APPLE: It's More Than a Product, It's a Lifestyle!

APPLE: It’s More Than a Product, It’s a Lifestyle!

iPads, iPods, MacBooks, Apple Computers; this is one of the hottest brand names in America.  We have all succumb to an Apple nation.  We love the image we carry when we become an Apple user!  We love the feeling of seeing these colorful, freeing ads plastered all over our cities and know that we belong to this subculture, this ideology to “think different”.  It’s amazing the power that apple has in our society, and how well the company has prospered since they stopped selling computers, and started selling a lifestyle. 

The ad I am going to be discussing was a series that began in 2003 and was called the silhouette style.  This started out as commercials of black silhouettes against a brightly colored backdrop, the colors depicted was the famous Apple rainbow colors.  After this campaigns success, we have seen billboards, posters, ads in magazines and on the internet of these silhouettes.  I believe this ad campaign completely changed Apple.  This was when the company tapped into American culture and started selling a new ideology; A new identity for its consumers.  It started selling the apple lifestyle. 

The interesting thing about this ad is its chameleon tendency when using different styles to reach different customers.  There is a bandwagon persuasive technique that is put into play when you see this ad. You are looking at every other American that values individuality and purpose.  That is why the silhouettes are so effective. There is no famous person to tag in these ads, just normal people who all appear to be free from life while listening to their iPod.  And, of course, if everybody else is doing this, well, you should have an iPod also.  However, there is also a very strong snob appeal.  Like I said, Apple is no longer just a brand, it’s a lifestyle.  Apple is the high end iPod, it’s the expensive, full proof laptop.  Apple is not cheap! So it is linked to the “yuppie” lifestyle.  It is amazing that this one ad covers so much ground as far as its appeal to its consumers.  The silhouettes themselves are an effective use of the association principle, I think.  They link the product (iPod), with the idea of freedom and happiness.  Notice none of these silhouettes seem to be sad or restricted by any social standards. They are the outline of a young person unhindered by anything.  Apple took this ad to every medium, and it was effective in every area. 

Now, when we look at the target audience, it is easy to see that the silhouettes are not middle aged men and women but rather young adults.  However, the way the silhouettes were used to depict so many different styles and even races was great.  You can tell by looking at the silhouettes that it is aiming for men and women, sleek and punk, classy and grunge.  The silhouettes are so well done, that you can find yourself in one of them, or at least relate to the image you wished you carried in one of the silhouettes.  And even though these ads covered many different styles, there is nothing offensive about any style they are trying to show.  Each style is shown as accepted and encouraged as the next.  That is what makes this ad campaign stand out.  The target audience is really anyone who wants to feel as free and content in themselves as these dancing silhouettes are feeling.  This is a whole new strategy that covers far more than the ads that lead up to this. 

This ad is very strong in the way it can target a wide variety demographics, but some of its weakness could fall in the idea that this freedom does not sell as well to the older, retired generation.  Now, I believe that apple is still popular among this older generation; I am just saying this ad campaign in particular may not appeal to that generation.  But the diversity of the black silhouette against the brightly colored backdrop made this ad stand out and get noticed very easily.  There was not a lot for the viewer to take in.  The idea was simply given in two colors which left little to be digested and gone through.  It was a message that was simply put, and loud and clear.   Today, thirteen years after the first silhouette campaign, most of the population can associate these ads with Apple products without even thinking.  Apple owned its ad, and it is still burned into our memories.

I am a devout Apple consumer.  I have the iPhone, the iPad, and once I start at OSU, I will be the proud owner of a Macbook, so I can bring a biased opinion to the table.  But after doing some research it was clear that there is a definite split in the market of Apple products. You either are an Apple user, or you are not.  You either own the lifestyle and ideology, or you hate it.  I know that my own father despises Apple and everything they stand for.  He tells me I am selling myself to the yuppie liberals when I buy their products. And isn’t that the biggest complaint?  Apple haters will tell us all day long how apple monopolizes the market and takes advantage of its customers by overpricing their products, and they say we are buying the apple image, not just the product.  OF COURSE WE ARE!  That should be a testament to how well Apple’s ads have been.  We want that freedom, we want that ideology, we want to be the yuppie liberals because that means we are set apart from the mundane. We have our own identity within the Apple subculture.  And frankly, based on this ad alone, I would buy into the Apple way of life.  It has all the appeal with none of the drawbacks.  Not only would I buy it, but I would recommend it to others.  This is a solid company that has successfully broken into society as brought more than just a product.  And that deserves a little recognition.

Here are some links I found interesting regarding Apple:

http://www.cultofmac.com/172428/why-does-apple-inspire-so-much-hate/

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2013/06/5-products-that-give-apple-a-rotten-name.html

http://www.apple.com/