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What happens in Apple’s “Crush!” ad?
Released on May 7, 2024, alongside the new iPad Pro, the roughly one-minute commercial begins with a large industrial hydraulic press descending onto a pile of objects associated with creative and cultural life. Musical instruments, books, cameras, paint, sculptures, electronics, and arcade-related equipment disappear under the machine. When the press rises, the objects have been reduced to a compact mass. The new iPad Pro is revealed underneath.
Apple’s intended message was straightforward: the iPad Pro can bring many creative functions into one portable device. Its thin design, advanced display, and M4 chip were presented as evidence that drawing, music production, photography, video, writing, and design could be carried in a single product. The commercial invited viewers to imagine what they could create with it. Watch the “Crush!” advertisement.
The problem is that the ad does not show creative tools being combined or transformed. It shows them being crushed first, then replaces them with the iPad.
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- WHY IPAD — The 11-inch iPad is now more capable than ever with the superfast A16 chip, a stunning Liquid Retina display, advanced cameras, fast Wi-Fi, USB-C connector, and four gorgeous colors.* iPad delivers a powerful way to create, stay connected, and get things done.
- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — The superfast A16 chip delivers a boost in performance for your favorite activities. And with all-day battery life, iPad is perfect for playing immersive games and editing photos and videos.* Storage starts at 128GB and goes up to 512GB.*
- 11-INCH LIQUID RETINA DISPLAY — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display is an amazing way to watch movies or draw your next masterpiece.* True Tone adjusts the display to the color temperature of the room to make viewing comfortable in any light.
- IPADOS + APPS — iPadOS makes iPad more productive, intuitive, and versatile. With iPadOS, run multiple apps at once, use Apple Pencil to write in any text field with Scribble, and edit and share photos.* iPad comes with essential apps like Safari, Messages, and Keynote, with over a million more apps designed specifically for iPad available on the App Store.
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Why did people find it so offensive?
It made art look disposable
The objects in the pile are not presented as anonymous clutter. A piano, camera, paint, books, and musical equipment carry associations of practice, craft, history, and personal expression. They are tools through which people learn and make things, not merely outdated hardware.
That is why the criticism was about more than a dislike of hydraulic-press videos. The imagery suggested that the physical instruments of human expression were obsolete junk—and that their destruction was something to celebrate.
The iPad appears to replace creativity’s tools
A digital tablet can genuinely be a serious professional instrument. Artists, musicians, filmmakers, photographers, writers, and designers can use an iPad as part of a sophisticated creative workflow. Physical and digital tools are not mutually exclusive.
But the commercial stages them as if they were. The iPad does not appear alongside a piano, sketchbook, camera, or paintbrush as another way to create. It appears only after those things have been flattened. The product reveal therefore reads less like “many tools, one convenient option” and more like “the old creative world must disappear to make room for this one.”
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The visual grammar is violent
Advertising metaphors depend on sequence. If objects morph into a new tool, the audience is encouraged to see transformation. In “Crush!”, the audience spends most of the commercial watching destruction: weight, pressure, noise, and irreversible damage. The payoff is not a new creative possibility but a pristine slab emerging from the remains.
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- WHY IPAD — The 11-inch iPad is now more capable than ever with the superfast A16 chip, a stunning Liquid Retina display, advanced cameras, fast Wi-Fi, USB-C connector, and four gorgeous colors.* iPad delivers a powerful way to create, stay connected, and get things done.
- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — The superfast A16 chip delivers a boost in performance for your favorite activities. And with all-day battery life, iPad is perfect for playing immersive games and editing photos and videos.* Storage starts at 128GB and goes up to 512GB.*
- 11-INCH LIQUID RETINA DISPLAY — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display is an amazing way to watch movies or draw your next masterpiece.* True Tone adjusts the display to the color temperature of the room to make viewing comfortable in any light.
- IPADOS + APPS — iPadOS makes iPad more productive, intuitive, and versatile. With iPadOS, run multiple apps at once, use Apple Pencil to write in any text field with Scribble, and edit and share photos.* iPad comes with essential apps like Safari, Messages, and Keynote, with over a million more apps designed specifically for iPad available on the App Store.
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That makes the emotional meaning difficult to control. Even viewers who understand Apple’s intended point can reasonably conclude that the ad celebrates eradication more strongly than it celebrates making.
It contradicted Apple’s creative identity
Apple has long marketed its technology as a way to empower individual expression. Its famous “1984” campaign, for example, positioned Apple against an impersonal and dehumanizing technological order. Critics saw “Crush!” as an inversion of that identity: this time, Apple appeared to be the machine doing the crushing.
The contradiction mattered because Apple was not an unknown brand making an isolated mistake. Its audience had been taught to understand the company through themes of individuality, liberation, design, and creativity. A commercial that visually devalues the tools of creative life could therefore feel like a betrayal of Apple’s own mythology. Ars Technica examined the comparison with Apple’s earlier positioning.
The timing made the message worse
“Crush!” arrived during intense anxiety about generative artificial intelligence, automation, and the future of creative work. Artists and other creative professionals were already debating whether technology companies wanted to assist human creators, replace them, or absorb their work into automated systems.
The advertisement did not mention generative AI, so it is inaccurate to call it an AI commercial. But the cultural context shaped how people interpreted its symbolism. A machine crushing the accumulated tools of human creativity and unveiling a sleek digital replacement naturally resonated with fears about technological substitution. Axios reported on that broader context.
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- WHY IPAD — The 11-inch iPad is now more capable than ever with the superfast A16 chip, a stunning Liquid Retina display, advanced cameras, fast Wi-Fi, USB-C connector, and four gorgeous colors.* iPad delivers a powerful way to create, stay connected, and get things done.
- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — The superfast A16 chip delivers a boost in performance for your favorite activities. And with all-day battery life, iPad is perfect for playing immersive games and editing photos and videos.* Storage starts at 128GB and goes up to 512GB.*
- 11-INCH LIQUID RETINA DISPLAY — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display is an amazing way to watch movies or draw your next masterpiece.* True Tone adjusts the display to the color temperature of the room to make viewing comfortable in any light.
- IPADOS + APPS — iPadOS makes iPad more productive, intuitive, and versatile. With iPadOS, run multiple apps at once, use Apple Pencil to write in any text field with Scribble, and edit and share photos.* iPad comes with essential apps like Safari, Messages, and Keynote, with over a million more apps designed specifically for iPad available on the App Store.
- FAST WI-FI CONNECTIVITY — Wi-Fi 6 gives you fast access to your files, uploads, and downloads, and lets you seamlessly stream your favorite shows.
What was Apple trying to communicate?
The charitable reading is not difficult to find. The hydraulic press represents compression and integration, not contempt. Apple wanted to dramatize the idea that the iPad Pro can consolidate many devices and creative capabilities while remaining exceptionally thin and portable.
That product claim has a legitimate basis. An iPad can function as a drawing surface, music workstation, camera companion, editing device, writing tool, and design platform. For some users, replacing several pieces of equipment with one computer is genuinely useful.
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But a metaphor can be understandable in concept and still fail in execution. The ad treated consolidation as a zero-sum contest. It showed the physical tools losing so that the iPad could win. That made the product’s versatility look like a threat to creative culture rather than an expansion of creative choice.
What did critics say?
The backlash came from prominent creative professionals as well as ordinary viewers online. Actor Hugh Grant described the spot as “the destruction of the human experience, courtesy of Silicon Valley.” Filmmaker Justine Bateman criticized the apparent destruction of the arts and connected the imagery to wider concerns about technology’s impact on artists. Other commentators called the commercial tone-deaf, disturbing, or hostile to the people Apple was trying to reach. The Guardian chronicled the reaction and quoted several criticisms.
These reactions should not be treated as polling. They show prominent and widespread criticism, not that every viewer hated the advertisement. Digital artists and technology enthusiasts could reasonably see the iPad as an empowering tool while still recognizing why the commercial’s imagery alienated others.
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- WHY IPAD — The 11-inch iPad is now more capable than ever with the superfast A16 chip, a stunning Liquid Retina display, advanced cameras, fast Wi-Fi, USB-C connector, and four gorgeous colors.* iPad delivers a powerful way to create, stay connected, and get things done.
- PERFORMANCE AND STORAGE — The superfast A16 chip delivers a boost in performance for your favorite activities. And with all-day battery life, iPad is perfect for playing immersive games and editing photos and videos.* Storage starts at 128GB and goes up to 512GB.*
- 11-INCH LIQUID RETINA DISPLAY — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display is an amazing way to watch movies or draw your next masterpiece.* True Tone adjusts the display to the color temperature of the room to make viewing comfortable in any light.
- IPADOS + APPS — iPadOS makes iPad more productive, intuitive, and versatile. With iPadOS, run multiple apps at once, use Apple Pencil to write in any text field with Scribble, and edit and share photos.* iPad comes with essential apps like Safari, Messages, and Keynote, with over a million more apps designed specifically for iPad available on the App Store.
- FAST WI-FI CONNECTIVITY — Wi-Fi 6 gives you fast access to your files, uploads, and downloads, and lets you seamlessly stream your favorite shows.
Did Apple apologize?
Yes. On May 9, 2024, Apple apologized for the advertisement. Tor Myhren, the company’s vice-president of marketing communications, said creativity was central to Apple’s identity and acknowledged that the video had “missed the mark.” Apple also abandoned plans to run the commercial on television, although contemporary reporting said it remained available online.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe wording matters. Apple apologized for the ad and admitted that its execution failed to communicate as intended. It did not admit that the commercial was “disgusting,” anti-art, or deliberately offensive. Those are interpretations made by critics and viewers. Marketing Dive reported on the apology and canceled television plans; CBS News covered the company’s statement and the public response.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was the backlash justified?
In a limited but important sense, yes. The criticism was justified because the commercial’s central metaphor was foreseeable, its destruction targeted objects associated with Apple’s creative audience, and its product reveal made the iPad look like a replacement for human-made culture. The apology and decision not to run the spot on television also show that Apple recognized a serious mismatch between its intention and the ad’s reception.
That does not prove that Apple wanted to destroy art. Nor does it prove that the iPad is hostile to artists. The ad was clearly intended to celebrate portability, power, and the ability to perform many creative tasks in one device. “Disgusting” describes an emotional and cultural response, not an independently measurable property of the video.
The most precise criticism is therefore not that Apple literally hates art or that every iPad user accepts the erasure of physical creativity. It is that the commercial communicated contempt for the material world of creative practice more effectively than it communicated creative possibility.
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The deeper failure: destruction became the message
Apple’s mistake was not celebrating a digital tool. Technology can expand access to creative work, and digital tools can coexist with instruments, books, cameras, paint, studios, and other physical practices. The mistake was presenting that coexistence as a demolition project.
The ad could have shown creative objects feeding into a shared digital workspace, or different forms of making opening possibilities on the iPad. Instead, it gave the audience a long, visually forceful destruction sequence and a short product reveal. The viewer was asked to feel loss before being asked to admire convenience.
That is why the backlash was more substantial than a routine complaint about an awkward metaphor. The commercial touched a live cultural fear: that technology companies see human creativity primarily as raw material to be compressed, automated, and monetized. Apple did not explicitly make that argument, but its imagery made the argument easy to project onto the brand.
So, is Apple’s “Crush!” ad disgusting?
As an objective description, no: “disgusting” is a subjective judgment. As a cultural critique, it is understandable and defensible. The ad’s hydraulic press was meant to symbolize creative compression, but it looked like the destruction of creative tools, traditions, and human experience.
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Apple intended to show that the iPad Pro could contain many ways of making. What viewers saw was a machine crushing the very world of creativity Apple claimed to empower. That gap between intention and effect is the real story of “Crush!”—and the reason a product advertisement about creative possibility became an example of creative miscommunication.
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