Sometimes I have to ask my myself if Apple has become a company more about marketing than tech. Yes, they’ve always been a style over substance brand, but in years’ past, the messaging always reinforced the product rather than overshadowing it. This is something that popped into my head once again this morning, when I chanced upon Apple’s latest piece of advertising.
To say the ad hasn’t been going down well with creatives is an understatement. Even celebrity curmudgeon Hugh Grant has chimed in with his disgust for the spot, which detractors have dubbed “tone-deaf”, “deeply offensive” and even “dystopian”.
The destruction of the human experience
The heading above what Hugh Grant accused the ad of promoting and while that might sound a little severe, I see his point. The ad, titled "Crush!", features a range of objects tied to creativity being flattened by a massive metal slab. As these beloved items are methodically demolished, the slab rises to unveil the new iPad Pro in their stead.
The commercial's intent is clear: traditional tools for creative work are no longer necessary because the iPad Pro can replace them all. From musical instruments to analog recording gear to paints, cameras and everything in between, this device renders them obsolete. "Everything beautiful, charming, and analog will be destroyed by a flat black screen," one Twitter/X used commented.
The ad has drawn dense criticism for its apparent lack of respect for the very tools that many creatives still build their careers and identities around. "I cannot understand how you or anyone could think this was a good idea—it’s incredibly disrespectful and dismissive of every artist, designer, musician, and creative individual," Joe Natoli commented on Twitter/X.
"I’m definitely the target audience for the new iPad Pro but this ad is tone-deaf and insulting to artists of every kind," commented cartoonist James Kochalka. "We think of our tools with reverence and respect and enjoy a healthy dialogue with them. Our tools are like trusted companions on the journey of art."
A herald of things to come?
Personally speaking, I didn’t have such a visceral reaction to the ad but I question its timing. I, among millions of others, am currently working through something of an existential crisis, as clients appear to be ditching my services for AI at an exponential rate. It’s only natural that an ad effectively celebrating the death of individuality.
As media blogger Adam Singer put it: “This ad is an (unintentional) perfect metaphor for today's creative dark age: compress organic instruments, joyful/imperfect machines, tangible art, our entire physical reality into a soulless, postmodern, read-only device a multi-trillion dollar corporation controls what you do with.”
I’ll say one positive thing about the ad though – it’s incredibly well made. Indeed, this goes back to my initial point about Apple being more about the message than the product these days. Is there really anything exciting or innovative about a slightly thinner iPad or a slightly more responsive Apple Pencil? Of course not.
Apple have, however, found a way to make a perfunctory product announcement into news. They know exactly what they’re doing. If only they put as much effort into their R&D.
Andy Tuohy May 19th, at dawn
I disagree about 'always been style over substance'. It certainly wasn't in the 80s. Apple was nothing short of revolutionary in its early days in the 70s and 80s. Creatives like myself took to it because it was, quite frankly, a better interface and fun to use. The ads were far superior too and more emotionally engaging. But, then again, most ads were better written and directed then.