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This ad said the quiet part out loud about what the average technologist thinks of the average liberal arts pursuit. It just had to manifest as an ad from an in

This ad said the quiet part out loud about what the average technologist thinks of the average liberal arts pursuit. It just had to manifest as an ad from an insulated marketing dept for it to finally happen “in the open.” No surprises, and it was nice to see it out stated clearly.

vessenes 2y ago
I, like a lot of people, just hated the ad, although I liked it in reverse. If there's a single product company that hires technologists who also love the arts, it's Apple -- this campaign was just mismanaged by someone who missed the point, and didn't understand Apple's history very well. Also, apparently, the ipad is really thin, so maybe they got overexcited :)
- chankstein38 2y ago
  Agreed, I definitely think the reverse is better. It gets the same point across while implying the new ipad is bursting at the seams with all of these cultural tools. I wasn't offended by the destruction or anything just straight up kind of a dumb commercial.
- dogman144 2y ago
  A technology company that loves the arts and shows it by paternalistically crushing all of its implements and saying “trust us this iPad is better than your heirloom piano or silly books.” Right on trend. They might love it, but they don’t understand it, and per the last 20 years love unemploying it.
duped 2y ago
It's hard to remove this ad from the context of the current market for artistic services, which have always been undervalued by non-artists (eg: "give me this for free so you get exposure!"), which is under assault from AI startups that think they're making the world better by killing the most human parts of our economy. Artists are really being stung by AI right now. And Apple, ostensibly the darling tech company for artists, puts out an ad literally crushing artistic tools and telling you to buy an iPad to replace them. By the way, it has the most powerful neural engine ever. It's not just tone deaf, it's insulting.
- dogman144 2y ago
  Not sure (well I am sure given the audience) why you’re getting downvotes… other than it’s a bitter pill for engineers to swallow that the creative arts industry which eng culture tries to simultaneously love/emulate/crush economically hates engineers and tech culture in return for this multi-decade attitude. Even in the face of “hey but I use XYZ tech for art, that’s not true!” that tend to pop up. You are spot on, and the ad, and it’s humorous “wait they hate us?” counter-reaction/confusion in reaction to feedback about encapsulates it all well.
robertoandred 2y ago
Technology (especially comp sci) falls under liberal arts.
- 542458 2y ago
  To be more explicit, liberal arts refers to art as in skill, not as in fine arts. Liberal arts education is the dominant educational paradigm in the western world. Any education that emphasizes being well-rounded any knowing something about many subjects is typically a liberal arts education (compared to a technical or professional education where you just learn a lot about a single subject).
xyzwave 2y ago
Maybe the average technologist, but for anyone who understands Apple's culture and history, your claim is not just inaccurate, but opposite of the truth. Steve Jobs addressed this exact point during a 2011 keynote [0]: > It is in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing. 0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlI1MR-qNt8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlI1MR-qNt8
- malcolmgreaves 2y ago
  That company is long gone now.
  - darkhorse222 2y ago
    The AirPods show a thoughtful commitment to the human experience. The Vision Pro also demonstrates a focus on the human and social experience. Where they have lost their vision is in the iPhone and Mac lines which are simply so profitable that there is no reason to mess with a good thing.
    - hot_gril 2y ago
      Blocking out the sound and sights of real life with something digital is not what I call a thoughtful commitment to the human experience. Hardly anyone seems to remember how the iPhone used to be small enough to fit in one hand or in any pocket. As people became increasingly addicted to phones to the point of having them outside the pocket more often than not, bigger phones made more desirable, but Steve Jobs insisted on keeping it small. He said nobody wanted a big phone, but since it was obvious users did want it, I'm wondering if there was another reason. He died, then a few years afterwards, Apple released the larger iPhone 6.
- wiseowise 2y ago
  As if Apple then is the same as Apple now.
uses 2y ago
That's a huge marketing fail if that's what it made you feel because it would be completely contrary to their messaging during the rest of the iPad event. The 30 minute show was almost entirely about using the iPad in creative pursuits. Illustration, film making, photography, music, etc.
elevatedastalt 2y ago
Considering the NYT tells us every single day what the average liberal arts pursuit thinks about the average technologist, I won't worry too much about that.
- dogman144 2y ago
  Worry about what? I’m pointing out that it’s nice for tech to finally be honest about the view and get a deserving reaction in return after decades of self-congratulation.
  - elevatedastalt 2y ago
    Engineers did not make this advertisement. Marketing and creative departments are dominated by business / liberal arts majors. You are really spouting all over the place.
    - dogman144 2y ago
      It seems I have hit a nerve! It is good to have the window turned away from the engineer glorification angle sometimes though.
- abvdasker 2y ago
  What an unbelievably childish response. What does the New York Times have to do with this ad? What makes you think the New York Times is representative of the "average liberal arts pursuit"? Is the New York Times especially antagonistic towards the tech industry? Do you seriously believe there exists some us-versus-them division between "liberal arts" and "technologists"?
  - elevatedastalt 2y ago
    Wow. So the parent comment made exactly the same stupid generalization in the opposite direction, and it was all ok, but show a mirror to it and suddenly you get upset? > Is the New York Times especially antagonistic towards the tech industry? Yes > Do you seriously believe there exists some us-versus-them division between "liberal arts" and "technologists"? Not in real life among friends, but it's definitely a culture war flame that was started and is stoked by media.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

vessenes 2y ago

I, like a lot of people, just hated the ad, although I liked it in reverse. If there's a single product company that hires technologists who also love the arts, it's Apple -- this campaign was just mismanaged by someone who missed the point, and didn't understand Apple's history very well. Also, apparently, the ipad is really thin, so maybe they got overexcited :)

chankstein38 2y ago
Agreed, I definitely think the reverse is better. It gets the same point across while implying the new ipad is bursting at the seams with all of these cultural tools. I wasn't offended by the destruction or anything just straight up kind of a dumb commercial.
dogman144 2y ago
A technology company that loves the arts and shows it by paternalistically crushing all of its implements and saying “trust us this iPad is better than your heirloom piano or silly books.” Right on trend. They might love it, but they don’t understand it, and per the last 20 years love unemploying it.

duped 2y ago

It's hard to remove this ad from the context of the current market for artistic services, which have always been undervalued by non-artists (eg: "give me this for free so you get exposure!"), which is under assault from AI startups that think they're making the world better by killing the most human parts of our economy. Artists are really being stung by AI right now. And Apple, ostensibly the darling tech company for artists, puts out an ad literally crushing artistic tools and telling you to buy an iPad to replace them. By the way, it has the most powerful neural engine ever. It's not just tone deaf, it's insulting.

dogman144 2y ago
Not sure (well I am sure given the audience) why you’re getting downvotes… other than it’s a bitter pill for engineers to swallow that the creative arts industry which eng culture tries to simultaneously love/emulate/crush economically hates engineers and tech culture in return for this multi-decade attitude. Even in the face of “hey but I use XYZ tech for art, that’s not true!” that tend to pop up. You are spot on, and the ad, and it’s humorous “wait they hate us?” counter-reaction/confusion in reaction to feedback about encapsulates it all well.

robertoandred 2y ago

Technology (especially comp sci) falls under liberal arts.

542458 2y ago
To be more explicit, liberal arts refers to art as in skill, not as in fine arts. Liberal arts education is the dominant educational paradigm in the western world. Any education that emphasizes being well-rounded any knowing something about many subjects is typically a liberal arts education (compared to a technical or professional education where you just learn a lot about a single subject).

xyzwave 2y ago

Maybe the average technologist, but for anyone who understands Apple's culture and history, your claim is not just inaccurate, but opposite of the truth. Steve Jobs addressed this exact point during a 2011 keynote [0]: > It is in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing. 0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlI1MR-qNt8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlI1MR-qNt8

malcolmgreaves 2y ago
That company is long gone now.
- darkhorse222 2y ago
  The AirPods show a thoughtful commitment to the human experience. The Vision Pro also demonstrates a focus on the human and social experience. Where they have lost their vision is in the iPhone and Mac lines which are simply so profitable that there is no reason to mess with a good thing.
  - hot_gril 2y ago
    Blocking out the sound and sights of real life with something digital is not what I call a thoughtful commitment to the human experience. Hardly anyone seems to remember how the iPhone used to be small enough to fit in one hand or in any pocket. As people became increasingly addicted to phones to the point of having them outside the pocket more often than not, bigger phones made more desirable, but Steve Jobs insisted on keeping it small. He said nobody wanted a big phone, but since it was obvious users did want it, I'm wondering if there was another reason. He died, then a few years afterwards, Apple released the larger iPhone 6.
wiseowise 2y ago
As if Apple then is the same as Apple now.

uses 2y ago

That's a huge marketing fail if that's what it made you feel because it would be completely contrary to their messaging during the rest of the iPad event. The 30 minute show was almost entirely about using the iPad in creative pursuits. Illustration, film making, photography, music, etc.

elevatedastalt 2y ago

Considering the NYT tells us every single day what the average liberal arts pursuit thinks about the average technologist, I won't worry too much about that.

dogman144 2y ago
Worry about what? I’m pointing out that it’s nice for tech to finally be honest about the view and get a deserving reaction in return after decades of self-congratulation.
- elevatedastalt 2y ago
  Engineers did not make this advertisement. Marketing and creative departments are dominated by business / liberal arts majors. You are really spouting all over the place.
  - dogman144 2y ago
    It seems I have hit a nerve! It is good to have the window turned away from the engineer glorification angle sometimes though.
abvdasker 2y ago
What an unbelievably childish response. What does the New York Times have to do with this ad? What makes you think the New York Times is representative of the "average liberal arts pursuit"? Is the New York Times especially antagonistic towards the tech industry? Do you seriously believe there exists some us-versus-them division between "liberal arts" and "technologists"?
- elevatedastalt 2y ago
  Wow. So the parent comment made exactly the same stupid generalization in the opposite direction, and it was all ok, but show a mirror to it and suddenly you get upset? > Is the New York Times especially antagonistic towards the tech industry? Yes > Do you seriously believe there exists some us-versus-them division between "liberal arts" and "technologists"? Not in real life among friends, but it's definitely a culture war flame that was started and is stoked by media.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]