In case you missed the memo: Apple is for creative types. If that fact has not been burned into you brain yet, it's a pretty remarkable thing indeed, according to a new study. The idea is, in fact, so indelible that the mere sight of an Apple logo may cause you to think more innovatively. Ah, to be sheep.
New research published in the April issue of the Journal of Consumer Research shows that quick (even unnoticeable) exposure to well-known brands has the potential to cause people to act in a way that mirrors the brand's values. Researchers chose to measure the effects of the Apple logo (branded to represent innovation and creativity) versus the IBM logo (associated with tradition and responsibility).
The study, conducted by professors from Duke and Waterloo universities, gave 341 university students a visual acuity test, during which was flashed either an Apple or IBM logo. The exposure to the logo was so brief that even when offered $100 to identify which logo they'd seen, no one was able to. Participants were then asked to think of uses for a standard brick (other than building a wall), a task designed to measure how creative their thinking had become. Those who had seen the Apple logo came up with more unusual and creative uses for the brick than those who'd seen IBM. (I know I'm staring at a Windows PC right now, and I've got nothin' beyond "make a paperweight.")
A follow-up experiment tested Disney and E! Channel brands, and found that participants exposed to the Disney Channel logo behaved much more honestly than those who saw the E! Channel logos.
Other tests to the theory may include (one can only hope):
• Does Almond Joy really make you feel like a nut, whereas Mounds does not?
• Can Sunny-D actually brighten your mood more than the "purple stuff"?
• Will Jiff make a mom choosier more so than Skippy, which just makes them prancier?
• Does Visa make you feel accepted, and AMEX make you feel like an outcast?
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March 18, 2008 3:18 PM
LOL. Why IBM and not Microsoft? Sheep? 90% plus market share sure sounds like a whole bunch of sheep to me.
March 18, 2008 3:43 PM
Um, can you say study bias? I have a hard time believing not one of 341 students were capable of correctly guessing which logo was flashed... for $100 I'll take a 50/50 chance, thank you. Sounds like the whole thing was made up to support the companies covertly funding the study. What about scientific rigor? Appropriate measure of what constitutes creativity / honesty? Double-blind study? Standard deviation and degree? If you're going to publish science, get the details down.
March 18, 2008 3:49 PM
(I know I'm staring at a Windows PC right now, and I've got nothin' beyond "make a paperweight.")
Come-on, atleast you could throw it out the Windows :-)
Pun intended!
AM
March 18, 2008 4:53 PM
Brainwashed Maczealots are like Jehovah's Witnesses.
March 18, 2008 6:40 PM
@ Sebhelyesfarku while many think we are like Jehovah's Witnesses I think if we are to be compared to a cult religion that we are more like the Mormons. We are happy with our "religion" and will accept the dictates for of leader. We believe in our "religion" and will defend it. We love our "religion" and wish to spread its wonders to all we meet. When we find a fellow computer user in dire straights or just in need of help we gladly do what we can even if that person happens to be part of another "religion". While we do have our fanatics and polygamist (yes even Mac users sometimes use windows and linux) we are an accepting group and while we disagree with extreme views we support the right to have them. Until you join you can't really understand.
March 19, 2008 10:35 AM
Actually, given that over 65% of the computer market is the Enterprise, I would say a study like this favors the Windows Koolaid Drinkers far more than the Mac Zealots.
A study like this convinces IT purchasers and decision makers to avoid Macs more often to get more serious productivity out of their employees, since the vast majority of corporate computers users are data entry / button pusher types rather than strategists or creative individuals.
March 19, 2008 1:11 PM
I create, therefore I am. Sounds like the whole study was done on a Mac. This is completely off the BS-Scale.
SavoirFaire is Everywhere...
March 20, 2008 12:44 AM
Why not Microsoft? Because the professor afraid their student might experiences Blue Screen of Death 3 times a day.