Apple Issues Apology for "Crush" iPad Pro Ad, Acknowledging Misjudgment

Apple has issued an apology after a commercial advertisement for its latest iPad Pro model sparked criticism among many in Hollywood and other creative agencies, Variety reported. The new ad set is titled Crush! shows a huge hydraulic press literally crushing a television, a camera, musical instruments, books and cans of paint among others. The commercial closes out with a yellow emoji stress ball exploding.

"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," Apple CEO Tim Cook posted on social media platform X on May 7 along with the new ad.

Variety reported that the tech giant's advertisement has been interpreted more as a "visual depiction of the tech industry's devastation of cultural industries."

"The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley," actor Hugh Grant commented on X. Filmmaker and actor Justine Bateman said "Truly, what is wrong with you?" she said in quoting Cook's post.

CNN said that Apple had apologised for "missing the mark" in the video ad, which it said fell short of its goal of empowering and celebrating creatives.

"Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world. Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad," Apple's vice president of marketing communications, Tor Myhren was cited by CNN in an interview to AdAge. "We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry." Apple no longer plans to run the ad on TV, according to AdAge, CNN said.