Apple is encountering criticism on the internet due to an advertisement showcasing objects, including musical instruments and books, being crushed by a hydraulic press.
The intention of the video is to illustrate how creativity has been condensed into the latest iPad.
However, celebrities like Hugh Grant and Justine Bateman have expressed dismay at the destruction depicted in the advertisement.
Apple boss Tim Cook has been called tone deaf for his post on X, formerly Twitter, about the device, where he asked people to “imagine all the things it’ll be used to create”.
The BBC has reached out to Apple for a statement.
The advertisement aims to highlight the capabilities of Apple’s newest tablet, showcasing activities such as watching television programs, listening to music, and playing video games, while emphasizing the device’s thin design.
To convey this message, the advertisement employs a visual theme that has been prevalent for nearly a decade, involving the crushing of musical instruments.
However, in this case, it appears that the tech giant has inadvertently damaged its own reputation, as critics argue that the ad portrays technology as stifling creativity rather than fostering it.
Actor Hugh Grant labelled it “the destruction of the human experience, courtesy of Silicon Valley”.
The criticism is particularly pointed because of the concerns in many of the creative industries about artificial intelligence (AI) taking people’s jobs.
Actor and film-maker Justine Bateman, a vocal critic of the use of AI in the film industry, said Apple’s ad was “crushing the arts.”
Multi-platinum selling songwriter Crispin Hunt called the act of destroying musical instruments evocative of burning books.
The comments underneath Mr Cook’s post on X have been particularly negative, with one person calling it “extremely distasteful”, and another saying it makes them feel “ashamed to buy Apple products”.
People based in Japan appear to be prominent amongst the critics, which some said “lacked respect”.
Some said this was based in “tsukumogami” – a term from Japanese folklore describing a tool which can contain a spirit or even soul of its own.
“The act of destroying tools is arrogant and offensive to us Japanese,” one person explained, while another said musicians value their instruments “more than life itself”.
The video has prompted unfavorable comparisons with one of Apple’s most iconic commercials from 1984.
In a reference to its year of release (and George Orwell’s novel), the advertisement portrays an athlete rebelling against a dystopian future.
One user remarked that the new ad was “almost precisely the opposite” of the original, while another commented that it depicted Apple as “the very faceless cultural force they protested against in 1984.”
For some, it served as “a visual and metaphorical bookend” to the original advertisement.