Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark' • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#931

Post by s3p » Fri, May 10, 2024, 9:59 PM UTC

caconym_ wrote: post #890

some_random wrote: post #670

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the big thing here is that if you don't have an attachment to any of the items being crushed you probably don't feel as strongly. If you're a trumpet player, seeing a trumpet being crushed is going to be a bit distressing. If you're a photographer, you're putting a monetary value on those lenses being destroyed. If you're into old arcade machines, you're thinking about how many of those cabinets are left in t…

AFAICT people are not so much upset about objects of value being destroyed as they are about the symbolism of creative tools being crushed flat and turned into an iPad. For artists and similar creatives, it evokes the way AI companies have already stolen their intellectual property, and their promise to make them all but obsolete in the future.

For me I can't see the symbolism part, but I have serious concerns about destroying that many things and making such a big mess just for one ad. That's just me though.

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#932

Post by s3p » Fri, May 10, 2024, 10:01 PM UTC

fl0ki wrote: post #783

some_random wrote: post #670

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the big thing here is that if you don't have an attachment to any of the items being crushed you probably don't feel as strongly. If you're a trumpet player, seeing a trumpet being crushed is going to be a bit distressing. If you're a photographer, you're putting a monetary value on those lenses being destroyed. If you're into old arcade machines, you're thinking about how many of those cabinets are left in t…

So if you own a house or car then it's distressing to see one destroyed in a movie? Both of those cost much more than a trumpet, and for many people are more personal and unique, but somehow most people manage to keep their eyes on the screen.

Option 1: destroy something for a 30 second ad that near nobody will look at in 10 years

Option 2: destroy something for a movie that gets regarded as a classic and people watch for decades

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#933

Post by s3p » Fri, May 10, 2024, 10:04 PM UTC

brundolf wrote: post #128

edkennedy wrote: post #28

Missing from this extremely short and underreported article is how badly this played out in Japanese market. The culture they have states that musical instruments, creative tools have some energy and imbued sense of spirit to them. So destroying these elements of culture is really really blunt and gauche to them. The majority of the push back came from Japanese people, and then artists empathizing with their sentimen…

I'm not Japanese and it was upsetting to me Not because eg one piano got destroyed; surely that happens all the time, even on camera for eg movies and such. But there was something about watching beautiful objects be destroyed, in slow motion, gratuitously, and with an upbeat/sunny tone, that just aesthetically made me squirm in my seat

For me it was just because of the damage it caused. I guess if I heard someone was throwing out a piano I wouldn't think much of it, but the destruction of everything in the ad made me uneasy. I just felt like it was so wasteful to destroy things in the way they did. But again, maybe I have a double standard, because if I saw someone throw a trumpet or an old camera in the dumpster I probably would not care as much.

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#934

Post by WalterBright » Fri, May 10, 2024, 10:05 PM UTC

fl0ki wrote: post #783

some_random wrote: post #670

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the big thing here is that if you don't have an attachment to any of the items being crushed you probably don't feel as strongly. If you're a trumpet player, seeing a trumpet being crushed is going to be a bit distressing. If you're a photographer, you're putting a monetary value on those lenses being destroyed. If you're into old arcade machines, you're thinking about how many of those cabinets are left in t…

So if you own a house or car then it's distressing to see one destroyed in a movie? Both of those cost much more than a trumpet, and for many people are more personal and unique, but somehow most people manage to keep their eyes on the screen.

I don't like "Dukes of Hazzard" because they destroyed and crushed at least one '69 Dodge Charger per episode.

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#935

Post by s3p » Fri, May 10, 2024, 10:07 PM UTC

Nition wrote: post #926

xnx wrote: post #51

9to5Google pointed out that the Apple ad is a near exact copy of this LG ad from 2008: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcUAQ2i5Tfo The (accidental?) plagiarism of the ad is nearly as bad as the vibe.

And that one looks actually real, whereas I'm pretty sure the Apple ad is 100% CGI with no objects actually destroyed.

That's what I really want to figure out. I feel like I wouldn't have a problem with it if I knew it was 100% fake and not actual items being destroyed.

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#936

Post by young_unixer » Fri, May 10, 2024, 10:07 PM UTC

unreal37 wrote: post #925

Since Apple apologized for the ad, it seems they, too, agree that it wasn't a good ad. They wouldn't apologize for something if there were nothing wrong with it. Personally, it was too real. It was CGI, sure. But that hydraulic press crushed (destroyed) the tools humans use to create every handmade thing we consider beautiful. Apple absolutely intended to convey the meaning that Apple an iPad can replace a piano or a…

Apple, and west coast US companies in general, are the biggest promoters of political over-correctness, "inclusion", "diversity", etc. (to put it in non-offensive terms).

It would be extremely hypocritical for them to simply dismiss the feelings of people. So, even if it doesn't make sense, they're obligated to apologize to be consistent with their own discourse.

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#937

Post by Tool_of_Society » Fri, May 10, 2024, 10:09 PM UTC

some_random wrote: post #670

maxrobeyns wrote: post #506

My initial reaction to the ad, upon watching it in the launch event was "huh, that's a fun reference to the Hydraulic Press Channel". The slapstick elements (trumpet noise, squishy balls) made it come across as light-hearted, rather than an ominous display of force by a large company crushing artists' tools. This idea of 'squashing all these tools down to a thin slab of glass' made sense given their somewhat unusual…

I think the big thing here is that if you don't have an attachment to any of the items being crushed you probably don't feel as strongly. If you're a trumpet player, seeing a trumpet being crushed is going to be a bit distressing. If you're a photographer, you're putting a monetary value on those lenses being destroyed. If you're into old arcade machines, you're thinking about how many of those cabinets are left in t…

"Space Imploder" is not a real arcade game. That looked like one of those cheap mini arcade boxes you can buy brand new from a variety of sources.

I see a bunch of cheap knock offs being crushed but I cannot say all of the items were.

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#938

Post by Tool_of_Society » Fri, May 10, 2024, 10:11 PM UTC

Tiktaalik wrote: post #689

some_random wrote: post #670

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the big thing here is that if you don't have an attachment to any of the items being crushed you probably don't feel as strongly. If you're a trumpet player, seeing a trumpet being crushed is going to be a bit distressing. If you're a photographer, you're putting a monetary value on those lenses being destroyed. If you're into old arcade machines, you're thinking about how many of those cabinets are left in t…

The arcade one particularly distressing given that arcades and their unique arcade hardware are rapidly vanishing across the world without replacement.

It was a mini arcade box which are sold by a variety of companies with any number of real arcade games using modern hardware in them for under $300.

I can't find any existence for the game "Space Imploders" though.

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#939

Post by haswell » Fri, May 10, 2024, 10:11 PM UTC

kenjackson wrote: post #879

maxrobeyns wrote: post #506

My initial reaction to the ad, upon watching it in the launch event was "huh, that's a fun reference to the Hydraulic Press Channel". The slapstick elements (trumpet noise, squishy balls) made it come across as light-hearted, rather than an ominous display of force by a large company crushing artists' tools. This idea of 'squashing all these tools down to a thin slab of glass' made sense given their somewhat unusual…

This outrage feels so manufactured. I'm a huge basketball fan, coach, ex-player. If they included a basketball in the ad my thought would've been "yeah, you can play NBA2k on it". I'm not mad about the destruction of a single basketball. I don't feel like its disrespect to the game. It's showing that this single device has captured elements of basketball into a small form factor. As you note this may hint at a larger…

I really have to disagree.

I have to acknowledge that there’s probably a pile-on effect from people who enjoy outrage, but a lot of the negative sentiment is coming from level headed musicians and artists; a group that I identify with.

And I wouldn’t say my reaction is rage. It’s closer to a combination of deep disappointment, strong dislike, and a growing feeling that the nebulous worries I’ve felt about tech and its impact on art/music are being made very real.

I don’t find it analogous to a library. Such an ad would imply (to me) some kind of digitization, which frankly is a huge problem at a time when libraries and access to physical books are increasingly under threat.

And I find it different than a basketball, because no one is worried that NBA2K is an actual threat to the game, and basketballs are inexpensive standardized objects.

What they crushed was symbolic of thousands of years of human artistic creativity and output at a time when there’s a lot of anxiety about AI more or less crushing those fields for real.

Re: Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'

#940

Post by leptons » Fri, May 10, 2024, 10:16 PM UTC

Tool_of_Society wrote: post #937

some_random wrote: post #670

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the big thing here is that if you don't have an attachment to any of the items being crushed you probably don't feel as strongly. If you're a trumpet player, seeing a trumpet being crushed is going to be a bit distressing. If you're a photographer, you're putting a monetary value on those lenses being destroyed. If you're into old arcade machines, you're thinking about how many of those cabinets are left in t…

"Space Imploder" is not a real arcade game. That looked like one of those cheap mini arcade boxes you can buy brand new from a variety of sources. I see a bunch of cheap knock offs being crushed but I cannot say all of the items were.

The entire ad is a symbol for Apple's iPad replacing everything being crushed. It's not "Space Imploder", it's every single arcade game every made. It's a representative for arcade games in general. Nobody should take "Space Imploder" literally. They can't use "Space Invaders" likely because of copyright, but I'm sure that they would have in this ad if they could have just so that someone wouldn't end up missing the point and suggesting "but, Space Imploder doesn't even exist".