After hitting a nerve with the public in a promotional video for its new iPads, Apple has apologized for the ad, which sees musical instruments and other creative resources being crushed by a gigantic press.
In the video, viewers see the likes of a piano, trumpet, pots of paint, cameras, a sculpture and a video game machine twisting, shattering and bursting as they are compressed. Then, when the press opens again, all that's left is an iPad.
The sheer level of destruction in the ad, which had been intended to sensationalize the capabilities of Apple's recently unveiled iPad Pro models, sparked outrage among commentators on social media, even though it appeared to be computer-generated.
"The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley," posted actor Hugh Grant, who was among critics to balk at the apparent destruction of tools of creativity to market a product.
Apple has since apologized and said it would refrain from showing the ad on television. It is important for the company to design products for creative people, Apple manager Tor Myhren told the advertising trade journal Ad Age on Thursday. "We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry."
Chief executive Tim Cook had published the video on social media platform X on Tuesday after the unveiling of the new iPad models and wrote: "Just imagine all the things it’ll be used to create."