Why Apple?
As you might already know, Apple, the huge computer company, has recently been on many peoples minds. Whether it’s because of its famous Macbooks and iMac’s, or the new iPhone 4, the iPad, or its renowned iPod, all of whom make up part of the revolutionary repertoire of Apple products. Farhad Manjoo celebrates the fact that “Apple cultivates religious fervor among its adherents in a number of subtle ways, including its mysteriousness and its suggestion that customers are among the chosen ones”(43). Farhad is insisting that Apple has, not only made loyal customers, but more of a cult of sorts, in which fans of the companies products acclaim their work in many different ways, some so extreme as to getting the company logo tattooed on their bodies.
In the “Think Different” advertisement campaign, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, marked the era of success for them. In the ad campaign they emphasized their way of thinking and their philosophy as a revolutionary company that not only encourages new and better ways to do things, they strive for it. Their clever use of key figures like Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali, Dr. Martin Luther King, among others; they expressed how the world has moved forward thanks to people that think different, ultimately including themselves in this group of figures.
But, what exactly makes Apple so popular? How have they positioned themselves so highly in their consumer’s mind? Author Jason Snell believes that “Not only can Apple not please everyone, it's not remotely interested in doing so. When you’re successful, your competitors take notice and react. In the last few years, many companies have been noticing and reacting. As the iPhone 4.0 event showed, Apple's management is moving aggressively to gain competitive advantage. Whether those moves are the right ones remains to be seen. But I don’t think