HardwareApple says it’s sorry for smushing musical instruments and art supplies to advertise its latest iPadWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

HardwareApple says it’s sorry for smushing musical instruments and art supplies to advertise its latest iPadWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Apple)

An arcade machine being crushed in Apple�s controversial iPad Pro ad.

After making a lot of people very mad at it, Apple has apologized for a new advertisement and says it’s scrapping plans to air the minute-long spot on TV.

Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created, the most advanced display we’ve ever produced, with the incredible power of the M4 chip. Just imagine all the things it’ll be used to create. pic.twitter.com/6PeGXNoKgGMay 7, 2024

Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created, the most advanced display we’ve ever produced, with the incredible power of the M4 chip. Just imagine all the things it’ll be used to create. pic.twitter.com/6PeGXNoKgGMay 7, 2024

My favorite objection to the ad, just as a piece of writing, came from former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who worked at Valve for a time. Sounding much like an RPG character urging the hero to action, Varoufakiswrote on X: “Tim Cook has just revealed his techno-feudal urge to crush everything of cultural value in his quest for power. It is time for humanity to reprimand him. To boycott this rotten Apple. Starting with the new iPad, the birth of which Cook chose to announce in this grotesque manner.”

(Varoufakis happens to have a new book out calledTechnofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, if you’d like an elaboration on that thought.)

Personally, in this instance, think Apple meant to show that the iPad Pro is thin, and for whatever reason failed to realize that crushing stuff people like would upset them. But whether it was a simple blunder or a glimpse at behind-the-scenes “Saturn Devouring His Son” vibes at Apple, the ad is now toast.

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“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Apple VP of marketing communications Tor Myhrentold Ad Age. “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.”

According to Ad Age, the ad won’t be aired on television as previously planned.

Aside from making computers you can’t repair, Apple has gained a reputation for running iconic ads, including its famous Ridley Scott-directed"1984" ad, the dancing iPod silhouettes, and its Mac vs PC campaign. Here’s another for the list, and although it’ll go down as more infamous than famous, I can’t say I’m not aware that the new iPad Pro is thin. It’s 5.1mm, if you were wondering.

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