Apple iPad Crush Ad

About

Apple iPad Crush Ad or Apple iPad Crushing Machine Commercial refers to a controversial advertisement for the 2024 Apple iPad tablet in which a large hydraulic press crushes down several musical instruments (like a piano and guitar) and physical pieces of entertainment into an iPad. The advert, released in early May 2024 and meant to show how compact an iPad is with all of the things it can do, was met with severe pushback from fans and others online (particularly many Japanese users) who were upset at the ad for showing Apple trampling over legacy media and destroying vintage items.

Origin

On May 7th, 2024, as part of a presentation on Apple and the upcoming iPad product line, CEO Tim Cook posted on X^[1] calling the new iPad a "Pro" series, with it being the thinnest product ever made while still having an M4 chip, earning over 38 million views in one day (shown below).

Immediately following the post, people began to show their distaste for the ad. On May 7th, 2024, X user @TrungTPhan^[2] did a QRT in which he referenced and posted a prior viral video known as "Evolution of the Desk" and said that the Apple advertisement was a more depressing version of it (shown below).

Spread

Community hate for the ad continued into the next day, with more social media users giving takes on it and decrying the company. For example, on May 8th, 2024, X user @thisisfoster^[3] uploaded the ad in its entirety, while adding his own voiceover and on-screen captions to explain why he hates the ad, specifically calling out the overreliance on digital and lack of analog in the world (shown below).

As the day went on, hate for the ad and pushback against Apple continued to appear online en masse, with several users noting that the promo video was especially disliked in Japan, a country known for being technologically deep-rooted in analog. On May 8th, X user @AngelicaOung^[4] uploaded several screenshots of Japanese social media users who are loudly upset at the ad and letting their voices be heard (shown below).

The controversy surrounding the advert did not stay on X, with different content creators making TikToks that explain or go over the issues with the ad itself.

On May 8th, 2024, Apple tech reviewer Sam Kohl^[5] uploaded a TikTok to the platform in which he went over the ad, various news stories and reactions to the ad, before trying to explain the reasoning behind the ad and calling it an "uncommon L" for the company (shown below).

Samsung "Creativity Can't Be Crushed" Ad

On May 15th, 2024, Samsung released an ad capitalizing on the backlash to Apple's Crush ad with the tagline "Creativity Can't Be Crushed." The ad divided viewers, as some appreciated Samsung's response, while others felt it was hypocritical of the company to say "Creativity can't be crushed" but also advertise "Galaxy AI" in their tablet.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References