You are on page 1of 1

TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM EMPOWERS APPLE

Toh Keng Yong Deon, U091805U

Current smartphone companies have spent millions of dollars beefing up their advertising campaigns, plastering smartphone commercials within their target markets line of sight. Apple, Blackberry and Android have been leading the charge by being aggressive in their advertising campaigns and in many cases successfully infiltrating current and potential customers minds. In particular, Apple has seen some changes in its advertising campaigns over the past decade when it comes to not only smartphones, but also all their other products. When paying special attention to Apples advertisements, we can witness concepts of cultural and technological determinism in play.

In Brian Winstons Questioning the Media: A Critical Introduction, Winston makes a case for Cultural Determinism over Technological Determinism stating that Cultural Determinism is a thicker, more sufficient account for technological change and that technology is but one of many forces, influenced by and influencing social economic, and cultural developments (Winston, 1-2). This was certainly portrayed in Apples earlier advertisements, but there has been a shift in focus of advertising strategies, where Apples current day advertising now focuses on the technological product in essence. I argue that in the realm of Apples advertising, priority has been shifted to the product itself, largely negating a Cultural Determinist approach and adopting a Technological Determinist approach. Before 2003, when Apple was a new player trying to break into the mp3 device market, it launched a unique advertising campaign. This campaign consisted of videos and images of black silhouettes in a series of brightly color backgrounds dancing to music while listening to their white iPods through white earphones. It was obvious that in the campaign, focus was on integrating this then new piece of technology with different lifestyles. The iPod was placed in a context and seemed to integrate seamlessly with the user. Negative space used in the commercials shifted audiences focus to the human silhouettes; while the black and white color difference between user and technology drew audiences attention to the iPod. This commercial was largely successful, and aided Apples quest in breaking Creatives stronghold on the mp3 device market. At the point in time, Apple was not a household brand and the iPod was not a familiar product. Apple had to find a method to break its product into the market to create positive first impressions. I believe that to attain this goal, it took on a Cultural Deterministic approach where by there is the want to place the technology firmly in social context and to see that context as the primary factor determining both media technology and media content (Winston, 13). By doing so, Apple was able to introduce its product into peoples lifestyles and win users over, at the same time improving its brand legitimacy.

Fast forward a few years on, the Apple brand has grown to be a forerunner in the technological industry and the focus of products has moved from mp3 devices to smartphones. As usual Apple launched a series of advertisements to promote its products, but the concept of its advertisements has changed vastly. In the current advertisements, human figures are not longer involved. Instead, the Apple products have taken center stage. The new advertisements use white space to contrast and focus on the product, often with the products straight lines framing images of its applications instead. I believe this shift if synonymous to that of using a Technological Determinist approach whereby the product is placed on a pedestal, and technology is seen as all-powerful, operating as though in a historical vacuum and the influence of media technology on content as overwhelming (Winston, 13). I argue that due to the legitimacy of Apples branding that accumulated over the years, Apple products are now seen as powerful, attractive and reliable. There is also a personification of its products in everyday discourse, which empowers the product. I would describe this advertising side of Apple as wildly successful, having them make their brand and its legitimacy more powerful than ever before. In conclusion, over the past decade, the advertising campaign of Apples products has seen a shift from a Cultural Determinist Approach to that of being Technological Deterministic. This was parallel to their brand legitimacy and the way they wanted to portray their product. We could use both perspectives as tools to analyze how Apple skillfully crafts its messages to audiences. References: Winston, Brian (1990). How are Media Born? Questioning the Media: A Critical Introduction. Sage Publicaations, Newbury Park, 1990. 1-13.

2003 The Future

You might also like