Apple offends creatives everywhere

The biggest marketing mistake you can make? Pissing off your target audience.

It’s no secret that Apple products and creative professionals go hand in hand.

But last week, the company released an ad for its new iPad Pro that seems to have rubbed creatives up the wrong way. Hugh Grant even called it a “destruction of the human experience.” Wow.

So what's got creatives so upset?

In an attempt to showcase the M4-powered iPad Pro, described as its thinnest product to date, Apple released “Crush!” This commercial showed a myriad of creative tools like a piano, paint cans, a record player, an arcade game, and cameras being crushed under a giant hydraulic press. At the end, only the iPad Pro remains.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this ad is stunning. Taking the popularity of hydraulic press videos on TikTok and Apple-fying it is genius. Seeing tubs of paint exploding and sending colours streaming down the other objects as they’re crushed is chefs kiss.

So what went wrong?

The message it conveys is where "Crush" falls flat on its face. This ad implies that the whole history of human creativity can be recreated with the unstoppable force of Apple technology.

On the surface, this ad is on brand for Apple. After all, the “you can do it all with a single Apple product” message has always been their bit. And it’s worked well in the past.

However, this is not the past. This is the present.

And, for creatives, the present is tumultuous.

Writers and actors have spent half a year campaigning to protect their jobs from AI. Game studios have laid off thousands of workers. AI musicians have created a huge issue for artists and record labels alike.

The creative community is at war with automation and AI, and the security of their jobs is in question. Tensions are high. So the last thing we want to see is our beloved instruments of choice being crushed and replaced by a fkn iPad.

Following the backlash, Apple released a statement acknowledging they “missed the mark” with this commercial. However, the video remains on their YouTube channel.

What’s the lesson we can learn from this?

The world is in a rocky state. You must be incredibly intentional with your messaging. If you aren't putting your audience's perspective front and centre, you're in danger.

Or more simply put, read the room.

-Sophie, Writer