Last week, Apple released an ad for its new iPad Pro that drew widespread criticism. The “Crush” ad featured a variety of creative tools that eventually evolve into the iPad Pro. The idea was simple: Thanks to the iPad's capabilities and ecosystem of apps, all of these creative tools could exist together in a new form – the ultra-thin iPad Pro M4.
The image of destroying beloved creative tools, however, did not send the desired message. Apple later apologized. Now Samsung has released its own parody “UnCrush” ad, which itself demonstrates a continued lack of creativity.
Samsung as a device maker for creatives
In the new ad, a woman approaches the destruction caused by Apple, finds a relatively undamaged guitar, and begins strumming the song. It turns out that she has a Galaxy Tab S9 with her, from which she reads chords. The ad ends with the line: “Creativity cannot be destroyed.”
We will never suppress creativity. #UnCrush pic.twitter.com/qvlUqbRlnE
— Samsung Mobile US (@SamsungMobileUS) May 15, 2024
Personally, I think Apple deserves criticism for not anticipating the reaction its ad would receive. But positioning itself as a company for Samsung creatives is already an exaggeration. This is especially funny considering how little creativity the company often shows when it comes to advertising. In particular, the company's marketing team draws all its creative inspiration from Apple itself.
Samsung Marketing Inspiration: Apple
It is well known that Samsung loves to make fun of Apple in its advertising. In 2022, Samsung released an ad mocking Apple for lagging behind in innovative features. The year before, the company shared several ads mocking the iPhone's camera upgrade, a situation that repeated itself the following year. There are countless other examples, making UnCrush just the latest Apple-targeted ad, and certainly not the last.
You can judge for yourself whether Apple or Samsung has a better reputation among creatives. But perhaps if Samsung wants to position itself as a bastion of creativity, it can find a way to rely less on Apple for marketing materials.
