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Apple Apologises For Piano Crushing Advertisement After Facing Backlash

Apple issued an apology following a wave of criticism over an advertisement featuring objects, including musical instruments and books, being crushed by a hydraulic press.

In a statement provided to marketing publication Ad Age, Apple acknowledged that the advertisement failed to achieve its intended goal of empowering and celebrating creatives. “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,” stated Tor Myhren, Apple’s VP of marketing communications.

The advertisement, which aimed to showcase the capabilities of Apple’s latest iPad by demonstrating how creativity has been compressed into the device, elicited horror from celebrities like Hugh Grant and Justine Bateman.

Criticism was extended to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who faced accusations of being tone-deaf for his post on X (formerly Twitter) about the device, where he urged people to “imagine all the things it’ll be used to create.”

While the advert intended to highlight the versatility of the new tablet, featuring activities such as watching television programmes, listening to music, and playing video games, it drew attention for its portrayal of objects being crushed, a theme that has been present in videos for nearly a decade.

However, instead of highlighting the device’s capabilities, critics argue that the advertisement inadvertently portrays how technology may stifle creativity rather than foster it, tarnishing Apple’s reputation in the process.

Actor Hugh Grant even labeled it “the destruction of the human experience, courtesy of Silicon Valley”.

The criticism the ad received is particularly because of the concerns in many creative industries about artificial intelligence (AI) taking people’s jobs.

Melissa Enoch