critics have compared this ad unfavourably to Apple's iconic 1984 commercial, which portrayed the company as a rebel against a monolithic big brother.
This controversy comes at a time when AI giants, including ChatGPT and Dall-E creator OpenAI, are facing lawsuits from artists and publishers who claim that their material was used to train AI models without their permission.
