The ad itself depicted a mechanical crusher destroying artifacts of human creativity. A trumpet, guitar, sculpture, piano, drawing board, paints, a metronome, several analog cameras, a turntable, and hi-fi equipment were among the much-loved items yielding to the machine’s unstoppable force.
The outcry’s not really Apple, but tech in general. The backlash of crushing the human experience is the transition from valuing true art and creativity, and just lurching toward yet another do-everything screen that doesn’t compliment creativity, but instead displaces it, with the hint of incoming generative AI.
Apple really doesn’t give a fuck about art, creativity, expression, or for that matter quality anymore. They’re good at making a thing that sells, they’re good at marketing it, and they’re good at convincing people of the cost vs worth equation that gives them insane margins over their chic branding. I love the outcry not because of any validity behind the detriment of tablets and smartphones (which is absolutely there) but moreso because it’s entertaining when a company renowned for their advertising prowess fucks up so publicly then backpedals with apologies.
Good times, and fuck Apple.
Yeah, I’m no marketing guru, but I feel their actual point would have been better conveyed by a pile of all of the things the iPad replaced slowly gathering dust, spider webs, and eventually archaeologists.