Samsung has released a new short ad on X (formally Twitter), mocking a recent ad caught up in some online controversy, published by Apple. The ad caught so much flak that Apple sent out a public apology, saying that it “missed the mark.” Now, Samsung has fired its own shots.
On the official Samsung Mobile US account, a short video was published with the caption, “We would never crush creativity.” It’s also accompanied by the hashtag “UnCrush.” The video directly mocks Apple’s ‘Crush’ ad, which was created in a way to highlight the new M4 iPad Pro. The video in question showed an assortment of instruments, cameras, art equipment and more all being crushed by a hydraulic press and revealing an iPad Pro in its place. “The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest,” the ad concludes with.
Samsung’s video is shot in a way that could be perceived as a continuation of Apple’s ad. A woman is shown stepping over debris and spilled paint only to find a broken guitar. Sitting down, she began playing it on the bed of the hydraulic press, humming along. She’s accompanied by her Galaxy Tab S9 which displays music notes and is powered by Galaxy AI. The video ends with text on the screen reading, “Creativity cannot be crushed.”
It’s reported by Ad Age that the Samsung Mobile US video was created by BBH USA and directed by Zen Pace.
We would never crush creativity. #UnCrush pic.twitter.com/qvlUqbRlnE
— Samsung Mobile US (@SamsungMobileUS) May 15, 2024
Apple’s video caught the attention of online communities during a time when large tech companies are leveraging AI as an alternative to human-made art. Thus, some took offense to the imagery of artistic tools and instruments being crushed only to be replaced by the new iPad Pro.
While the ad itself was shot creatively and had a unique idea of showcasing the iPad Pro’s power, Apple’s VP of marketing communications Tor Myhren admitted that perhaps they didn’t read the room correctly. “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,” he said in a recent statement.
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god so cringe, they always do this only to copy them later.
It’s an advertising axiom in the US that #2 (ie Samsung) takes shots at #1 (ie Apple). Not vice versa. And since smartphone competition is like religions wars (ie weak on reasoned discourse), Samsung folk forget that Samsung originally ditched their own smartphone design to copy the iPhone, or that Samsung disses Apple like crazy, then quietly follows suit. There’s plenty of room for improvement at Apple, of course. But the ads… well, Apple used to make such ads when IBM was #1 🙂
Nobody tried to “crush the creativity” in Apple’s now controversial add. What was crushed were objects, tools in the creative process. I’m sure that “creative” minds at Samsung understand that but they had chosen to ignore it and attack the competition from a dishonest angle.
I’d argue that the Apple ad was the more honest of the two.