LG already did Apple’s controversial iPad Pro ad for a phone back in 2008 [Video]

Apple is currently under fire from many regarding its new iPad Pro ad that shows creative items being crushed in a hydraulic press before revealing a new iPad underneath. But, as it turns out, Apple isn’t the first to use this concept – LG did it back in 2008.

In Apple’s new ad for the latest generation of iPad Pro, the company shows various instruments, camera parts, paints, and much more being crushed by a hydraulic press. At the end, the super-thin new iPad Pro is revealed.

The idea behind the ad is pretty clear – Apple’s powerful new tablet can, to an extent, “replace” all of these other devices and tools. But the ad has come under fire from creatives and more. Why? It was well-put by filmmaker Asif Kapadia who said in a post on Twitter/X:

It is the most honest metaphor for what tech companies do to the arts, to artists musicians, creators, writers, filmmakers: squeeze them, use them, not pay well, take everything then say it’s all created by them.

9to5Mac captured more examples of the backlash, including the clever idea to just run the ad in reverse, making it look like all of these creative tools are coming out of the iPad’s thin body.

But, ironically, the ad itself looks a whole lot like a 2008 ad for the LG Renoir KC910. That device pre-dates the company’s first Android phone but packed an 8MP camera, MP3 player, and more, which, at the time, was a pretty big deal. To showcase that, an ad from LG showed musical instruments, camera lenses, paint, and more being crushed in a hydraulic press before revealing the phone itself.

It’s pretty crazy how well the two ads align, even showing the same shot of the press making the glass in the camera lenses explode. The ad was highlighted by Andy Allen on Twitter/X, but is also still posted to one of LG’s YouTube channels.

Did Apple copy LG’s concept? It’s impossible to say for certain, but it’s certainly ironic at the very least. But LG, back in 2008, likely never saw the same level of backlash, probably in large part because that device wasn’t touting itself as a creative replacement for these various tools, and 2008 was also well before AI and the digital landscape as a whole threatened many creative roles.