Apple Advertising and Marketing Ethics
Apple and Advertising and Marketing Ethics
The late Steve Jobs once stated when asked why he chose the name Apple, that he came about naming it after returning from an apple farm when he was amidst a fruitarian diet, and the name sounded “fun, spirited and not intimidating” (Associated Press, 2011).
Apple is currently one of the most competitive and largest publicly traded companies in the world by market capitalization, and is widely known for its ad campaigns, marketing strategies, and profit margins worldwide. Whether or not they practice admirable business ethics is another question, and one that is worth discussing. Apple’s following is widespread, and consumers are regarded as one of the most loyal consumer bases in business. Some compare Apple consumers to a cult following, and question Apple as a monopoly in the technology and consumer electronics industry. Millions of customers continually wait outside Apple stores nationwide the day Apple releases its products. Lines and lines of consumers wait to purchase the expensive multinational company’s products, which leads you to wonder just what makes Apple such a desirable product.
Advertising serves its purpose. It’s meant to gain consumers, plain and simple. And it’s our job as consumers to be knowledgeable on the existence, quality, and price of a product (Goldman, 1983). What brings people to Apple are their manipulative advertising campaigns and marketing models that target, acquire and maintain a massive consumer base. Apple does so by a number of ways. Some ad campaigns run by Apple include the following: iPod ads began running upon the release of the first iPod in 2001. The very first iPod commercial showed a middle-aged man in his apartment dancing to some music that was playing on his Apple laptop. The iPod is then shown plugged into the computer, and the man unplugs the iPod and begins dancing throughout the apartment after plugging his headphones into the iPod. At the end of the ad, it states
The late Steve Jobs once stated when asked why he chose the name Apple, that he came about naming it after returning from an apple farm when he was amidst a fruitarian diet, and the name sounded “fun, spirited and not intimidating” (Associated Press, 2011).
Apple is currently one of the most competitive and largest publicly traded companies in the world by market capitalization, and is widely known for its ad campaigns, marketing strategies, and profit margins worldwide. Whether or not they practice admirable business ethics is another question, and one that is worth discussing. Apple’s following is widespread, and consumers are regarded as one of the most loyal consumer bases in business. Some compare Apple consumers to a cult following, and question Apple as a monopoly in the technology and consumer electronics industry. Millions of customers continually wait outside Apple stores nationwide the day Apple releases its products. Lines and lines of consumers wait to purchase the expensive multinational company’s products, which leads you to wonder just what makes Apple such a desirable product.
Advertising serves its purpose. It’s meant to gain consumers, plain and simple. And it’s our job as consumers to be knowledgeable on the existence, quality, and price of a product (Goldman, 1983). What brings people to Apple are their manipulative advertising campaigns and marketing models that target, acquire and maintain a massive consumer base. Apple does so by a number of ways. Some ad campaigns run by Apple include the following: iPod ads began running upon the release of the first iPod in 2001. The very first iPod commercial showed a middle-aged man in his apartment dancing to some music that was playing on his Apple laptop. The iPod is then shown plugged into the computer, and the man unplugs the iPod and begins dancing throughout the apartment after plugging his headphones into the iPod. At the end of the ad, it states
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