Apple Logo

Apple says it “missed the mark” with its new iPad Pro ad, and has canceled plans to run it on TV. The “Crush!” video, posted Tuesday by CEO Tim Cook, sparked outrage almost immediately, with many viewers seeing a dark metaphor in the image of an industrial press crushing symbols of human creativity — musical instruments, art supplies — into “the thinnest product we’ve ever created.” The ad hit a particular nerve among creatives alarmed about the impact of artificial intelligence on their livelihoods.

“Crush!” is still posted to Apple’s YouTube page, where it’s garnered nearly 2 million views. One of the last remaining designers who worked under the legendary Jony Ive is planning to leave Apple, Bloomberg reports, citing anonymous sources.

iPad Pro boasts outrageous performance by the first-ever M4 chip, Ultra Retina XDR display and the thinnest Apple product ever.

The blowback to the iPad ad went far beyond just a handful of disgruntled tweets from the anti-tech peanut gallery — it became its own mini-crisis news cycle, and even people in tech piled on. Eventually, Apple told AdAge that it was canceling the TV run of the ad and admitted that it “missed the mark.”

Leave a comment

Trending