‘We don’t crush creativity’ – Samsung kicks Apple when it’s down with new ad after iPad Pro controversy

Last week, Apple held its ‘Let Loose’ event where the firm presented several of its new innovations and products, which included an advert about the main attraction of the event, the new iPad Pro. As you may have seen, this ad stirred up a storm of controversy for reasons that Apple hadn’t intended – and now, Samsung has taken the opportunity to put out an advert in response, taking a jab at Apple’s ad. 

The advert that accompanied the presentation introducing the iPad Pro depicted a bunch of objects used to create and consume media in the past being crushed by a hydraulic press, which lifted to reveal the new iPad Pro – implying that you can distil all of those objects into the new tablet.

This went viral and was widely talked about because, despite Apple’s best intentions and the merits of the new iPad Pro, it came across as Apple destroying all of these things that are so familiar to so many,  and represent many of the ways we currently enjoy making art – and that Apple had the solution to replace it all. 

Apple became aware of the controversy and the company’s VP of Marketing Communications, Tor Myhren, issued a statement by way of apology, speaking to Ad Age after the backlash.

Myhren stated: “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.” 

Samsung enters the conversation

Amid this whirlwind, Samsung clearly saw an opportunity and deployed its own advert via the Samsung Mobile US X (formerly Twitter) account, with the post reading: “We would never crush creativity. #UnCrush.”

Samsung’s advert unsubtly references Apple’s ad and depicts what appears to be the aftermath of the objects having been crushed by the press, where a woman walks up to it all, and picks up a guitar lying among the debris. She proceeds to sit on the edge of the press, playing the guitar, and humming along while looking at sheet music displayed on a Galaxy Tab S9 tablet (released in 2023).

The ad features a close-up shot of the back of the tablet, showing the Samsung logo, for a moment. Then, the sentence “Creativity cannot be crushed” is displayed, and it cuts to a black screen that reads: “Galaxy Tab S9 Series with Galaxy AI.” 

An opinion that many agree with – but is Samsung the one to champion it?

It’s a shrewd move on Samsung’s part and successfully captures the sentiment of some of the criticism directed at Apple, but many people aren’t convinced of its sincerity.

First off, Samsung isn’t known for being the first choice of many creatives when it comes to devices, and if the company would like that to change, there’s much more work to be done than one sassy advert. Maybe Samsung can use this as an opportunity to distinguish itself as a different kind of tech company when it comes to human creativity. However, at the moment, that’s not a feeling which is evoked in most people when they think of Samsung, not to mention its current tech industry position (mainly) as an Apple alternative manufacturer. 

Also, the top replies in response to Samsung Mobile US’s post say that the ad itself isn’t especially riveting or evocative, and doesn’t feel particularly creatively driven. 

Another criticism that I’ve seen from multiple people is Samsung’s own mention of the AI it incorporates into its products. To some, the term ‘AI’ is quickly becoming the antithesis of the idea of raw human creativity. I’m sympathetic to this view, but I don’t share it and I don’t think AI and human creativity are mutually exclusive. Computing in general can be a medium like any other, and AI is a tool that can be developed and used by humans to help benefit, or destroy, creativity. Frankly, right now it’s hard to tell which of those two forces is winning, but as someone who enjoys creative activities myself, I’ve found AI to be useful in helping me brainstorm. 

So, while I don’t think Samsung looks like a paragon of creativity after this ad, I think it’s a fun jab at Apple that strikes a chord (pardon the pun). Furthermore, I’m all for reminding technology companies that human creativity is one of our best attributes as a species. 

As we already touched on, though, Samsung needs to do more than just push out an advert – if it’s serious about going after Apple, the company needs to develop a tablet that can compete with the iPad Pro and tempt creative people into spending money on it.

As for Apple, I doubt the company will respond to Samsung here, as I’m sure it wants to move on from this misstep and continue to build on the fact that the iPad Pro is a legitimately impressive piece of technology. 

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