When Apple took the wraps off long-awaited updates to the iPad Pro and iPad Air earlier this week, the tech giant probably thought it had a slam-dunk on its hands.
The new iPad Pro is apparently now the thinnest device Apple has ever released, and comes with a powerful chip.
A lot of that has been outshone, though, by a growing amount of discontent about the iPad Pro advert that Apple produced to show off its incredibly thin design - called Crush!
The advert shows a massive, industrial-scale hydraulic press closing down on a huge range of artistic tools, from musical instruments to painting equipment.
Each is crushed in turn, shot in detail and then finally resulting in a completely closed clamp that opens up to reveal the extremely slim iPad Pro.
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The message is that this tiny device fits in all the benefits and tools that could potentially take up tons of storage, but some people were not particularly impressed by the execution.
Some saw it as a disrespectful dig at the creative arts and more traditional tools used for creativity, perhaps implying that they were going to be pulverized and replaced by technology.
One account on X (formerly Twitter) summed it up: "Ah, Apple providing the perfect metaphor for what’s happening to the creative arts & humanities, and then mistakenly thinking it’s a good look for an advert."
Even actor Hugh Grant waded into the fray, reposting the ad on X with the caption: "The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley."
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Even among the criticism, there were some really neat ideas being spread on social media, including one user who pointed out that all Apple might have to do to fix the ad is play it in reverse - so that it looks like all those items are springing out of the iPad Pro, rather than being crushed into it.
Apple did poke its head above the parapet to address the controversy. Tor Myhren, Apple VP of marketing communications, said in a statement to AdAge: "Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world. Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry."
That's a pretty decent mea culpa, and it'll be interesting to see whether it does bring the episode to a close - Apple will likely be hoping that this ire doesn't have a knock-on effect on the sales performance of its new iPads.
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Apple has been contacted for comment.