Apple has been responsible for some of the most iconic ads to hit our screens over the past few decades, but its latest product has been slammed by fans as “offensive,” prompting the company's vice president of marketing to address the issue. I decided to take it up.
Apple's Tor Myhren said the tech giant “missed the mark” in a video released this week and apologized to customers who criticized the company's marketing as “tone-deaf.”
talk to advertising age “Creativity is in Apple's DNA, and designing products that empower creators around the world is extremely important to us,” Mullen said this week.
“Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad ways users can express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We apologize for missing the point in this video.”
This happened after Apple CEO Tim Cook posted a teaser about the new iPad Pro on the X.
The ad depicts various creative tools standing on a stand, including musical instruments such as a guitar, piano and trumpet, as well as artwork such as paints, busts and artist mannequins.
Elsewhere, other means of creative expression are shown, including stacks of books, binoculars, a globe, and a turntable.
All of these are instantly crushed by a hydraulic press. The ad then shows the press pad lifting to reveal an iPad in place of the aforementioned product.
“Imagine all that goes into creating,” Cook, who was paid $49 million in 2023 for his work, wrote in the post.
X's customers, some of whom were the very creative people Mr. Cook was likely trying to attract, were outraged by the ad.
“The symbolism of randomly shattering a beautiful creative tool is an interesting choice,” one user wrote.
“You have destroyed all human creative tools and efforts,” another wrote. “Worst. Commercial. Ever.”
And Apple, perhaps used to hearing excitement and hype about its new products, has been forced to listen.
Plans to run the ad on TV have now been canceled, but the video was titled “Crush!” still remains on Cook's profile and his Apple YouTube account.
advertising failure
Apple isn't the first organization to dabble in creative advertising.
In 2020, a government-backed advertisement in the UK was even branded “vulgar” by politicians in Whitechapel after it suggested ballet dancers should be retrained as IT workers.
The ad features a photo of a young woman wearing a tutu and tying her pointe shoes, emblazoned with the symbols of His Majesty the Government and the CyberFirst Program.
The caption reads: “Fatima's next job may be in cyber (she just doesn't know it yet).”
At the time, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden distanced himself from the campaign. write to x: “To those tweeting about #Fatima, this is not from @DCMS [The Department for Culture, Media and Sport] And I agree that it was terrible. ”
It's unusual for Apple to make a similar mistake for a brand beloved for its sophisticated aesthetics, eye-catching advertising, and unique retail products.
And this exit caused many to reflect on where Apple started and where it is now.
Among the responses to Cook's X post was one from Paul Graham, founder of Silicon Valley VC firm Y-Combinator.
Despite being an entrepreneur and a computer scientist, said before Although he never met Apple founder Steve Jobs, he wrote to Mr. Cook: It would be too painful for him to watch. ”
Steve wouldn't have sent that ad. It must have been too painful for him to watch.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) May 8, 2024
