On May 10th, facing escalating backlash on the internet, American tech giant Apple finally issued a public apology for the ad showcased during this week's new iPad launch event.
In a nutshell: To showcase the thinness of the new iPad Pro and its versatility for various creative tasks, Apple featured a massive hydraulic press in the ad that crushed artists' instruments, paints, and sculptures - the tools of their trade. As the hydraulic press lifted, a super-thin iPad appeared in the center of the frame.
For example, this ad was also posted on Apple CEO Cook's social media account, receiving 16,000 comments, most of which expressed anger and dissatisfaction. Cook's posts usually only receive a few hundred comments. For instance, a post on April 23 announcing a conference in May has garnered just over 1,400 comments so far.
(Source: X)
Considering Apple has always viewed creative professionals as the core target audience for the iPad Pro, the appearance of an advertisement that directly ignites negative user emotions is truly rare. This kind of mistake, occurring in Apple, a company known for high-budget, high-quality ads, is indeed a rarity.
As a result, Apple has also made a rare move by issuing an apology.
Tor Myhren, Apple's Vice President of Marketing Communications, stated in a media release that Apple's goal has always been to celebrate users expressing themselves and unleashing creativity through various uses of the iPad. However, in this ad, they deviated from that goal, and they are sorry for it.
Reportedly, Apple has decided not to air this ad on television. Nevertheless, the ad still appears on Apple's streaming accounts and Tim Cook's personal account.
A Rough Elbow
As the world's most valuable brand, Apple has an in-house marketing team responsible for creating numerous promotional ads; the company also collaborates with the agency Media Arts Lab for certain activities. It is currently unclear who produced the new iPad Pro ad.
Former Comcast Chief Marketing Officer Peter Intermaggio stated in a post on Thursday that Apple, usually an impeccable advertiser, had a rare misstep with the new iPad Pro ad.
Intermaggio analyzed that Apple's ads are known for their elegant ideas, design, and emotion, while this ad was rough; Apple's ads typically have humanity, but this one felt mechanical. Apple's ads are usually charming and witty, but this ad felt more like a rough elbow jab - "This tablet is thin! Got it?! Hey! Got it?!"
He further summarized that for a brand that celebrates and uplifts creators, this ad was celebrating destruction, being too blunt and nihilistic. Intermaggio also mentioned that this ad reminded him of the Taliban destroying the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan.
Urgent Need for a Turnaround
Just by Apple "leapfrogging" to equip the iPad Pro with the latest M4 chip, it's evident that facing revenue headwinds, Apple really needs to deliver on this product for its shareholders.
With no new products in sight for a while, the iPad product line has seen declines in 9 out of the past 10 financial quarters.
While the product itself has many highlights, this ad could be seen as adding fuel to the fire for Apple. Considering the company will unveil a significant amount of AI-related updates at the WWDC developer conference next month, stirring up fear of technology among consumers and creators at this time might not be a good move.
Additionally, Apple is also facing antitrust pressure, and this ad carries the risk of being interpreted as the platform ruthlessly crushing the power of app developers.
