Last week, just a few hours after its release, I wrote about Apple’s soul crushing, creator destroying video CRUSH, an ad released to launch the new iPad Pro. The next day, Apple apologized for its misstep.
Most of the 19,000+ comments on Apple CEO Tim Cook’s tweet were negative. Throughout the day, hundreds of mainstream media outlets picked up on the story and wrote about it.
“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” said Tor Myhren, the company’s VP of marketing communications in a statement to AdAge. “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.”
Seth Godin wrote: “It wasn’t just out of character for the story Apple tells, it was a cheap hack, taking the nihilism and helplessness that some are spreading and trying to turn it into a well-crafted commercial.”
Whenever you create content of any kind, you should consider your audience.
There’s always a danger when you dream up “creative” (like this video, which was produced in-house at Apple) in your nice comfortable conference room, with its Aeron chairs and FIJI Water bottles. There’s always potential for groupthink as well as the fear of speaking up by those with differing opinions.
For a major product announcement like this one was for Apple, it’s always a good idea to show your ideas to others in the company as well as customers before you let it out into the wild.