“So Jobs created Apple in his own image, in the image of Jobs he created Apple...”

Few company’s histories are as much a part of the global psyche as that of Apple Inc. (Apple Computer Inc pre 2007, http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/09/apple-drops-computer-from-name/ ). Apple has managed to capture the attention and devotion of a sizeable portion of the personal digital device marketplace.

To me, one ad, in fact one Keynote address, sums up the story which is the driving engine behind the brand. This is Steve Jobs 1983 Keynote address to introduce the new Macintosh and Apple’s break-away campaign (from LA based agency Chiat\Day, now TBWA\Chiat\Day https://www.tbwachiat.com/)

This iconic Keynote address defined a story which, in my opinion continues to define the Apple Brand today.

The story of the underdog, winning against insurmountable odds, is a story that has been told over and over and over for millennia - across cultural bounds - and it is the story which Steve Jobs so artfully wove around Apple Inc. from the very beginning (“A small, fledgling company...”(Steve Jobs, 1983)). 



I think he found weaving this story particularly easy because, in many ways, Apple was the externalisation of his own journey and beliefs. As was demonstrated when he left the company and then returned to it; Steve Jobs left and so did the heart and soul of the brand, Steve Jobs returned and Apple was back. Steve Jobs and Apple were essentially two halves of the same identity. Apple’s values and ideals were Steve Job’s values and ideals: and visa versa.

(Just for fun: a paraphrasing of Genesis 1:27 also sums up Steve Jobs’ relationship to Apple: “So Jobs created Apple in his own image, in the image of Steve Jobs he created Apple...”. Unlike the devine creators experience, Steve Jobs’ experience was more a symbiotic co-evolution, with one shaping the other, than a direct creation. But anyway, back to the story.)

The story of the hero’s journey is a story which has always, and I believe always will, intrigue us (see Joseph Campbells’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell#The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces).

I propose that we are deeply connected to this story because it is a story we can all relate to, it is the story of the individual struggle to form an identity, it is the story of becoming ‘someone’.

The personal battle to form an identity is a struggle we all face in our path through life. We are constantly forced to ask ourselves the question: “Who am I?” For example, when we are offered a new job or when we enter a new relationship; the fork in the road confronts us forcing us to answer the question: “Who am I, and who do I want to be?” We are compelled to shape our own identity lest it be shaped for us.

This drive to determine who we are - our identity - is what Apple’s story tapes into. The fundamentally need for self-actualisation (see Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs#Self-actualization ).

However the strength of Apple’s brand lies not just in the story, but more importantly it is given credit by the fact that it actually lived out this story. As history would reveal, this small, fledgling company, did in fact go on to fight and win, against great odds, the battle to determine it’s own identity. 

Apple’s story is a very human story and I think this is why Apple’s computers appeal so strongly to the artistic community, Apple’s brand identity puts the humanity back into the machine. 

As with so many myths, Apple’s story gives us not just hope in the face of fear, but also tells us how to act in uncertain times, it tells us how we too, can self-actualise; by striving for the ideals of beauty, simplicity and function.

(In my view, Apple’s continued growth is partly due to the fact that it’s story positions it as an antidote to Durkheim’s anomie and Marx’s alienation, evermore prevalent in today’s industrialised world)

Apple’s brand narrative is more than simply the old and incredibly boring ‘Buy Apple and you will be self-actualised’ problem/solution model, Apple’s story transcends base consumerism (recognise need, buy pre-packaged solution) and instead offeres empowerment. 

Apple’s brand identity is fundamentally about ideals and the self-determination available to each and every  individual and to humanity as a whole greater than the sum of it's parts.

Thoughts and comments welcome!

(As an aside: if you take the above interpretation to be true it is little wonder people often liken Apple evangelists to religious fanatics http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-19/tech/apple.religion_1_apple-store-apple-employees-brains?_s=PM:TECH).