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In this still from Apple's new iPad Pro ad, the iPad is revealed after a hydraulic press opens.
Editor's note: Bill Carter has covered the media business for more than 25 years for The New York Times. He is also a contributor to CNN and the author of his four books on television, including “The Late Shift.” He was an Emmy-nominated author for the HBO film adaptation of his book. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinions on CNN.
CNN —
Apple has apologized. The ads for the new iPad Pro, which packs an all-powerful hydraulic press and squeezes every element of culture and human experience into one razor-thin device, may have been a little ill-conceived.
Set to the old Sonny and Cher song “All I Ever Need Is You,” the ad depicts the destruction of human creativity as we see a piano, a carved bust, all kinds of art supplies, a camera, and a television. It looks like they are celebrating. Furthermore, it is crushed violently.
After the ad sparked an immediate backlash, Apple's vice president of marketing, Thor Miffren, said, “This video misses the mark, and we're sorry.”
What he didn't say was, “We made our case” even though we didn't have to.
Importantly, all of these elements of art and culture can be condensed into a single item that is as light as a feather and as portable as a paper plate.
Well, perhaps “crushed” is more accurate than “condensed.” When you condense something, you preserve more or less of its natural state. If you crush, chew, or crush something, it disappears completely.
Indeed, many people in the art world did not accept the healthy message used by Apple CEO Tim Cook. In the post of X To describe the wonders of new technology: “Imagine all the things it could be used to create.”
Generally speaking, destruction is not necessary for creativity. Unless, perhaps, Pete Townshend smashed his Rickenbacker guitar over an amplifier at the end of a Who concert.
Actors, directors, writers, and academics expressed outrage over Apple's ad. Perhaps it's because many of them are forced into protests and labor strikes due to a combination of rising costs of living, corporate consolidation, layoffs, and fewer outlets for paying wages in the arts, all of which , because it was accompanied by the following vision of the future. They are all replaced by computer-generated versions of themselves.
I liked screenwriter Ed Solomon's sarcasm. Post to X: “Who needs human life and all that makes life worth living? Jump into this digital simulation and give us your soul. Sincerely, Apple.”
That wasn't the message Apple was trying to get across, was it? Apple's intent was undoubtedly to pursue a raison d'être of leveraging advances in technology to make it easier for humans to accomplish every aspect of life (and for Apple to monetize).
And there's a good chance Apple will achieve that goal. Advances in technology almost always result in enthusiastic consumers. Now they've seen this ultra-thin iPad Pro do just that.
I'm sure you'll want one as soon as it hits the market. As the saying goes, you can never be too rich or too thin.
But this ad only further alarms much of the thoughtful world already in jeopardy due to advances in artificial intelligence, and that artificial intelligence is taking shape in ways that even the most ardent advertisers don't fully understand. and threatens creatives and all of humanity. Will we all end up involving players in the ultimate ironic episode of “The Twilight Zone” conquered by our own creations?
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Given the continued uncertainty and fear, Apple's advertising isn't just tone-deaf, it's downright tone-deaf. It feels as if we are relegating humanity's achievements to the Stone Age. Forget about music, art, literature, etc. “All I need is you,” Apple said.
The accompaniment, a No. 1 hit in 1971 (perhaps not the greatest example of human creativity, but still), plays over footage of exploding paint cans and shattering instruments. In the ad, the song plays more like a jovial little threat than a jovial little love song.
We will synthesize Sonny and Cher for you. “I hear some guys chase rainbows and all I need is you.”
The message of this ad is loud and clear: “Rainbows are crap, buy an Apple.”
