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Apple CEO Tim Cook seemed very proud when he unveiled an ad for the new Apple iPad Pro which shows a giant industrial hydraulic press crushing dozens of things like a TV, musical instruments, books, cans of paint, a turntable, some video game controllers, and a table lamp that looks suspiciously like the Pixar mascot.
Once the crushing is finally completed and everything has been pulverized, the inevitable result is that the destruction of all of those tools of creativity has resulted in the creation of the new Apple iPad Pro.
On paper, it doesn’t sound so bad. However, reading a description of the ad isn’t nearly as jarring as actually seeing all of those tools of creativity actually get crushed.
Watching it happen ignited a firestorm of anger rarely seen for the launch of a new tech product.
“Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created, the most advanced display we’ve ever produced, with the incredible power of the M4 chip. Just imagine all the things it’ll be used to create,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote on X (Twitter).
The response to the Apple iPad Pro ad by people all over the world was intensely negative (there have been almost 14,00 replies to Cook’s post), but it was perhaps the loudest in a couple of specific places: Hollywood and Japan.
“The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley,” actor Hugh Grant wrote on X.
“Truly, what is wrong with you?” Filmmaker and actress Justine Bateman commented.
“Like iPads but don’t know why anyone thought this ad was a good idea,” producer, director and writer Asif Kapadia said in response to the ad. “It is the most honest metaphor for what tech companies do to the arts, to artists musicians, creators, writers, filmmakers: squeeze them, use them, not pay well, take everything then say it’s all created by them.”
Meanwhile in Japan…
Everybody hated That Apple Ad but the Japanese REALLY hated it. I’ve never seen so many upset Japanese ppl commenting on a single thread: pic.twitter.com/OyAOl37ilr
— Angelica 🌐⚛️🇹🇼 (@AngelicaOung) May 8, 2024
I can't relate to this video at all. It lacks any respect for creative equipment and mocks the creators.
— うさ夫(うさマガ) (@usaotoday) May 7, 2024
Many craftsmen value their tools.
Musicians value their instruments, architects value their rulers, painters value their brushes and painting materials more than life itself. The video you presented “all in one”, but it will only disgust them. They may never want to engage with…— 高杉＠沼を駆けだすエンジニア (@takasugi_mbsjk) May 7, 2024
It is a heartbreaking, uncomfortable, and egotistic advertisement. When I see this result, I'm ashamed to buy Apple products since nineteen years.
— Hiroki Akiyama (@akiroom) May 7, 2024
“In Japan, there is a tradition called ‘Hari Kuyo’ (needle offering),” a person from Japan explained. “Needle offering is an event in which sewing needles that are broken, bent, rusted, or otherwise unusable are given to a nearby shrine as a memorial service. Japanese people always respect old and unusable tools. In other words, the act of destroying tools is arrogant and offensive to us Japanese.”
Seriously, what was Apple thinking?