Mass media has enormous effects on our attitudes and behavior. Because mass media has enormous effects on our attitude and behavior, notably in regards to aggression, it is an important contributor to the socialization process. This is particularly true with regards to gender. In television and movies, women tend to have less significant roles than men. From a young age, children are influenced by the gendered stereotypes that media present to them. The gender preference in sharing information about children may seem quite harmless compared with other layers of gender disparity. However, given the widespread popularity of social media, even moderate bias might accumulate. Millions of users are exposed to a gender-based news feed on a daily basis and, without even noticing, receive the reaffirmation that paying more attention to sons is normal.
09:3) By making the consumer part of the fun in the video, and part of a performance, we are able to fully ingest and embrace the story that’s being told. Saying this, the fact is they are not truly part of it unless they have the iPod, because this is clearly a huge part of the campaign. By making the experience the main feature of their campaign, Apple do not have to blatantly put huge prices and huge images of their products on their campaigns, because the story and characters are selling the brand and the experience that comes along with the products.
Figure 2. Apple (2004)
In 2004, Apple released a silhouette campaign that involved ‘PC vs MAC’ at the end in huge, bold text (see fig.3) (Every iPod ‘silhouette’ ads (2004-2008), 2012). This could be seen as the conflict imbedded in the story, and the PC could be seen as the ‘villain’. Windows has always been Apple’s biggest competitor and the fact that they put ‘PC vs MAC’ in one of their most memorable campaigns, gives a huge shock factor to the consumer. “As storytellers, we get our message across through conflict and its resolution” (Fog, 2004:36). The message that Apple are personifying through the use of this conflict, would be that essentially, Apple is better than PC and if you want to have fun and let loose, buy a mac. Although the ad does not flat out say ‘buy a mac’, they are asking you your own opinion, what would you prefer? By asking this question this instantly makes the consumer feel like they are part of the experience, leaving them wanting more. The fact that apple advertise a Mac computer on an iPod advert, backs up the point of selling the experience. No matter what apple product you buy, whether it be an iPod, iPad or a MacBook, you will be part of the story and overall experience.
Figure 3. Apple (2004)
The Apple silhouette campaign is an example of how a brand can create their own ‘universe’ by telling a story and getting the consumer fully immersed. Another way that brands can tell stories is by “referring to, or borrowing from, stories that we already know” (Fog, 2004:168). Depending on the consumer’s knowledge, a brand can familiarise itself with an already told ‘story’ or ‘universe’, instantly making a connection with the consumer. This use of storytelling is evidently used in Apple’s 1984 campaign for the launch of Macintosh (see fig.4). This advertisement campaign was conceived by the ad agency Chiat/Day (now known as TBWA/Chiat/Day) which was the same agency that curated the silhouette campaign (Kattan, 2012). This campaign uses George Orwell’s classic, ‘1984’, to adapt the universe already created for the launch of the new Macintosh. The science fiction novel, 1984, “describes a totalitarian society where the party controls all information and brainwashes the populace to adhere to the demands of the system” (Fog, 2004:168). People in Orwell’s ‘universe’ are under constant supervision and in fear ‘Big Brother’, who is always watching.
Figure 4. Apple (1984)
