• Light/Dark

Apple makes rare apology for their new "Crush" ad after backlash

Darknight

Darknight

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"
Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,994
I really have to wonder for anyone who can't fathom why someone might not like the imagery being conveyed in the ad and has their arms up in the air about people not being pleased, do you find no problem with what this thread is about because there was certainly a lot of outrage over it?

www.resetera.com

Xbox asks you to "Feel the Burn" with the announcement of the Fire Vapor Special Edition Controller (After studio closures) [UP: Tagline Removed] News

Tagline Updated: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/05/07/introducing-xbox-wireless-controller-fire-vapor-special-edition/ Are you feeling the burn yet Era Original
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com
 
Drachen

Drachen

Member
May 3, 2021
5,954
Nepenthe said:
Most people aren't riled up over the ad at this point. They're riled up over idiotic responses expressing a significant lack of media literacy. The fact that you thought the only way for Apple to, inadvertently or otherwise, show a disregard for traditional media was for them to literally show the destruction of every piano on the planet or something means you are incapable of applying critical thought.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Nah.
 
RUFF BEEST

RUFF BEEST

Member
Jun 10, 2022
2,135
Toronto, ON
BoondockRiley said:
Lmao, good job on dismissing the rest of my comment to fit the narrative you're trying to create. You clearly have an agenda here and quite frankly prove my point.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah I will dismiss your comment, because it was bad. The "context" that you have some special knowledge as someone who used to do art that makes dropping some bullshit "how dare you pay attention to this" "I can't believe anyone cares" take changes nothing. If anything it made your post more embarrassing because if it's true, you should know better. And news flash: You don't have a point, here, and I don't have a narrative. All I've done is directly quote your bad takes. Since you're struggling to understand people's problem with this content, maybe work on that instead of moving on to the meta-commentary, eh? Your "point" that there is some other bad thing happening out there that we could be talking about and this is all just uppity lefty anti-corpos waving their hands can fuck off to the Joe Rogan subreddit or something. Especially since you seem to hate it here, bitterly posting about the "classic ERA on display" like some fucking Twitter troll.
BoondockRiley said:
And on the subject, who the fuck are you to multi quote me into some garbage post about an actually racist ad as if that has anything to do with what the conversation is here? Do you know my skin colour? Do you know anything about me? Fuck outta here.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Your post literally mirrored in both content and structure the aggrieved stand-up comedian complaining about "woke." I can't believe you're in here acting self-righteous when you actually posted: "Only reason this one has got lots of people riled up is because a small group of people got riled up about it and it went viral." You are posting in service of the interests of a multinational corporation against the protests of the creative community, acting like there's no merit to anyone looking at the optics of corporate messaging, trying to appeal to authority while you do it, and then when your dismissive, shitty language is compared unfavorably in examples where race makes it really obvious why said optics actually matter, you have the nerve to get upset for being called out on it. Nah, you can keep all of that. I'm not interested in that, today.
 
Last edited:
Melpomene

Melpomene

One Winged Slayer
Member
Jun 9, 2019
18,493
Pancracio17 said:
I guess its that last point thats making all the difference. This ad seems pretty meh at first glance, but maybe if youre working on the industry it hits different.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Basically it comes down to empathy. If you aren't directly affected by the current state of affairs, are you able or willing to understand why someone who is might have a different - but entirely legitimate - perspective on this ad? Many here seem like they are not. It's just a flagrant lack of empathy on display from some.

"I don't get it, therefore being at all bothered is unreasonable."

"I don't get it, therefore the only way you could be upset is if you want to be."

Some people just need to learn to shut up and find another thread if they don't understand the one they're in.

(Not to take it out on you specifically, of course, you're fine).
 
Starmud

Starmud

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,448
This whole controversy tells you more about how a sizable portion of society now views tech as dangerous rather than helpful.

This ad is not controversial, infact it's a copy of many other ads (including an almost identical one from LG) to depict the same idea or concept to showcase how one device can be used to do "anything". These sorts of ads were common when the promise of tech was convergence and access.

The difference today is how people perceive tech as a threat where as twenty years ago it was seen as the revolution/what's next. Society is increasingly becoming less apt to see technology as a positive thing and instead as something to question or contain. It doesn't help that this is happening with many other fields of study/advancement's in the world when it comes to how our population is absorbing changes today.

This is why I also think AI flops at the consumer level, at least in its current form, and why Apple is probably wise to stave off throwing in "AI" to please investors alone. The next thing in tech has to meet where people are today… overall many users are signaling they want a more simplistic and task focused approach to tech products. This iPad ad instead uses a formula about homogeneity thats been on repeat for decades, but it's a concept that isn't popular with consumers today.
 
Jonnax

Jonnax

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,006
Drachen said:
No because it's not like they went out destroyed every single piano or other creative tool in the world. And a LOT of people use Apple products to create these days over traditional methods.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

So it seems a lot of the critism came from Japan.
Have you heard of the concept of Mottainai?


www.tofugu.com

もったいない — The Japanese Virtue of Guilt-Tripping over Wastefulness

もったいない is a Japanese word that expresses a sense of regret for the act of wasting. Discover the unique nuance it carries as well as the cultural roots of "mottainai."
www.tofugu.com www.tofugu.com

I'd recommend reading these articles I've quoted a bit below.

I think the key thing that's worth considering is that people have different values to you.
What they find important will be different to you.

Mottainai teaches us that objects and nature have intrinsic value. Sure, we value an umbrella because it helps us stay dry in the rain but we also value some things, echoing Maathai, out of respect. An umbrella, a pencil case, a shōji (Japan's sliding paper doors) are all treated well not just for the use value or their delicate nature but out of respect. The iconic example is the katana, the Japanese samurai sword said to be the soul of the samurai. Objects in Japanese culture are often treated with greater reverence. Mottainai, as a Japanese philosophy of waste, elevates objects beyond mere extrinsic goods that are useful for specific purposes, to objects worthy of respect for their contributions to living a flourishing life.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The most iconic use of もったいない is for wasting physical things — not finishing the food on your plate, or throwing away still-usable clothes, furniture, and the like. In fact, this aspect of もったいない attracted global attention when Wangari Muta Maathai, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and Kenyan environmental activist, put a spotlight on もったいない. She recognized that it was the only single-word idea that can embody the three Rs — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — and even a bonus R — "Respect."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
PaperSparrow

PaperSparrow

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,028
Melpomene said:
Unless you explicitly post it in an attempt to gain an understanding you feel you lack, "I don't understand why people are upset" is essentially an abdication of the intent to contribute to the discussion.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah, pretty much. It's just telling people you don't care and if you do care, that's wrong. It's a dead-end thought process that pretends human feelings can be turned off or something.
 
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,331
PaperSparrow said:
Gotta be honest "I don't understand why people are upset" has to be one of my most hated contributions to a topic. When you're talking about, like, MAGA idiots complaining about woke, sure, mentally distance yourself from that level of thinking as much as you want, but for stuff like this, it just comes off as emotional laziness. You can like the ad without making people who don't like it out to have an unreasonable, alien perspective. Just because you don't feel as strongly about something doesn't somehow make you more clear-headed on the subject.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well said.
 
Royalan

Royalan

I can say DEI; you can't.
Moderator
Oct 24, 2017
12,177
Starmud said:
This ad is not controversial, infact it's a copy of many other ads (including an almost identical one from LG) to depict the same idea or concept to showcase how one device can be used to do "anything". These sorts of ads were common when the promise of tech was convergence and access.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

People say this but I'm hard pressed for examples.

"Product A DESTROYS Product B" was definitely accepted advertising language and framework in the past, particularly in the 90s.

But that's not what this is.
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
94,845
here
i just kinda saw the ad as

"we put all this stuff in an iPad"

🤷‍♂️
 
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,331
Like obviously it's "we're distilling all this into our product"... but if you keep thinking past that point you can maybe start to see some of the issues people have.

Don't just glance at the surface and shrug your shoulders, lol.
 
-Peabody-

-Peabody-

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,611
Watching the ad and it definitely doesn't evoke the emotions Apple is intending but I gusss this is a case (for me at least) where there are so many other worse things happening currently in and out of the tech space right now that it's hard to register any frustration towards it. 🤷‍♂️
 
Billfisto

Billfisto

Member
Oct 30, 2017
15,253
Canada
Pictured: The distillation process.

NFNBITJVKFDZJBKTEQXJ5NFWNQ.jpg
 
BrightLightLava

BrightLightLava

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,421
Nepenthe said:
It doesn't matter to the analysis at hand because the image is the same regardless of how the effect was achieved itself. The image is still of traditional art supplies being violently destroyed to make an iPad.


No it's not. It directly addresses your argument. Do offensive images just stop being offensive if they are rendered in CGI? Yes or no?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I see where my disconnect was now.

I don't think of the ad as offensive, no one replying to me until your post had used the word offensive, and the discussion about it being offensive started in posts that I hadn't read yet. So your use of that example caught me off guard.

I asked about it being CGI because I didn't understand that angle on the negative response to the ad. I saw people posting about how they destroyed instruments and art supplies and my thought was "I'm pretty sure they didn't actually do that".

I was definitely overly glib in my original post, and reading back the others I can see how I was coming off poorly and reactive and as a JAQ sort of guy. If you want to label me forever as an idiot who can't be trusted, that's understandable. But I do apologize.
 

Vomiaouaf

Member
Oct 27, 2017
740
Starmud said:
This whole controversy tells you more about how a sizable portion of society now views tech as dangerous rather than helpful.

This ad is not controversial, infact it's a copy of many other ads (including an almost identical one from LG) to depict the same idea or concept to showcase how one device can be used to do "anything". These sorts of ads were common when the promise of tech was convergence and access.

The difference today is how people perceive tech as a threat where as twenty years ago it was seen as the revolution/what's next. Society is increasingly becoming less apt to see technology as a positive thing and instead as something to question or contain. It doesn't help that this is happening with many other fields of study/advancement's in the world when it comes to how our population is absorbing changes today.

This is why I also think AI flops at the consumer level, at least in its current form, and why Apple is probably wise to stave off throwing in "AI" to please investors alone. The next thing in tech has to meet where people are today… overall many users are signaling they want a more simplistic and task focused approach to tech products. This iPad ad instead uses a formula about homogeneity thats been on repeat for decades, but it's a concept that isn't popular with consumers today.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

AI does not flop at consumer level. plenty of apps and services making bank at the moment. Check the top mobile apps to dispel that notion very quickly. Apple doesn't throw AI for investors because it can't yet. It missed the train and scrambling to buy startups to make up for it. They'll drop the word in June as much as they can. It'll be AI like you've never seen before. So much incredibly awesome in fact that their marketing will tell you it's not artificial intelligence anymore. Just intelligence.

I'm not bothered by the ad because I feel like I've seen this angle plenty of times before in ads, but I understand why some people can be, given the brand behind it. If it was an OK Go music video it'd have a very different meaning about the state of the industry. I guess I don't really have the energy for that particular outrage right now.
 
ArkhamFantasy

ArkhamFantasy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,612
astro said:
Like obviously it's "we're distilling all this into our product"... but if you keep thinking past that point you can maybe start to see some of the issues people have.

Don't just glance at the surface and shrug your shoulders, lol.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I think shrugging your shoulders at an ad you find displeasing is probably the way to go over becoming emotionally distressed to the point that the company decided they need to make a public apology.

Life is going to throw a lot worse than this commercial at you.
 
Kerwop

Kerwop

Member
Dec 15, 2017
451
Melpomene said:
Basically it comes down to empathy. If you aren't directly affected by the current state of affairs, are you able or willing to understand why someone who is might have a different - but entirely legitimate - perspective on this ad? Many here seem like they are not. It's just a flagrant lack of empathy on display from some.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah this is what drives me crazy in threads like this. Some people aren't interested in understanding why something might upset someone else more than them. They see it as an opportunity to show us how unbothered they are personally as if it's some competition they've won.
 
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,331
ArkhamFantasy said:
I think shrugging your shoulders at an ad you find displeasing is probably the way to go over becoming emotionally distressed to the point that the company decided they need to make a public apology.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeh... "becoming emotionally distressed to the point that the company decided they need to make a public apology" is quite the way to phrase it.

ArkhamFantasy said:
Life is going to throw a lot worse than this commercial at you.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
no shit
 
LumberPanda

LumberPanda

Member
Feb 3, 2019
6,495
Starmud said:
This whole controversy tells you more about how a sizable portion of society now views tech as dangerous rather than helpful.

This ad is not controversial, infact it's a copy of many other ads (including an almost identical one from LG) to depict the same idea or concept to showcase how one device can be used to do "anything". These sorts of ads were common when the promise of tech was convergence and access.

The difference today is how people perceive tech as a threat where as twenty years ago it was seen as the revolution/what's next. Society is increasingly becoming less apt to see technology as a positive thing and instead as something to question or contain. It doesn't help that this is happening with many other fields of study/advancement's in the world when it comes to how our population is absorbing changes today.

This is why I also think AI flops at the consumer level, at least in its current form, and why Apple is probably wise to stave off throwing in "AI" to please investors alone. The next thing in tech has to meet where people are today… overall many users are signaling they want a more simplistic and task focused approach to tech products. This iPad ad instead uses a formula about homogeneity thats been on repeat for decades, but it's a concept that isn't popular with consumers today.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well said. It's not "oh apple bad they crushed a piano :(", it's "holy shit this is a perfect visual metaphor of everything we hate about the tech industry right now, but it's an unironic ad for a megacorp instead of satire".

Reading the room, this should be Onion sketch.
 
Melpomene

Melpomene

One Winged Slayer
Member
Jun 9, 2019
18,493
ArkhamFantasy said:
I think shrugging your shoulders at an ad you find displeasing is probably the way to go over becoming emotionally distressed to the point that the company decided they need to make a public apology.

Life is going to throw a lot worse than this commercial at you.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Oh my god, we're getting suck-it-up-buttercup takes now, please.
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
94,845
here
wait why the fuck is this thread 9 pages

why the fuck are ppl using the word "superficial"

aw fuck I shouldn't be in this dumbass thread
 
RedMercury

RedMercury

Blue Venus
Member
Dec 24, 2017
17,756
The little person figurine made me think of how I was laid off recently and how the tech industry crushed my happiness and security. I relate to that lil wooden person.
 
Balphon

Balphon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,634
Even apart from the visual metaphor that ad is kinda uncomfortable to watch.

Making you not want to look at it doesn't seem to be the property of a good ad.
 
lunarworks

lunarworks

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,417
Toronto
iOS has emulators now. Let's get a bunch of pristine vintage consoles and hard-to-find classic games and put them under the hydraulic press. In 4K slow-mo. Close-up shots and angles.

This place will love that.
 
Dice

Dice

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,866
Canada
Clearly the ad is doing right by its controversy when people here already took the topic to 10 pages.

So whether it is or isn't controversial shouldnt even be up for debate, clearly there are strong reactions on even the apathetic side lol
 
LGHT_TRSN

LGHT_TRSN

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,253
This thread has gone places while going nowhere at all....maybe we are in the compactor turning into ipads...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.