Apple apologises for iPad advert featuring musical instruments being crushed after furious backlash as tech giant says 'we missed the mark'

Apple has apologised for a controversial advert plugging its new iPad following a fierce online backlash.

The one-minute clip shows a collection of artistic objects – including paints, books and musical instruments – being crushed by an industrial press. 

The 'tasteless' and 'insulting' promo was widely slammed, including by English actor Hugh Grant.

The Love Actually star posted on X (formerly Twitter): 'The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley.'

In a statement given to Ad Age, Apple said it was sorry and that it 'missed the mark'. 

In the ad, the artistic objects are slowly turned to bits by the metal press as 'All I Ever Need is You' by Sonny and Cher plays

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Apple's new iPad advert featuring musical instruments being crushed is SLAMMED by critics - as actor Hugh Grant deems it the 'destruction of the human experience'

'Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad,' the trillion-dollar firm said.

'We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry.' 

Plans to broadcast the ad on TV have reportedly been scrapped.

However, the ad is still on Apple's YouTube channel, where it has over 1.4 million views and counting. 

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment further but directed inquiries to the Ad Age report. 

In the short clip – which was originally posted to X by Apple CEO Tim Cook – the artistic objects are slowly turned to bits by the metal press as 'All I Ever Need is You' by Sonny and Cher plays.

When the press lifts up again, the pulverized remains have vanished and the new iPad Pro appears instead. 

It's unclear how much Apple spent on the advert; MailOnline has contacted the tech giant for more information

Objects being crushed include a guitar, piano, trumpet, books, metronome, sculpted clay, vinyl player and a TV

When the press lifts up again, the pulverized remains have vanished and the new iPad Pro appears instead

On X, English actor Hugh Grant posted: 'The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley'

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'The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest,' a narrator says at the end of the commercial. 

It seems the collection of objects is supposed to represent everything that the new iPad is capable of – from sketching art to playing music and displaying documents. 

It's also meant to highlight the tablet as the thinnest product Apple has ever made – although, ironically, at 5.1mm (0.2 inch), it would be destroyed by the industrial press too. 

Unfortunately for Apple, artists considered the suggestion that one of its product could replace all of their tools as 'insulting'. 

British filmmaker Asif Kapadia said he doesn't know why anyone at Apple 'thought this ad was a good idea'.

'It is the most honest metaphor for what tech companies do to the arts, to artists, musicians, creators, writers, filmmakers: squeeze them, use them, not pay well, take everything then say it's all created by them,' he posted on X. 

Another furious X user called it 'an absolutely tone-deaf and insulting ad'.

He said: 'The visual messaging is terrible Like who thought literally CRUSHING THE ARTS AND THEIR TOOLS was the move to make to market this towards creatives?' 

British filmmaker Asif Kapadia said he doesn't know why anyone at Apple 'thought this ad was a good idea'

Unfortunately, artists are considering the suggestion that an Apple product could replace all of their tools as 'insulting'

Another X user posted: 'With all the Apple tech knowhow, if you really insisted on producing such a tasteless advert, you could have used cgi [computer generated imagery]'

Someone else called it 'the perfect metaphor' for the creative industries being decimated by wealthy companies 

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Someone else posted: 'With all the Apple tech knowhow, if you really insisted on producing such a tasteless advert, you could have used cgi [computer generated imagery].

'The fact that you chose to destroy things that could have been used by properly talented people speaks volumes about you, your company, and the state of things.' 

Yet another said: 'At a time when artists, musicians and creatives are more worried than ever that tech companies are trying to crush them into dust for profit, along comes Apple and makes an *ad* whose whole message is: yes that is exactly what we're doing.' 

One person reversed the advert, showing the iPad being crushed and the objects appearing in its place, saying they'd 'fixed it'. 

Other users figured that the controversy generated by the advert would simply help Apple sell its products. 

It's likely the controversy generated by the advert would simply help Apple sell its products

Apple said it won't air the iPad 'Crush' ad on television as planned - although it's still on the firm's YouTube channel 

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James Bore, tech expert at consultancy Bores Group, said the ad 'kind of shows how disconnected they are from actual creative efforts'.

'I think they may have alienated a not-insignificant part of their target market by thinking like technologists rather than creatives,' he told MailOnline. 

'There were much better ways to create the same message, without destroying things that their customers will feel sentimental about for a publicity stunt. 

'Unless of course they were going deliberately for the controversy sells angle, which I can't rule out entirely.' 

It's unclear how much Apple spent on the advert; MailOnline has contacted the tech giant for more information. 

Forty years ago, Apple was responsible for what's been described as one of the greatest commercials, called '1984', directed by Ridley Scott. 

The ad – plugging the original Apple Macintosh computer – portrays a dystopian setting influenced by George Orwell's famous book where humanity is saved from 'conformity'. 

Christopher Slevin, creative director for marketing agency Inkling Culture, said the message of the new ad is effectively the opposite. 

'Apple’s new iPad spot is essentially them turning into the thing they said they were out to destroy in the 1984 ad,' he wrote on LinkedIn. 

Apple unveiled the iPad Pro along with a slightly cheaper iPad Air and an Apple Pencil at an unveiling event on Tuesday.

However, people were left asking 'who still buys iPads', as the line only makes up around 6 per cent of the company's sales.

Apple has launched a new 'Ozempic iPad Pro' on Tuesday, declaring the tablet its thinnest device yet. The latest iPad Pro stole the show when Apple said it measures just 5.1 millimeters thick - thinner than the iPod Nano (left)

Aside from its extra-thin profile, the new iPad Pro is fasters due to a new AI-focused M4 chip with a larger 'neural engine' that can complete 38 trillion tasks per second. 

The £799 iPad Air is equipped with the less-capable M2 chip, but both iPads come in two screen sizes – 11 inches and 13 inches. 

The Magic Pencil, Apple's £129 ($129) stylus, also gets haptic controls in the form of a 'squeeze function' and the ability to roll the pencil to change brush shapes.  

Apple's next event is Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), from June 10-14.

Although WWDC generally focuses on new software rather than hardware, the event may even include a big update on Apple's recent work on AI, where it's been falling behind compared to rivals such as Microsoft and Google. 

Apple boss Tim Cook has also teased a 'huge' AI announcement that's coming 'later this year' – possibly a product akin to ChatGPT. 

THE TRILLION DOLLAR RISE OF APPLE

1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1 1976 as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.

The first product was the Apple I. 

1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market. 

Steve Jobs unveils Apple Computer Corporation's new Macintosh February 6, 1984 in California.

1981: Jobs became chairman.  

1984: The Macintosh was introduced during an ad break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.

1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first colour Mac.

1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that involves Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took the role in 2000.  

The then Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Steve Jobs, with the iPhone

2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod.

The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino and was able to hold up to 1,000 songs.

2007: Apple unveils the iPhone. 

2010: The first iPad was unveiled.

2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October from pancreatic cancer.

2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled its first larger iPhones - the 6 and 6 Plus. 

2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services. 

2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.  

2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner's face.    

Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

2018: In a first for the company, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was spawned by a strongly worded letter from shareholders that urged the firm to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among kids and teenagers. 

2019: In January, Apple reports its first decline in revenues and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed steep declines in revenue from China.

2020: In March, Apple closes all its bricks and mortar retail stores outside of China in response to coronavirus. 

2021: In an online virtual event in April CEO Tim Cook declared Apple's goal of becoming carbon neutral for Earth Day. Later in the year the iPhone 13 was announced. 

2022: In September the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car crash as well as an improved camera system. 

2023: Apple brought back its 'Home Pod' after the first generation was discontinued. The 'Home Pod' can be seen as an alternative to Amazon's Alexa or Google Home as it is powered by voice commands.