Apple apologises for crushing cameras and creative gear in latest ad

Apple has apologised after the company released a new iPad Pro commercial that showed a wide range of creative tools, including a camera and lenses, being destroyed by a hydraulic press.

Titled “Crush!”, the 1-minute ad, which already has more than 2.5 million views, was released last week after the announcement of the latest iPad Pro. It shows a large pile of equipment used by creatives, including musical instruments, tins of paint, an arcade game, and photography gear in a large pile, before being unceremoniously crushed into pieces.

Once the crushing is complete, the press lifts up to reveal the new iPad Pro in the place of all the gear. 

As you'd imagine, the tone-deaf sight of creative tools getting destroyed went down terribly with many creatives, with a number taking to social media to call out Apple.

The actor Hugh Grant wrote on X that the advert represented “the destruction of the human experience, courtesy of Silicon Valley”.

As outrage grew, Apple issued a rare apology last week.

“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 marketing VP Tor Myhren told AdAge.

“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.”

While the ad is still available on YouTube (albeit with comments disabled), Apple says it has changed its plans to run the ad on television. 

You can see a wrap-up of the latest Apple updates on our sister site, Capture mag.