The advertising spot, described as “dystopian” in the press across the Atlantic, shows tools and instruments used for artistic creation being crushed by an immense hydraulic press.
Published
Update
Reading time: 2 min
There is a big problem with Apple’s advertising. After unveiling an advertisement for the latest iPad Pro model on X on Tuesday, May 7, its boss, Tim Cook, received a torrent of scandalized messages. The reason: the advertising spot, described as “dystopian” in the press across the Atlantic, shows tools and instruments serving artistic creation being crushed by an immense hydraulic press. A metronome, cans of paint, a piano, a sculpture, cameras, books… All reduced to a black screen.
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. pic.twitter.com/6PeGXNoKgG
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 7, 2024
Many Internet users did not see it as an ode to the finesse of this tablet, but rather the destruction of human artistic creation for the benefit of artificial intelligence and the standardization of the world. On X, they called on Tim Cook to review his recipe.
A dystopia worthy of George Orwell’s “1984”
“Who needs human life and everything that makes it worth living? Immerse yourself in this digital simulacrum and give us your soul. Sincerely, Apple”quipped American screenwriter Ed Solomon about “Forty years ago, Apple released the ‘1984’ ad as a bold statement against a dystopian future. Now you are that dystopian future. Congratulations,” he tweeted.
Even more direct, director Reed Morano, who worked in particular on the series The Handmaid’s Talechallenged Tim Cook, inviting him to “[regarder] what is happening around [lui]because this shit really sucks” she reacted, alluding to the concerns of artists everywhere who fear being replaced by AI.
In addition to offending the artists, the advertising managed to shock an entire country: Japan. Listing reactions from the land of the rising sun, an Internet user ensures “never seen so many comments from dissatisfied Japanese” in response to a message posted on Twitter. Translated into English, one of these messages reminds us that “many craftsmen value their work tools”, while another implies a cultural respect for creative instruments and tools.
Asked by AFP, Apple did not react to this outcry. Proof that in this age of networks, there is no such thing as bad publicity.