The vast majority of contemporary advertisements—much like advertisements through out all of history—seek to associate their product with youth. The main difference between old advertising and current advertising is that now youth is associated with nonconformity and free thought. Advertisements all around the country now promote their respective products by giving the impression that those who use them are part of some movement towards an individualistic, nonconformist society. It’s as though big business owners had kids who despised their manipulative marketing tactics and vowed to one day free society from manipulative advertisements that attempt to sway the masses. Instead, they would make advertisements that let people be individuals; ads that valued uniqueness and individual experience. Then, once those optimistic kids grew up, their parents offered them a job, and they were forced to try and appeal to the masses of angry children they used to criticize society with in their youth. This apple commercial is a perfect example of this phenomenon. For starters, it depicts a young man as a Mac, and an old, bland, white-collared man as a PC. This particular Mac commercial accomplishes what the majority of contemporary ads seek to do: portray a product as young, in-style, and superior to its competition in every way—even intellectually.
Now, in fairness, not all ads try to associate individuality and freedom of thought with their product using the same method as apple. However, even still, the practice is there—just in different form. In this particular ad apple decided to paint their computers as young and superior using both the physical appearance as well as the body language of the “Mac guy.” Notice that the Mac guy is a casually dressed, young adult. He’s wearing very in style clothes: dark, slim fit jeans, a cardigan, and a soft blue button-up. On the contrary, the PC guy is a middle-aged man—nearly old enough to be the Mac guy’s Father. Not to mention, he’s wearing a very dull colored, stiff looking suit.
Also notice body language. The Mac guy stands comfortably yet confidently with his hands in his pockets. Throughout all of the commotion of the ad he never removes his hands from his pockets except to make one casual hand gesture. The PC guy, however, is extremely stiff. He lacks confidence. His movements are very concise and shifty. His character is clearly portrayed as socially inferior to the Mac guy.
As for the actual content, this ad is filled to the brim. As a Mac user, I can attest to the thousands of people who claim the only reason they wouldn’t buy a Mac is because they’re afraid to switch from a PC. Apple clearly takes advantage of this well-known fact and introduces a Mac Genius—one of Apple’s product specialists—to inform the viewers that it is now simple and easy to switch to a Mac. The PC guy then goes on to object to such an announcement since “fear of switching [from a PC to a Mac] is the foundation of customer loyalty for PCs.” The viewer is lead to believe that PC users’ only reason for not switching to a Mac is because they’re afraid they would lose their data. But since it’s “now easier than ever to switch to Mac,” they no longer have a legitimate foundation for loyalty, nor do they have a legitimate excuse not to get a Mac. This clearly gives the impression that the world of personal computing has moved on from the old days of PCs. It says that Mac is the new industry standard, and those who don’t use Mac are simply part of the cowardice mob of out of touch 40 year old men and women who fear that losing data would push them over the already looming edge of their mid-life crisis.
For the sake of comparison, note the attached Audi commercial. This ad attempts to do the exact same thing as the Mac ad; instead of PC, Audi is competing against Mercedes. In this commercial the camera tracks through a living room and the viewer is lead to believe that they are seeing the room’s entire history flash in fast motion before their eyes; starting in what seems like the early-mid 20th century and making it’s way to present day. As this is going on the Mercedes in the driveway flickers, and changes to a brand new Audi A4. The implication is that while Mercedes Benz has historically represented the pinnacle of luxury automobiles, those days are long since gone. Now-a-days, upper class driveways across the country are filled with Audis. Hence the “Progress is Beautiful” caption at the end. This would imply that switching from a Mercedes would be a way of becoming in touch with contemporary culture and moving on from the old way of doing luxury driving.
The trends of modern advertisement suggest that young adults have a better chance than ever to make an impact in society. Look at our economy. The age-old fortune five hundred companies are failing while investments like facebook are exploding to a net value in the billions within the first 5 years. Our country got fat off of forward thinking and innovation, and now that we’re just fat we need a change. The Chevy Suburban’s that once represented success and flash 5 years ago now represent American greed. Times have changed. So have ads.
Danny D'Acquisto
TA- Steve Wetzel
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