Apple ‘s most recent commercial depicts the iPad crushing a pile of analogue objects and creative tools. Usually, Apple is dependable for innovative, well-produced advertising, but this one falls flat.
Apple has since issued an apology and scrapped plans to air the commercial. Tor Myhren, Apple’s VP of marketing, expressed regret to Ad Age, saying, “We missed the mark with this video.” Apple doesn’t want Eltrys to know any more about the matter.
However, many people, myself included, had an immediate and strong negative response to this, and I think it’s important that we discuss why. We are witnessing more than just the crushing of objects. Crushing, burning, exploding, and otherwise destroying commonplace items is a popular topic on many video channels. Also, everyone is aware that transfer stations and recycling centres deal with this kind of activity on a regular basis. So that’s not it.
Not that the material is really valuable in and of itself, either. Of course, a piano has monetary value. However, we don’t feel guilty because we often see them destroyed in action films. We can get by with a few unused baby grands, even if I prefer pianos. Remaining the same: The majority of it is trash that you could get for free or for a few dollars on Craigslist. (Perhaps not the editing desk.)
The film itself isn’t the issue; props to whoever planned and shot it; it’s excellent work. The message itself is problematic, not the medium.
The advertised feature of the iPad—the ability to perform all these things—is obvious to everyone. Great. We could have made the same changes to the previous iPad, but this one is slimmer (which no one requested; covers won’t fit) and has a better made-up percentage.
The objects being crushed here represent material, concrete, and real; this is something everyone can relate to, unlike Apple marketing executives who don’t live in the real world. There is value in being genuine. Apple obviously thinks it can smash into another black hole in terms of value.
In my opinion, this belief is abhorrent. It would seem that many more feel the same way.
In a music video or an episode of Mythbusters, destroying a piano is really a creative act. Ruining a piano (or screen, paint can, or drum set) for no apparent reason is, at the very least, wasteful!
Apple, on the other hand, is trashing these things in an attempt to make you believe that you don’t really need them. Instead, all you need is their little gadget, which can do everything and more; you won’t even need mixing stations, brushes, keys, or strings.
The media’s massive shift towards digital and always-online has consequences that we are all experiencing. I think it’s great in a lot of ways! Technology, in my opinion, has been very liberating.
On the other hand, there are legitimate concerns that the digital transition is damaging and artificially imposed, resembling a dystopian future that billionaires have sanctioned, in which every kid has an AI best friend and may practice guitar on a chilly screen.
Is music enjoyable for your child? They can do without a harp, so dispose of it properly. You can get by with an iPad. Are they artistic? We present the Apple Pencil, the ultimate alternative to traditional drawing tools! What about the books? Leave us bewildered! Melt them down. Paper has no use. Look at it from a different angle. Why not read it in Apple Vision Pro using even more phoney paper?
It appears that Apple has forgotten that the same things it destroyed are what give counterfeit replicas of real-world items their value.
A virtual guitar, like assuming that a book can replace its creator, cannot replace a genuine one.
Their uniqueness does not preclude their value. However, the advertisement suggests that the future that Apple envisions does not include actual objects such as art, sculpture, clocks, books, or physical tools. Sure enough, that’s the future it’s been trying to sell us for years; it simply wasn’t nearly as aggressive previously.
Trust people when they say who they are. Apple is being extremely forthright about who it is and where it sees itself going. If you’re okay with that kind of future, then by all means, embrace it.
