Perhaps the most notable modern day company using this advertising approach is Apple, Inc. This essay examines the visual rhetoric behind Apple’s ‘Think different’ print advertisement arguing that it functions as a means of inspiring the consumer and positioning Apple, Inc. as an alternative to other forms of computer technology. The Apple ‘Think different’ print advertisement is one element of a large-scale marketing approach that also included a variety of television advertisements.
The advertisement was originally featured in mainstream publications such as Time and Newsweek (Isaacson). One of the reasons I chose this advertisement is because it is an aspect of visual rhetoric that I readily identify with. I find the message inspiring, even while I recognize that it functions as means of capitalizing on my consumer status. In these regards, I am intrigued by its message and means of ‘inspiring’ or perhaps manipulating me into buying Apple, Inc. products. Indeed, Steve Jobs once noted that, “Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is - everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you.
And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use” ("YouTube"). Within this advertisement are emotions that engender this perspective and both motivate the consumer towards purchasing Apple products and using them change things. This specific print advertisement, figure 1, is unique in that it is highly minimalistic. As can be seen the advertisement contains a black background with the Apple logo and the phrase ‘Think different’ featured underneath the logo.
Still, it’s clear there are a number of complex rhetorical elements at work within this design. The first consideration is the Apple logo itself. This logo has been a part of the Apple corporation since its inception in the early 1980s. In these
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