General Discussion

highplainsdem

(49,164 posts) Wed May 8, 2024, 02:32 PM May 8

Apple is getting slammed, & rightfully so, for their stupid & insensitive ad for the new iPad Pro - UPDATE w/articles [View all]

Last edited Wed May 8, 2024, 06:24 PM - Edit history (1)

I've added a list of articles about how disastrous this ad was to the end of the OP.

Link to tweet

Some of the replies to Tim Cook's post with the video:

I’m not sure ‘wanton destruction of all the good and beautiful things is this world’ was really the vibe you were trying for.

I'm a creator, a traditional artist, a macintosh user of many years, yet I never even understand why would I need an iPad, and this destruction is extremely distasteful and would never convince me but otherwise.

Forty years ago, Apple released the 1984 commercial as a bold statement against a dystopian future. Now you are that dystopian future. Congratulations.

That looks like an advertisement made by Nazis who promoted the destruction of culture.

Tim, your advert has offended so many artists around the world who see the beautiful objects of their trade history being destroyed. You've really misjudged who your market is. I won't be buying @Apple again. Pull the ad and issue an apology.

I ask this as a loyal Apple customer since the late 80s:

What the hell is WRONG with you???

That was extremely painful to watch. Every single second.

I really cannot get my head around how you or anyone thought this was wise — and not incredibly disrespectful and dismissive to every artist, designer, musician and creative person of any kind.

Steve Jobs NEVER would have approved this ad.

This is the worst ad I have ever seen. How someone thought the message behind this was a good idea is beyond me. Crush all creative spirit and out comes a screen? A big blob of nothingness? And look how thin it is - wow, such innovation. Seriously dystopian.

I think the only right thing to do now is put your marketing executive inside the iPad.. if you know what I mean.

That last one has almost 70 likes at the moment.

There are several thousand replies on Twitter already, in 27 hours. I can't begin to read, let alone copy, all of them. Almost all are in agreement with the replies above.

EDITING to update this, since so many here don't seem able to understand it, and maybe these articles will help:

Apple’s Soul-Crushing New Ad: Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? (The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/apple-soul-crushing-new-ipad-ad-dystopian-1235893898/

Apple faces backlash for 'destructive' iPad ad featuring machine crushing books and instruments (NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/apple-backlash-new-ipad-pro-ad-rcna151236

Apple's hydraulic-press iPad ad ticks off creators (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/08/apple-ipad-2024-ad-ai-outrage

Apple’s Crushing iPad Ad Trashed By Hugh Grant, Justine Bateman & Almost Everyone Else (Deadline)
https://deadline.com/2024/05/ipad-ad-backlash-crushinghugh-grant-justine-bateman-1235909002/

People sure are pressed about Apple’s crushing iPad commercial (The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/8/24152236/apple-ipad-pro-commercial-artists-ai

Apple’s Tone-Deaf iPad Ad Triggers Our Darkest AI Fears (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-05-08/apple-puts-out-new-ipad-ad-triggering-ai-fears

The new iPad ad essentially flips AI-weary creatives the bird (Mashable)
https://mashable.com/article/crush-ipad-commercial

170 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Apple is getting slammed, & rightfully so, for their stupid & insensitive ad for the new iPad Pro - UPDATE w/articles [View all] highplainsdem May 8 OP

Damn. So much for sustainability, social justice, and everything Apple supposedly (yeah, I know) was hlthe2b May 8 #1

Nah, just typical twitter pointless posturing and malarkey. emulatorloo May 8 #62

I am referencing the ad itself. Not any hype or "sales spew" behind it. hlthe2b May 8 #64

Oh please. It's just light hearted ad. "An iPad Pro is like having all these creative tools in a slim tablet." emulatorloo May 8 #71

Oh please. No need for this. I respect your opinion and you can (at a minimum) not attack me for mine. hlthe2b May 8 #72

I am a big supporter of you and your posts. Not attacking you or making any assumptions. emulatorloo May 8 #76

Back at you, emulatorloo. I added some to my previous post that might make more sense--at least hlthe2b May 8 #81

Having just replaced a 2013 Mac w a 2023 Mac I tend to avoid the replace, upgrade, waste cycle. emulatorloo May 8 #85

Yeah. I do that with cars. Knock on wood for the continued life of my 2007 Prius hybrid.... hlthe2b May 8 #94

Yay! Same w my 2011 Ford! So far so good. emulatorloo May 8 #99

The anger is coming from a lot of professional artists and advocates for real art. Names I recognize after highplainsdem May 8 #106

Semi pro singer and wannabe songwriter here. Retired graphic artist/video maker. Opposed to AI but thankful emulatorloo May 8 #113

Yeah, that's pretty brutal PatSeg May 8 #2

Do some people scour the internet for things to get offended by? Goodheart May 8 #41

How dare you! JoseBalow May 8 #89

Yeah... IthinkThereforeIAM May 8 #107

Is this what constitutes offensive these days? BannonsLiver May 8 #3

Apple iPod Pro Scarlet Begalas May 8 #4

I guess it depends on one's perspective PatSeg May 8 #9

This message was self-deleted by its author BannonsLiver May 8 #19

So did their 1984 ad for the Mac. BannonsLiver May 8 #22

Except the 1984 ad showed the dystopia BEFORE the mac arrived on scene. Caliman73 May 8 #42

Exactly, thanks PatSeg May 8 #45

Having been heavily involved in making music involving computers in that period, Emrys May 8 #116

And yet you survived to tell the tale! emulatorloo May 8 #124

Not without scars Emrys May 8 #125

I always thought platform wars were dumb. Use what you want and let others use what they want! emulatorloo May 8 #127

I have seen people (almost always guys) get extremely heated at each other about all sorts of issues on the internet Emrys May 8 #133

No doubt. Caliman73 May 9 #148

What Caliman73 said PatSeg May 8 #46

I dunno. I'm a retired art director who now paints. IMO it's an ad with a comical twist on things created then... brush May 9 #157

I suppose PatSeg May 9 #162

How does claudette May 8 #10

I don't know, I'm not in marketing nor am I in a rush to get my hackles up over a TV ad. BannonsLiver May 8 #18

Its just an claudette May 8 #24

I get how there was an unintended message Cuthbert Allgood May 8 #34

It's One Of Those RobinA May 9 #149

It was a very effective and true commercial jimfields33 May 8 #11

But the problem is PatSeg May 8 #49

I doubt anyone will take away anybody's artistic supplies. jimfields33 May 8 #51

I mentioned in another comment PatSeg May 8 #55

"just showed the possibility of getting the new IPad" dpibel May 8 #111

"Analog" still necessary... tapper May 9 #140

Well said PatSeg May 9 #141

SO you can disagree with the message; explain the need to be offended. brooklynite May 9 #144

No, that's okay PatSeg May 9 #147

We agree on this. Cuthbert Allgood May 8 #36

The Problem Is RobinA May 9 #150

It has always been offensive. I love The Who's music, but despise instrument destruction. . . nt Bernardo de La Paz May 9 #159

I've been an Apple user since the first "pizza box" was put in my desk, & am now retired to an iPad Hekate May 8 #5

How much of it is CGI? Auggie May 8 #6

This was my point. Arthur_Frain May 8 #15

The audio recording is the title track to a 1971 Sonny & Cher album. John1956PA May 8 #47

I admire Cher as an actor and person spooky3 May 8 #54

You are not alone JoseBalow May 8 #96

Hee hee nt spooky3 May 8 #130

As I watched it for my first and only time, I wondered, too, about the percentage of CGI content. John1956PA May 8 #17

A great reason claudette May 8 #7

Now, How do we know all those responses aren't bots? MagickMuffin May 8 #8

I didn't really see chaos PatSeg May 8 #12

As an artist myself in various mediums I am not offended MagickMuffin May 8 #20

No, I just think it was in poor taste PatSeg May 8 #26

Art is supposed to bring strong feelings. we can do it May 8 #50

You know, this ad seems to have done that PatSeg May 8 #53

But they SQUISHED a smiley! JohnnyRingo May 8 #70

Until their eyes popped out MagickMuffin May 8 #79

Maybe they are suggesting that they compress all of these great things into a tiny package. Bristlecone May 8 #13

I think that was what they were going for PatSeg May 8 #27

They missed and rather badly Warpy May 8 #108

Yes, I agree it was tone deaf PatSeg May 8 #118

Someone's great idea NBachers May 8 #14

I get the point they were trying to make; they made it poorly. Gore1FL May 8 #16

Yes, I think they could have made their point PatSeg May 8 #35

That's it exactly peggysue2 May 9 #142

Wow, what a screw up EarlG May 8 #21

They have entirely too many customers using their GenAI who are not only imagining that using it somehow highplainsdem May 8 #31

It bothers me, too. LisaM May 8 #33

Same here PatSeg May 8 #40

Still using a Mac from 2011 and 2013. emulatorloo May 8 #68

Really? PatSeg May 8 #39

As far as I am aware, Apple doesn't have a generative AI app. Are you thinking of Adobe? emulatorloo May 8 #82

I was talking, as EarlG was, about AI companies in general. But if you google highplainsdem May 8 #93

Thanks! emulatorloo May 8 #100

Well said PatSeg May 8 #38

I don't see this ad as promoting AI at all. More like you can have a creative studio to make art emulatorloo May 8 #91

We're seeing the same thing but from different perspectives EarlG May 8 #101

I get it...also worked in a recording studio. emulatorloo May 8 #110

I hear ya EarlG May 8 #135

Love the pun! emulatorloo May 8 #136

Not Sharing The Angst ProfessorGAC May 8 #23

I have an old, (really old) iPad Mini, Crunchy Frog May 8 #25

Meh. I don't see what's so bad about this Alliepoo May 8 #28

It is STUPID. dalton99a May 8 #29

I LOVED watching that metronome get crushed! johnp3907 May 8 #30

Not an Apple fanboy points May 8 #32

Internet comments sections are almost always full of hyperbolic nonsense and hysteria. emulatorloo May 8 #56

Meh Gimble May 8 #37

And also get a life. Goodheart May 8 #43

Perhaps this will make sense: EarlG May 8 #65

Thank you. I agree. hlthe2b May 8 #73

I think this gets to the crux of the cloth-headedness of the ad and one reason why it's stirring antagonism Emrys May 8 #123

I don't really see the issue here. Elessar Zappa May 8 #44

Hey Tim Apple, very creative ad ... Think. Again. May 8 #48

Honestly, these reactions are hyperbolic Mr.WeRP May 8 #52

Reminds me of this: spooky3 May 8 #57

Apple has declined in quality tonekat May 8 #58

They unintentionally made the point that their digital product will replace all the real physical objects TheRickles May 8 #59

Imagine if you will . . . Aussie105 May 8 #126

Of course the person who pulls out a real guitar at a party is already likely being booed, if silently. Bongo Prophet May 9 #161

Some may be able to guess what's coming ... Emrys May 9 #165

This is just silly internet "comment section" fake Twitter 'outrage' and hyperbolic nonsense. emulatorloo May 8 #60

I've edited the OP to add a list of articles about how disastrous and tone-deaf the ad was. highplainsdem May 8 #134

I thought it was pretty neat Sympthsical May 8 #61

Damn you Tim Apple! dchill May 8 #63

Because if there's one thing people should take seriously Rob H. May 8 #66

I'm totally unoffended beyond compare. JohnnyRingo May 8 #67

I get what they were trying to do Demobrat May 8 #69

This really is silly. we can do it May 8 #74

Soon enough, everyone will be offended by everything. kysrsoze May 8 #75

+1,000,000 Auggie May 8 #78

+2,000,000 musicblind May 8 #92

I find that characterization offensive JoseBalow May 8 #103

People have reversed the video and liked it. joshcryer May 8 #77

The reverse videos are corrections of the ad. They are not complimenting Apple. They're repudiating the company. highplainsdem May 8 #102

Yeah but a lot of fans are "coping" that the reverse was their "intention." joshcryer May 8 #115

I see absolutely nothing wrong with this ad. LudwigPastorius May 8 #80

It's brilliant. Patton French May 8 #83

Yup. They understand what it takes to get attention these days. nt LAS14 May 8 #87

It represents the truth about the replacement of analog instruments. Marcus IM May 8 #84

Yes, you can replace any instrument with a digital version of that instrument EarlG May 8 #105

I agree with all you posted. Marcus IM May 8 #117

Dude!! LudwigPastorius May 8 #138

Love a Stingray EarlG May 8 #139

The point seems to be that all of the items fit in the iPad. live love laugh May 8 #86

I am an artist. musicblind May 8 #88

I'm an amateur artist. I don't think it is about AI at all, the iPad isn't shown 'generating' art. emulatorloo May 8 #97

This response reversed it and it created a much better vibe catbyte May 8 #90

fucking monopolists ALWAYS cry CAPITALISM😱 bringthePaine May 8 #95

Everyone is an art critic. Lighten up, there are issues that are way bigger than this. W T F May 8 #98

imho people need to lighten up moonshinegnomie May 8 #104

The one rule of writing great ads - dont crush the smiley Blues Heron May 8 #109

Death to the Smiley/ Long Live the Emoticon emulatorloo May 8 #114

Oh come on. lol Oneironaut May 8 #112

This thread is hillarious.... radicalleft May 8 #119

yeah but does it have a universal jack for mic/headphones/line in? Great ad btw because msongs May 8 #120

Not an ad I want to see again. Aussie105 May 8 #121

And the gold medal for "most ridiculous taking of offense" goes to... Jedi Guy May 8 #122

I saw this in the product launch and people seem to completely misunderstand it brooklynite May 8 #128

Agreed. If only some of those outraged commentators showed equal outtage toward Trump who wants to actually destroy Doodley May 9 #156

I'm not in the apple ecosphere and don't plan to be, but my impression is that ecstatic May 8 #129

Article: The new iPad ad essentially flips AI-weary creatives the bird highplainsdem May 8 #131

Who is the ad meant to appeal to? Aussie105 May 8 #132

Obviously iPad Pro is marketed towards professionals and content creators. Regular iPad is $349 and marketed emulatorloo May 8 #137

I Don't Get the Outrage Zeitghost May 9 #143

Some people want to be outraged. Doodley May 9 #155

Idiotic ad for idiotic modern people. chouchou May 9 #145

"I don't like her music, but" comment here. Bongo Prophet May 9 #163

My zoomer step-son would love this ad. yardwork May 9 #146

"disturbing, violent, and ugly" Dave Bowman May 9 #154

There's room on Bench W for you too! yardwork May 9 #160

Modern commercials are not worth my time.....at best a necessry evil.. NowsTheTime May 9 #151

That's a stupid and cold ad. Dave Bowman May 9 #152

I'm outraged at the outrage, and comparing this to Nazi Germany is disgusting. Doodley May 9 #153

Thinness is greatly overrated. Who really needs anorexic iPads? . . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz May 9 #158

Its just a dumb commercial. Mosby May 9 #164

Apple apologizes for iPad ad after blowback dalton99a May 9 #166

Thanks! Another article about the apology in this thread: highplainsdem May 9 #167

Stephen Colbert's Late Show weighs in: highplainsdem May 10 #168

Whoa, they were really on top of that ad! PatSeg May 10 #169

I can see a segment of the population wanting to appear thin even in the graveyard, so kudos. Xavier Breath May 11 #170