Apple announces that it is withdrawing its controversial ad for the new iPad Pro, but not completely

Apple apologized Thursday and announced it was pulling the controversial ad for the new iPad Pro after it sparked a wave of criticism from actors and other film professionals, Business Insider reports.

In the Apple ad, a metronome, cans of paint, a piano, a jukebox, a mannequin, a globe, a sculpture, cameras, books and many other objects are slowly crushed by a giant hydraulic press. It then rises to reveal, instead of musical instruments and other creative objects, an iPad Pro.

All to the sound of nostalgic pop song “All I Ever Need is You” by Sonny & Cher.

“Here’s the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created, the most advanced screen we’ve ever produced, with the incredible power of the M4 chip. Imagine all the things it will create,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said at Tuesday’s presentation.

“The destruction of the human experience, thanks to Silicon Valley”, reacted the British actor Hugh Grant, on the “X” network (formerly Twitter), in response to Tim Cook’s message.

He and other Apple representatives spoke very little about AI on Tuesday and did not mention generative artificial intelligence, but this technology – which makes it possible to produce a wide range of content (text, images, videos, music and more) at a simple request in common parlance – causes concern among artists.

Hollywood actors and screenwriters went on strike last year, with one of their main demands being protection against generative AI. The strike officially ended only after 6 months of negotiations, a situation that produced massive disruptions in the production of films and series.

Apple says it “got it wrong” with the ad that drew the ire of Hollywood artists

“Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life with iPad,” Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of marketing and communications, told Ad Age.

“We messed up with this video and we’re sorry,” Apple’s vice president pointed out.

Ad Age notes that Apple will no longer air the commercial on TV, but as can be seen above it can still be seen on the company’s YouTube channel.

Wave of negative reactions to the Apple ad

“Who needs human life and everything that makes it worth living? Immerse yourself in this digital simulation and give us your soul. Sincerely, Apple,” Ed Solomon, the screenwriter of the films, wrote in an ironic message posted on “X” Men in Blackafter Apple presented its commercial.

Reed Morano, who directed the first episodes of The Handmaid’s Taleproducer Cheo Hodari Coker (Creed II, Luke Cage) and actress and filmmaker Justine Bateman (Family Ties, Desperate Housewives, Californication) were also among those who reacted to the Apple ad.

In fact, Bateman shared a version of the ad, which runs in reverse, with the message Tim Cook, “someone corrected your ad.”

The controversy came as numerous authors and artists filed complaints against big players in the AI ​​sector, such as OpenAI (ChatGPT), accusing them of using their works without their consent to train their generative AI models.