Since Apple's humble beginnings in a garage, when a handful of hobbyists were unknowingly creating a computing phenomenon, Steve Jobs has been a genius at marketing his brand. From the famous "1984" Superbowl commercial to celebrity endorsements and the "Think Different" campaign, Jobs understands that consumer perception is heavily influenced by displaying who uses a product and in what context.
The 1990s: The Mac Makes a Big Leap to the Big Screen
With a change in management in the mid-80s and stagnant sales going into the 90s Apple began to push to have its brand appear in movies:
Forrest Gump (1994)
After an epic series of adventures, Forrest is living comfortably at his childhood home in Alabama. One afternoon, he receives a letter from Lt. Dan, informing him that he was now an investor in "some kind of fruit company" – the letterhead bearing the Apple logo.
Independence Day (1996)
Malicious space aliens have invaded and all the military might in the world cannot seem to stop them. But, in a highly unlikely scenario, Jeff Goldblum's character, David Levinson, uses a Mac to upload a computer virus to the alien mothership.
Fight Club (1999)
Tyler Durden's 'Project Mayhem' called for the destruction of corporate property to express anti-consumerist thinking. Starting out as pranks, Project Mayhem escalates into arson and demolition – including blowing up a storefront that prominently displays Apple computers in its window.
Sex and the City (1998-2004)
To underscore just how trendy the show's characters were, the backlit Apple logo glowed from the cover of Carrie Bradshaw's Mac in every episode where she typed her weekly column on a PowerBook.
2000-today: Apple Steps Up Its Onscreen Product Placement Marketing Plan
In the last 10 years the onscreen placement of Apple products has become increasingly conspicuous. Perhaps it's the "coolness" factor that has long been associated with Apple being "maverick" in a corporate market (e.g. "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC"), a company that has a cult-like following of devotees to its superior industrial design and intuitive user-friendly engineering.
With the glowing success of the iPod and the iTunes store Apple's brand has become inextricably linked to music, movies and TV – no big surprise, as Steve Jobs sold his animation company, Pixar, to entertainment juggernaut The Walt Disney Company in 1996 and has been on the Board of Directors ever since.
Interestingly, Product Placement News reports that, for the most part, Apple doesn't pay for placement (Source: Product Placement News, March 16, 2010); in 2009 Nielsen IAG recorded 62 instances of Apple products in one month of broadcasting – more than any other brand, including AT&T, Coca-Cola and Ford (Source: theawl.com, March 4, 2010 ).
What's notable about these statistics is that despite having a relatively small share of computer ownership market Apple computers appear to be everywhere: Dr. House, Jack Bauer, the sleuths on CSI, serial killer Dexter Morgan and Meet the Fockers Jack Byrnes are all fans of Macs. Even Watchemen's Ozymandias' is/was a user. (Click here to see a picture of a black Mac SE/30. Source: gizmodo.com).
Hollywood Loves Apple
As Apple continues to diversify its product line and become more of a consumer electronics engineering company, expect to see iPhones, shiny MacBooks and iPads being used by onscreen protagonists. The aforementioned article at The Awl mentions a few current and upcoming releases where an Apple product can be seen, including Book of Eli, Kick Ass, Wall Street 2 and, of course, Toy Story 3.
Further reading: For a list of the 102 number one movies that have featured Apple products, see thebrandchannel.com
Edmund O'Reilly - Originally from New York, Edmund moved to Australia in 2006 and works as the Creative Director at a multimedia agency in North Sydney, ...
