Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of marketing communications, opened by revisiting the May 2024 iPad Pro spot “Crush,” which the company pulled roughly 48 hours after its release after it went viral for unintended reasons and drew public backlash. The episode matters because the ad’s reception exposed how marketing work can be read through cultural anxieties — particularly early fears about AI and threats to creative jobs-and forced a rapid course correction inside Apple.
Myhren described the creative brief as deliberately simple: sell the newest, thinnest iPad Pro by emphasizing thinness. The spot literalized that idea by showing a compactor crushing turntables, cameras, musical instruments, a sculpted bust and other studio tools into the device while Sonny & Cher’s “All I Ever Need Is You” played. Audiences read the visuals as a threat to creative livelihoods, prompting Myhren to apologize publicly and convene teams in Menlo Park and virtually to explain the decision to pull the spot and reset priorities.
Myhren joined Apple in 2016 after a career leading creative agencies. Over his tenure, Apple’s market value rose from roughly $540 billion to about $4.3 trillion, and marketing work expanded alongside the company’s product scope — from phones into TV, headphones, watches and services. That growth has required him to balance high‑profile creative risks against the scrutiny that comes with being one of the world’s most watched brands.
He said the “Crush” episode exposed a concrete blind spot: even marketing that lands visually can be interpreted through broader social and technological anxieties. Myhren framed pulling the ad as a reality check rather than a deterrent to experimentation, warning staff, “If we start to play this game with fear, or get soft on our marketing, it’s going to hurt the brand a lot more.” The incident also underscored the need for rapid response protocols when public interpretation diverges from intent.
Looking ahead, Myhren argued Apple’s marketing must adapt to faster turnaround demands and AI‑driven changes to creative workflows. He cited internal approaches such as the “nail theory” for product ads and a repeatable formula used for AirPods campaigns as ways the team distills creative problems while still pushing for ambitious work. Above all, he said one operating habit remained intact after the “Crush” fallout: an insistence on sustained creative rigor rather than retreat.
Myhren closed on a cautiously optimistic note: “I’m super optimistic about the future of marketing,” he said, while adding the field will be “radically different in three years” and warning against anyone claiming certainty about that change. His comments come as Apple prepares for a leadership shift — John Ternus is slated to replace Tim Cook this fall-meaning marketing leaders will need to manage shifting product priorities, new technologies and intensified public scrutiny simultaneously.
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