Representation

Because we are discussing representation, and because one of the examples in Chapter 7 was an iPod ad, I decided to dig up other similar iPod ads. The one I found was this:

"iPod: If you don't have one, you're a loser."

I don't think this is a true Apple ad, but rather a play on the message Apple ads convey. However, I am going to analyze it as if it were a true Apple advertisement.

This ad ties in with the discourse about "coolness" in ads on page 293. This ad is very blatant: if you don't have an iPod, you're not cool. Because the iPod (the only non-silhouetted object that the silhouette dons) is worn and used by a very particular person, this statement states more than iPod = coolness. It is also stating that:

Men are cool
Musicians are cool
People that listen to music are cool
People that play guitar are cool
People that play acoustic guitar are cool

These statements make other statements, like:

It's possible that women aren't cool
People that don't listen to music are uncool
People that aren't musicians are uncool
People that favor an instrument over acoustic guitar are uncool


The ad aims to target a specific type of audience: men that like music and play musical instruments. If there is a member of this group that doesn't own an iPod, Apple hopes to persuade him that he should--otherwise, he is a "loser." Normally, I would say that targeting such a narrow audience is a bad idea--but because Apple released a series of ads to appeal to several gender and cultural groups, this ad was probably very successful. Nobody wants to be seen as uncool, so why risk it?--go buy an iPod!