Yes, I am surprised so many people are actually impressed by the ad. Removing the potential offense, it's just an OK ad. It gets the message across, but nothing especially creative or remarkable about it.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Apologizes for 'Crush' iPad Pro Ad, Won't Put It on TV
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Too bad we can't write articles about all the creatives who liked it.
Says who? The Ad accomplished its purpose. I bet a lot more people than usual ended up watching the ad because they were curious to find out what the fuzz it all about.
As others have mentioned, this ad works way better when played backwards. I suspect that Apple intended to deliver the message that human creativity is enabled by iPad, and playing it in reverse actually does a better job of delivering that message. I'm surprised that advertising or marcom didn't see the potential problem before release.
This ad would not have been as controversial had it been produced in the 90's or early 2000's before proliferation of tablets and smartphones. There's something to be said about the march of technology where every creation tool is becoming synthetic and lifeless. I've had iPads for over 10 years. I can't think of any iPad specific skill I can point to and say I've mastered it. I can look at my guitar or drums and confidently say I've gotten much better in the years I've practiced them. People look at objects of creation they own with love and sentimentality. With iPads you neither own nor love it when you think about it. It has a limited 2-5 year lifespan and then ends up in a landfill, having spent 99% of its life displaying youtube videos.
The products are just getting more dystopian as the company enters its senior years. Tim Cook looked at Vision Pro and said this is an acceptable thing to produce and ship.
The products are just getting more dystopian as the company enters its senior years. Tim Cook looked at Vision Pro and said this is an acceptable thing to produce and ship.
Again, did you even watch the announcement? Doesn’t seem like it.
Many people here are VERY good at rationalizing away blatant and obvious facts.
Are those the buyers spending over $2K on 13" iPad Pros?
Outside of a few FOMO and particularly Apple loving buyers. I don't expect many people are just casually spending that kind of money on iPads.
But maybe I'm wrong and "average users" are spending like this and the concept of a value proposition no longer matters 🤷🏾♂️
This ad is incredibly Apple. It's very on-brand.
The problem is the ad is too literal (with objects breaking) instead of more obvious to the visually metaphor they were going for—having the objects squish down into a compact object, that then reveals itself to be the iPad Pro.
"Everything was big and taking up space → Now its small and thin, ready to fit in a bag."
Behind the scenes, the problem is the ad agency didn't account for literal-thinkers. A lot of creatives are more metaphorical and think in big ideas, skipping over details literal thinkers see with their 20/20 vision. The ad agency needed someone with more literal foresight to object to that detail by the time they were doing storyboards. They wanted to appeal to the meme of the Hydraulic Press Channel so they let things get crushed.
Had they made the ad, for example, movers from a moving company unload a bundle of objects, they see Godzilla, they run, then Godzilla steps on that bundle of objects, and what's left is an iPad Pro, nobody would be up in arms because theres nothing literal to object to.
Soon Gen Zs may start saying that breathing is bad because it takes Oxygen out of the Atmosphere.
iPad Pro, yes, primarily "creatives", the rest of the iPad lineup, the majority, content consumption
The ad is not offensive, and the concept is fairly sound, but the execution is flawed. Destroying objects of creativity doesn't feel right or bring joy. Plus the concept isn't really unique to the new iPad Pro. They've all been thin, powerful devices that pack in a lot of creative opportunities. But points for trying. Most of Apple's ads are very good. It's understandable they all can't be perfect.
I don't mean to be crass, but I guess they figure it is for the crowd who wants their porn at the best quality possible on tandem OLED screens? 🤣
I think it's a great ad. Too bad. Outrage crowd wins again.
Apple is the beta type of company to apologize for literally nothing. Man up, pansies. 
I didn’t like the ad either. But frankly, I haven’t been a fan of their ads of late.
I’m thinking of the ”Don’t let me goooooooooooooooooooooooo!” ads during March Madness, that they played 7,834,912 times.
I’m thinking of the ”Don’t let me goooooooooooooooooooooooo!” ads during March Madness, that they played 7,834,912 times.
Certainly, but the iPad is a device beyond the Pro. Apple clearly cares about that market, but while it may have been the traditional customer and thus a significant percentage of the customer base, I suspect it has shrunk to the point where it is much smaller than the non-creative base. So while the pro may be aimed primarily at creatives, the broader iPad line is a much larger market and not the traditional creative one.
Of course, a lot depends on how you define creative.
It would be interesting to see what happens to the sales mix of the large screen Airs nd Pro iPads, as the Air now offers much of the functionality of the Pro for someone who wants a bigger screen but doesn't need the bells and whistles of a Pro that a creative might.
Correct, the world is full of idiots incapable of thinking beyond the obvious and superficial.
The agency could fix it using specialized captions at the bottom of the ad explaining it for them.
The creatives are most likely the ones buying an iPad Pro. For the rest, there’s an iPad Air or a regular iPad.
Those who don’t understand the Ad don’t really deserve an iPad Pro.
The point isn’t that digital and creative are incompatible. The point is that the ad misunderstands the relationship people have with creative tools like musical instruments. It’s a bad mistake for Apple to make since they typically celebrate those kinds of things and like to demonstrate how their products work WITH them, not crush them into non-existence.
The OP stated Apple's traditional market is creatives, which is a broad statement and not the major market Apple targets today. The Pro may be targetd to creatives, but it is a small part of Apple's customer base.
People will find anything to be offended by for the attention. Claiming Apple was focusing on destruction is a reach; it's a visual of all the creative capabilities that fit inside a thin device. They should really look up the word psychotic and find something worth being outraged about, which isn't hard given the current state of the world...but sure outrage over an Apple ad makes sense.