this post was submitted on 10 May 2024
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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.

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[–] [email protected] 128 points 6 months ago (6 children)

Can we just STFU about this mediocre ad already? You’re giving it more airtime and more mental bandwidth. I didn’t think it was worth one day of headlines much less two or three.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 6 months ago

Agreed. People like to get upset over nothing. It’s a stupid commercial that landed poorly. Someone in the marketing department has way too much control and probably didn’t do a very good focus group for this.

There are plenty of other things about Apple we could be complaining about.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 months ago (34 children)

Ignoring things like this is how we've ended up with an entire generation of people who Apple thinks are either too lazy or too stupid to create art or music on their own.

Note that I am not calling anyone lazy or stupid, I'm just stating Apple thinks this is a desirable outcome and is pushing forward with that plan

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

First I've heard of it and you know, you can just ignore it lol. Yet you took the time to make a comment and... complain about talking about it?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago

I have to read the headline to ignore it. That puts the ad in my brain, which is what the purpose of the ad is. The post itself is doing advertising despite being negative. I don’t want to think about ads. Fuck em.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

This person's comment is all that anybody needs to know about this situation.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I’m about to block this community for a week or something, then resubscribe.

I mean I’m kidding, but I’ve seen more shit about this ad that I’ve never seen over the past three days than any actual ads of any type.

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[–] [email protected] 71 points 6 months ago (2 children)

The absolute worst, most annoying thing about every Apple advert and the day-long adverts - the launch day events, is the freaking hyperbole.

(breathlessly exclaim:) The fastest ever. The thinnest ever. More cameras than ever! The most ever ever!

Breathtaking vividly bright Applewordsalad display technology

My coworker is fully bought in to the ecosystem, so I get the full experience every launch day. Listen critically sometime. Turn on your bullshit filter. It's a fun game.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Why is thinnest ever placed in such high regard? Have you seen how ridiculous the new iPad Pro looks when the Pencil is attached to it for charging?

I think I'm in the vocal minority in that I really don't give a shit about thin, especially if it affects performance, repairability, or battery life.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I got a pixel 8.
I'm really enjoying it.
But the camera doubles the thickness of the phone where it is.
And the case I have for it just gave up, and made the whole phone+case that thickness.
I'd have liked the actual phone to be that big, have a bit more battery - maybe even replaceable battery, a 3.5mm jack at stuff like that.
At some point, things get too thin to hold and use comfortably. I think the Nintendo switch highlights this, whereas the steam deck is much more comfortable to hold.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

In 2007 I had a Gateway convertible computer. This thing was like 14 or 15 inches screen size, it had to have weighed 5 pounds with the battery attached, closed and without worrying about the battery's additional thickness it had to have been an inch and a half thick. The thing is, it worked fine.

The Dell Inspiron that replaced it has one of those soft shell lithium batteries that inevitably bulge and stop the trackpad from clicking, there's a fan that scrapes its housing because of how tight the clearances have to be...all so the thing can be about a half inch thick? Why?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

They're trying to beat paper

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Apple popularised two things that bug the shit out of me in addition to everything you said. "on iPhone" "on iPad" just sounds utterly wrong. It needs to be "on the iPhone" "on the iPad". Now everyone is doing it.

The other is " breathlessly we're excited to announce/we're excited to share with you/we're excited!!!!big fucking cheesy grin". The whole point of having that whole "excited" or whichever adjective you want at that point of the sentence is to prep you and let you know what you're supposed to feel. If it's that good surely you shouldn't have to tell me what I need to feel.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago

It's because they're trying to instill in your mind that you're getting into an ecosystem. A way of life, even.

"XYZ on the iPhone" just makes it sound like an appliance.

"XYZ on iPhone" makes it sound like it's an ecosystem. An experience. Something to be part of.

It's a very deliberate (though subtle) marketing choice that I believe impacts how people view the brand.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 6 months ago (5 children)

This whole outcry is a joke.

They're symbolizing all the creative things, that they just talked about, that you can do with the iPad.

If you got Apple is "destroying creativity" from that, you A) only saw the clip or B) are searching for problem.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 6 months ago (1 children)

If you got Apple is “destroying creativity” from that, you A) only saw the clip or B) are searching for problem.

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago

I'll try to explain this to you - the video shows crushing of plethora of sophisticated, subtle, powerful instruments and then says you can replace them all with Apple's picture poking thing. The preciousness of that thing is not shown to us. The preciousness of those instruments is implied, because we know what they are.

We literally see the precious being crushed and some shit being offered instead after crushing it. Like "I broke all your toys cause I think this one is better and you are going to like it".

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I actually did not know that Tim Cook is a christian nut job.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Isn’t he gay?

You can’t be gay and a devout Christian. God said so.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago

Tim Cook trying to cater to everyone possible

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago

I actually think that's perfectly possible because to be a christian you have to already be in denial about a whole boatload of things, so really.. what's one more? And as a bonus "my own people hate me" fits nicely with the whole christian guilt thing.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago

Yeah, what surprised me most about the posted article was the Jesus fish on his phone case.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 6 months ago

These are the kind of ads you make when you have a profound lack of self-awareness.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The Register calls it Xitter? epic

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Is it pronounced “shitter”?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 months ago

Save us 5 years. Just put the new ipad into e-waste collection now. Meanwhile, anyone want to use all the real tools designed specifically to make music? Any kid with half a brain will spend their $1000 musicmaking budget on something useful

[–] [email protected] 16 points 6 months ago (2 children)

they should have run the commercial in reverse.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 months ago

Yup and then have something like "all of this creativity in one compact device. The all new iPad"

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

Or simply squish them like they were rubber instead of destroying them.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Seriously, everyone is going to forget about this in a week. Regardless of how you feel about Apple, one slightly tonedeaf ad isn't going to significantly affect their reputation.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago

Some nut: I haven't been mad today. I need something to be mad about.

Apple launched an ad.

The nut: perfect.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago

That's what IPads are made of

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I just watched it for the first time and... I really enjoyed it. It's a little off-brand for Apple, but a great ad overall.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

I just watched it for the first time and... I thought that while the handwringing is excessive, the subtext that all these other emblems of human creativity have to be destroyed to become part of the iPad is unsettling, moreso because the visuals are so decadent in their detail. It makes it feel much more like replacing than supplementing. It's probably worse that I think it was also unintentional. Big miss for me.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It kinda reminded me of those old PS3 commercials that David lunch directed. Kinda liked it, tbh

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Different time, different audience. This would have been a better commercial for a property insurance company.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

They should go super meta with it and crush Apple products in an ad for AppleCare.

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