I think that was the intent of the ad, indeed. However, the fact that destruction was used is disrespectful to those items nevertheless. After all, the items were produced from metals unsustainably extracted from the earth, and are a gift to us borne from the pain of the planet.

It is the same concept as if you were to destroy a gift given to you by a friend. Of course, the point beyond that is that the use of destruction is reflective of the reality of modern "civilization" and goes beyond the point of the ad.

Well, framing it as compression I would like to suggest this commercial falls in the lossy compression category.

(And I don't consider myself an audiophile.)

They wanted it both ways, to make that point, but also have the striking imagery of those objects being destroyed to get your attention.

Same here. I feel like it’s anti waste if anything.