An advert promoting Apple's new range of iPads has received widespread criticism.

The video shows a giant hydraulic

press crushing books and musical instruments. The actor Hugh Grant accused the firm of “destroying the human
experience”. For more on why it has sparked such a backlash, here's the BBC's North America Business
Correspondent, Michelle Fleury.

The ad has only been out a couple of days but judging by the reaction online it hit a nerve. In the spot, objects ranging
from a trumpet, a piano to a turntable, a sculpted bust and lots and lots of paint are all shown being squashed by an
enormous metal rubbish compactor into the size of Apple's thinnest product ever, the 13 inch iPad Pro. Critics say the
ad celebrates the stifling of creativity rather than encouraging it. Even British actor Hugh Grant weighed in on the
social media platform X labelling it “the destruction of the human experience, courtesy of Silicon Valley”. Actor and
filmmaker, Justin Bateman, a vocal critic of the use of AI in the film industry said Apple’s ad was crushing the arts;
while songwriter Crispin Hunt called the act of destroying musical instruments “evocative of burning books”. The
criticism is particular pointed because of concerns, especially in creative industries about artificial intelligence taking
people's jobs. It is a rare misstep by the company which was behind the famous Super Bowl advert for its Macintosh
computers, directed by Ridley Scott. It featured a dystopian world where conformity dominated and a single
individual, representing the Apple brand, (at the time, it’s new Macintosh computers), was seen as resisting. The ad
today, well, that conveys the opposite message, according to its critics. Which is why it is getting crushed by creatives
and consumers.