Apple's shift from comedy to emotion

The growing success of Apple has led to a shift in personality for the brand as a whole. You probably remember the classic iPod campaign that featured energetic silhouettes against vivid backgrounds dancing to popular music.

It was eye-catching and memorable. I consider this campaign one of the most important factors in Apple dominating the MP3 market.

Shortly after, Apple started their "Mac vs. PC" campaign, which spanned over 3 years and featured 66 different TV spots. They all had a recurring style and theme: an uptight, middle-aged business man (the "PC") and a laid-back young adult (the "Mac") disagreeing about who was superior. Apple aimed to be funny yet informative. They wanted their target audience (young adults) to relate to the "Mac" character. They shouldn't be the nerdy "PC" guy, they should get a Mac so they can be more like the character. The lengthy campaign was popular and was successful and memorable overall. You can check out all 66 TV spots here.

In the past few years, Apple seems to have matured past the PC vs. Mac debate and gone its own route. With new successful products, Apple has branched out in themes for both the iPad and iPhone. The iPhone campaign is focused on connecting with one another, and features people of all ages video chatting.

The newest iPad ads have people discovering the world on their iPads set to a Walt Whitman quote, meant to inspire people to scuba dive and explore space for themselves (but get an iPad first).

Apple's transition of themes has showed the evolution of the brand as a whole. They no longer aim to be memorable through comedy, but now show their products as a vehicle to connect with each other in new ways and find new ways to be innovative.