r/explainlikeimfive • u/bigdubsy • Dec 16 '12

ELI5: Why does Coca-cola still advertise? Explained

Why do companies that have seemingly maxed out on brand recognition still spend so much money on advertising? There is not a person watching TV who doesn't know about Pepsi/Coke. So it occurs to me that they cannot increase the awareness of their product or bring new customers to the product. Without creating new customers, isn't advertisement a waste of money?

I understand that they need to advertise new products, but oftentimes, it's not a new product featured in a TV commercial.

The big soda companies are the best example I can think of.

Edit: Answered. Thanks everyone!

Edit 2: Thanks again to everybody for the discussions! I learned alot more than I expected. If we weren't all strangers on the internet, I'd buy everyone a Pepsi.

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u/p7r Dec 16 '12 edited Dec 17 '12

I discovered some years ago that the point of most advertising at a certain marque level was not to acquire new customers, but to retain them or even stop "buyer's regret".

For example, BMW pretty much never expect somebody to see one of their adverts and think "Oh, that car looks good, I'll buy one of those!", because who the hell makes a purchasing decision of that size based on advertising? Most of their advertising is actually focused on people who recently bought one of their cars and is sat there thinking how much of a Ford or GM they could have got for 40% less. It prevents buyer's regret, and pushes them from just a buyer into a brand-loyal fan. It also enhances brand value in general, which is critical when establishing how much your brand is worth financially.

Brand value is where Coca-Cola come in. Frequently in the UK people will say "it feels like Christmas now", once the "Christmas is coming" Coke ad with santa on lorries going through town is aired. Think about how powerful that is: people associate the celebration of the Messiah's birth, or perhaps the most intense emotional experience of the year that you can point to on a calendar, with a can of sugar water.

When you hear "Coke", you immediately think of the colours of the can, the taste of the drink, and have an emotional response which is probably very happy, positive and affirming. That's what a lifetime of Coca-Cola telling you what they stand for has done to you.

Recipe-wise, it's almost identical to Pepsi, but think about how you feel when you think of Pepsi, and how you feel when you think of Coca-Cola. That difference? That's the advertising. And it kicks in when you're stood in front of a fridge about to make a purchasing decision.

Most of the Coca-Cola sold around the World is produced under license, it doesn't come from a magic well, and is relatively easy to synthesise. So how much would the company be worth if it weren't anything special? Their entire advertising strategy is to increase brand value which also helps them whenever a customer hesitates about buying their product.

EDIT: I strongly recommend if you're interested in how advertising really works, that you check out the counter-argument to all advertising, Ad Busters magazine. Their website is good, but not nearly as awesome or eye-opening as their magazine.

EDIT 2: Some people are saying the difference between Coke and Pepsi is "obviously" different. Science says different. You might want to read this paper that says mental association with brand values is more important than taste, so your brain is tricking you somewhat. Here is a good little write-up on neuromarketing that asks some interesting questions.

EDIT 3: This is now my highest ranked comment on Reddit, and I just noticed I got Reddit Gold. Thanks! I really appreciate it, whoever you are.

EDIT 4: Filbs mentioned in a reply to this post that it would be great to have somewhere where we could rip apart advertising campaigns and spots and work out advertiser motivation. As this discussion has shown, some ads are very straight to the point, some are quite complex and involve complex layering of emotions. Also, I felt it would be good to collect and discuss links to papers, articles and lectures on the science behind advertising. I'm quite well read on this area, but I'm not a professional, so I was reluctant, but I realised my fascination with this area is above and beyond the casual, so I present to you: /r/adbreakdown/ Please do consider joining in if this is an area that fascinates.

P.S. This morning this appeared in my news feed and I thought some of you might appreciate its "honesty" ;-)

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u/TheKZA Dec 16 '12

Holy fuck. You're right. I bought a car recently, and while the TV spots had nothing to do with my decision, now when I see them, I sing along with the song and cheer at the TV and shit.

Crafty advertising mothetfuckers.

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u/p7r Dec 16 '12

You're not the first, and you'll be far from the last! I read about it first to do with BMW, but I realise all the top manufacturers do it.

There is a great talk by Simon Sinek if you want to see what separates BMW, Apple, Mercedes and other premium brands in their marketing discussions from say Kia or Skoda. I suspect your car maker is probably one of the club.

I'll warn you though, once you see this, two things will happen:

  1. You'll realise how overly sentimental most advertising is. It is insane once you're aware of it.
  2. You'll become deeply skeptical of anybody or any corporation who talks to you about their values with an air of sincerity.

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u/Sammzor Dec 16 '12

God, the ways they try to make you feel like they care about your family. And "If you care about your family you will buy our product".

Just notice all the advertisements (especially billboards) that only show a person standing there smiling next to some text. Emotion sells!

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

I live in an oil town, next to an oil city and Chevron loves putting billboards with a kid smiling, a logical statement that most people agree with and under it "we agree"

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u/PubliusPontifex Dec 17 '12

"Do you hate polluted beaches and dead dolphins washing up covered in oil tar? At BP, we agree."

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u/Illum503 Dec 17 '12

And we're sorry. Sorry. We're sorry. Sorry.

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u/HMS_Pathicus Dec 17 '12

And we're sorree. Sorree. We're sorree.

FTFY

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '13

30 Rock absolutely nailed this with Jack Donaghy's line about "lubricating the Gulf of Mexico"

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u/iwasnotarobot Dec 17 '12

Have some examples of this? I wouldn't mind seeing what their billboard looks like.

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u/Shaysdays Dec 17 '12

I try not to assume any company cares about my family unless they've met them all and actually helped us or people I know. But you also have to consider whether it's employees or corporate ideas.

Restaurant around the corner from my house- everyone there knows my family and if I came to them during Hurricaine Sandy saying we had no electricity and wanted a hot meal- we got a free pizza. That came down from the boss- drinks weren't free (except water and refills) but hot Pizzas were. Comic book store near my house holds books for me, sort of- they know my tastes and if they know that say, myself and person Y order along similar lines, they'll order two and let me know about the book. This doesn't always work out, but they take a chance.

A national donut chain near our house, I go to once a month or so with my son while we are waiting for my daughter to finish her music lesson. The people that work there give my son an extra donut for saying please and thank you. (I have tried discouraging this, you shouldn't get rewards for correct behavior. There's only so far I'll go, denying free doughnuts is too far.) That's the franchise family, not the corporation. There is an Italian restaurant nearby that once a month, at odd intervals, has tripe on the menu. I don't like it, but my husband does. Whenever they have tripe, we get a nicely worded courtesy e-mail from the owner, (who owns about 6 places around here) because once the owner was in the restaurant, they had run out of tripe for the day, and my husband was sad about missing out. If his guy has a database of "tripe people," along with "Seahawks people" or whatever, I ain't even mad. The e-mails we get are not in any way personal, they are just things like, "Just so you know, this week at (place name) we are expected to recieve tripe, and plan on making (soup, bubble wrap flambé, I don't know.)" So we recommend that place a LOT.

I go to a department store and have a store loyalty card and save on some stuff. They don't care about me as a person, they want loyal customers. There really no 'they' that would even look at the data for the coupons the company sends, it's all algorithms and guesswork.

So those are three very simplified layers, but it's not just emotion, it's also attachment based on what people are willing to do for you, on if not a one to one basis, at least a one to fifty.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

if not a one to one basis, at least a one to fifty.

This is part of the reason I ended up leaving the big company I worked with for almost a decade. In my little local "branch office" we worked our asses off. We made sure to only hire and train excellent people, and we went out of our way to provide good customer service.

But every goddamn time one of my clients would call the toll-free "customer service" line or the "tech support" line or even other local offices in the NYC metro area, they'd basically get shit on and treated like we were McDonald's rather than an expensive provider of a "high touch" service. The company as a whole had such a shitty, generic corporate attitude and that seemed to filter down to a local level at most offices.

When they finally did a reorganization so they could "streamline" (read: fire 1/3 of their people without a huge hit to their margins), I'd had enough. To me working life is not about making money, it's about making a living for yourself selling a good or service that people actually want or need. Deceptive practice and thoughtless bullshit surround us so much that it's outright evil to contribute to them.

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u/dongstick Dec 17 '12

Sounds like an emotional response to me. You feel better dealing with businesses that are more personal.

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u/what_about_the_birds Dec 17 '12

Your neighborhood sounds nice!

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '12

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u/Shaysdays Dec 29 '12

Coorect is not the same as good. Correct behavior is baseline stuff- saying please and thank you, not talking with their mouth full, etc. To paraphrase Chris Rock, "That's what you're SUPPOSED to be doing!" I'm not handing out cash for C grades, you know?

Good behavior, that I do give rewards for, are extra things like cleaning their room without being asked, volunteering to help make dinner, practicing their instrument a little longer than they 'have' to, in order to get a difficult part down, etc.

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u/[deleted] Dec 30 '12

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u/Shaysdays Dec 30 '12

Happy to! Sometimes it takes me thinking out answers to really look at what I'm doing in order to explain it to the kids well if they ask, I appreciate the moment of reflection.

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u/algorithmae Dec 17 '12

Hang on, you shouldn't get rewards for good behavior? I know it should be expected, but how's a reward once in a while going to hurt?

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u/Shaysdays Dec 17 '12

Well, they do it every time, which isn't exactly one in a while.

Like I said though, I gave up that fight.

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u/algorithmae Dec 17 '12

Well, once a month is 'once in a while' to me. :p

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u/FishermanBob Dec 17 '12

It's spelled doughnut.

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u/bojangles0023 Dec 17 '12

pedantic

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u/bojangles0023 Dec 17 '12

or semantic? im drunk.. true story

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u/Picnicpanther Dec 16 '12

It's not just that emotion sells, but that humans react to emotion more in anything. People aren't very fond of detached or fake people, but genuine, emotional people are very well liked. Same with brands.

source: I'm in advertising.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

People aren't very fond of detached or fake people

Well, shit... It's something I know, but in the 'advertising' context seemed new to me. I've patterned my social behaviors and cues off others, because I don't understand a lot of social interaction instinctively. Your comment made me wonder if people can tell. /:

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12 edited Jun 26 '18

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Yeah, but whatever "normal social interaction" is, you can't deny that some people are just better at it. I am not one of those people.

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u/[deleted] Dec 18 '12

I would say they did the same thing you did at a much earlier age, before they could use words to describe their techniques, like you now can.

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u/doughudlud Dec 17 '12

I think what pandame is trying to say is that all of the social actions that he knows he had to learn, as opposed to them coming naturally to many people. It's common to people with Aspergers, as I can say with firsthand experience.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12 edited Jun 26 '18

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u/doughudlud Dec 17 '12

No. There are some things that are natural when it comes to social interaction. Tone of voice, body language, facial expressions. These are all things a child is born with. They can be tweaked or overridden by a conscious mind, or broken in the cases of mental disorders(e.g. Autism, Schizophrenia, etc.). I have Aspergers, and I still have trouble with some social situations because i can not distinguish facial expressions. It wasn't untill a few years ago when i could differentiate different aspects of body language. Almost all the social rules that you or other neurotipical people could just watch once and get it, I had to watch countless times before i got a hint of what was going on, if I was lucky. I ended up making a friend who was willing to verbally tell me and explain different social rules and actions. And this was after I graduated HS, which was a living hell for me. I had almost no friends, and none of them were from school. Fortunately I was never picked on because I sent one kid to the hospital when he started a fight with me. Often I seriously thought about suicide. my life was damn lonely. It really wasn't until my sophomore year of college that I met this friend. After I met him, the world opened up to me and my life had meaning again. I still struggle, but it is better and I started a HS social skills club for kids that are like I was. So yes, you may have to "learn" your skills, but you have no fucking clue what it is like to have to really learn how to operate in society.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12 edited Jun 26 '18

[deleted]

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u/doughudlud Dec 18 '12

I'm trying to find the research paper that I read on this, but both Pub-Med and Google are being finicky about their search terms. I will try to paraphrase what I read. Babies are born with a hardwired interest in faces and facial expressions. One week after they have the visual acuity to even focus on a face (7 weeks), they are able to determine facial expressions. They don't just straight up learn things like that. They are born with an idea of how emotions work. Not to mention that they are born, and this was 100% proven, able to determine their mothers voice, and can tell with a certain degree of accuracy their fathers voice(assuming that he was around the mother often during the pregnancy), and they can react fairly well to changes in tone of voice. If I can manage to find the paper I will post it.

And sorry that I got uppity in my last post. It's a big button for me that I'm trying to work on. I shouldn't have gotten so hostile. My bad.

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u/[deleted] Dec 18 '12

assuming that he was around the mother often during the pregnancy

The father being around the baby does not change the baby's DNA. I would bet that the baby in the womb can hear the mother and father talking during the late stages of pregnancy. This is what expansionpak meant by conditioning and learning.

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u/Fourgot Dec 17 '12

Don't worry. Everyone of all cultures has always patterned their social behavior off others. That's how social behavior works, and propagates. You're the rule, not the exception ;)

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u/Antipolar Dec 17 '12

I think the point he is trying to make is that he patterns consciously whereas he assumes others assimilate social behaviour subconsciously.
He worries that because of this he does not come across as genuine.

Full Disclosure: For a while I was worried that I was a sociopath - every social interaction feels like a manipulation when you had to learn the rules of the game.

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u/Fourgot Dec 18 '12

Me too, and so did two of my closest friends, definitely. I'm also fairly confident that other friends of mine did too, but we weren't close enough to get to that INSANE level of honesty.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Not that I want to be a special snowflake, but you can't deny that some people are better at behavioral patterning than others. It's more instinctive to some people, whatever. I don't understand it intuitively. haha. So I just wonder if I make the right choices in responses, etc.

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u/Fourgot Dec 18 '12

Sure, I get ya. All I'm saying is that you're not some off-the-charts Edward Scissorhands weirdo. You're still totally in the spectrum. Just because you feel you need to actively think about what you're transmitting and receiving (because you say you're not instinctive about it) puts you well ahead of most people. Take Joey Baggadonuts, who never realized that people don't understand what he's NOT saying, and other people don't understand what he's NOT saying.

It's big stuff, important. Anyway, I'm not sure how much that made sense, as I'm currently procrastinating! lalala back to work for meeeeee

Edit: a word

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u/[deleted] Dec 18 '12

All I'm saying is that you're not some off-the-charts Edward Scissorhands weirdo.

Oh thank goodness, I was so worried!

No, I'm just kidding. haha. I'll put away my tree pruner slippers, though.

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u/pureferret Dec 17 '12

You are not alone, I don't think anyone's noticed with me yet....play it cool and no one will see these comments either....

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u/[deleted] Dec 19 '12

Nobody will see yours because you're shadowbanned.

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u/pureferret Dec 19 '12

That sounds pretty cool, but I'm guessing its not?

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u/[deleted] Dec 21 '12

Check any of your other comments.

Or log out of reddit and go to reddit.com/r/pureferret

See? You don't exist.

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u/inhospitable Dec 17 '12

I've patterned my social behaviors and cues off others, because I don't understand a lot of social interaction instinctively

This is exactly what I do, but never actually thought about it in this way, more that I was a social retard! This sounds much better, upvotes for you

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u/SpartanLazer Dec 17 '12

I'm the same as you. When I watch someone on TV that I like I'll try and incorporate a little of them into how I act and see if it works well with others. I grew up mostly watching comedians and I get told I'm rather funny even though I disagree so I guess it worked. If you've done it well they won't know.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Same with politicians.

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u/Picnicpanther Dec 17 '12

Exactly.

And good advertisers know that emotion comes out of empathy for the target market, which means not being manipulative, but knowing what your demographic wants and giving it to them.

Unfortunately, there's a lot more bad advertisers than good ones. See McDonalds TV campaigns that are just white noise at this point.

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u/DrBensina Dec 17 '12

What's the difference?

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u/Moronoo Feb 16 '13

it's voters regret

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u/SineEyed Dec 17 '12

It's not just that emotion sells, but that humans react to emotion more in anything. People aren't very fond of detached or fake people, but genuine, emotional people are very well liked. Same with brands. source: I'm in advertising.

Or at least people that appear genuine. Since youre in advertising look up Paul Eckman and become a guru. Think you question advertising now? After this shit you start seeing how everybody is constantly unconsciously and consciously advertising themselves. And if you still arent crazy after that look up MBTI personality typing to finish the job. Im literally nuts after it. Look em up and hate me later... :D

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u/dogs_love_bones Dec 17 '12

would you say people are more likely to be fond of overly genuine brands such as the Chevron billboards above, or are people going to be more fond of a brand that tries to connect in a more realistic fashion

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u/jimicus Dec 17 '12

Emotion sells!

Yep. I haven't watched the talk, but I've been learning about sales & marketing myself because I started running my own business about 2 years ago.

Basically, there's a number of aspects to any product you can use in order to push it. In ascending order of how powerful they are, you have:

  • Features.
  • The benefits those features offer.
  • The advantage those benefits confer over other, similar products.
  • The emotional benefit the customer can expect to derive from the product.

When I say "ascending order", I mean "vastly ascending order". Each item in that list is a lot more powerful than the item immediately before it.

Okay, now I've told you that, a little tidbit for you: Apple's advertisements show people using the iPhone to video call granny and enjoy time with their friends. Samsung do something similar, showing how you can use their product to ensure you remember your girlfriend's birthday.

Other phone manufacturers don't really do anything to emotionally connect you with their product. Sony, for instance, bang on about how they use Android (Big deal. How does that confer an emotional benefit?).

Apple and Samsung between them are taking home something like 80% of the total amount of profit made in the smartphone industry. Everyone else is fighting for scraps.

Apple use similar techniques for selling their computers. You'll never see any Apple sales material - whether it's on the TV, on paper or even on their website - discuss how they've "got the Latest Super Duper Intel Core Processor (TM)!!11oneone". They're far too busy showing you how you'll use it to do something that has emotional value. On those rare occasions when they do mention technical details (eg. Retina Display), they don't go into detail about how wonderful it is, they just give you an emotional reason to want one ("makes photos of your wife/girlfriend/dog appear clearer").

That laptop you're typing on? That PC at your desk? Unless it's an Apple, pretty much everyone in the chain from manufacturer to distributor to retailer made about 5% gross profit on it. Yet with most consumer products, the gross profit is closer to 40-60%. It's difficult enough to run a business as it is; with profit margins as thin as this it's borderline impossible. This is why IBM left the PC industry a few years ago and why HP have been making noises about leaving it.

Yet Apple - Apple whose entire product line is pretty much "computers, MP3 players and cellphones" - have a market value about the same as the combined GDP of Ireland, Luxembourg and Hong Kong. I assure you they are not selling anything with a gross profit margin of 5%.

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u/CommercialPilot Dec 17 '12

Here's a little trick I always used back when I sold tires for a dealership:

I'd inspect the tires, measure with a tread depth gauge, and if they were bald/cracked/dry rotted then I'd say to the customer "Well ma'am, your tires are really quite wore out. I wouldn't feel safe driving my family around on these tires to be honest with you. We can get you a price on a new set of tires if you'd like, then we can go from there?"

Works like a charm. If a person thinks their safety or the safety of their family is at risk...that plays a big factor when trying to sell them an item.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12 edited Dec 17 '12

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

[deleted]

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u/EatSleepJeep Dec 17 '12

Feel felt found is a technique for overcoming a soft objection. Let them know you understand how they feel, others have felt the same, but they found it worked well for them. You don't have to use those words though.

I understand you have some concerns about the color, that it might be too bright. I've had some others express the same concern that it might be too bold. All of them that choose it; however, now think its the best feature and they get a ton of compliments on it.

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u/brownieapple Dec 17 '12

Ah, thanks! Never knew there was a name for that.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

[deleted]

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u/brownieapple Dec 17 '12

Haha that's okay! I appreciate the effort I now know what it is called. I used to work at a clothing company as an assistant manager for 5 years; I've learned a lot of useful social engineering skills, but i have no idea what they would be called. So this is a start! Thanks again.

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u/Jed118 Dec 17 '12

that's why I have $10 piece of shit Nokias and often replace broken parts on them myself for chump change. Takes more than 20 mins to replace the screen or costs more than $30? Backup, open drawer take out another one (usually pre-buy on eBay), restore contacts, throw old one out.

Never worry about it being dropped, stolen, scratched... A phone is supposed to do one thing - be used for calling. Also texting.

(I work in IT so I am ALWAYS in front of a computer - Even at the gym, at my other teaching job, everywhere - same deal with my shitty NB200 netbook - break, fix)

And this is why I paid off my student loan WHILE attending U.

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u/qwimjim Dec 17 '12

Haha I love this statement "a phone is for making phone calls, that's -it-"... Says anyone's who's never owned a smart phone. No one has ever gone from owning an iPhone or android and gone back to a dumb phone. It really is amazing how some people don't get it. A smart phone isn't a phone, it's a pocketable COMPUTER that happens to make phone calls. And frankly making phone calls is probably not even in the top ten things I use my iPhone for.

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u/Powerdriven Dec 17 '12

I had an iPhone. If you had AT&T, making phone calls wasn't in their top ten things that you could use your iPhone for either...

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Hey-o

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u/Jed118 Dec 18 '12

Nope, had a Nokia smartphone I forget what model, its maybe 3 years old now) for about 6 weeks - It was OK, but touchscreens suck, I need buttons. That and the battery life was terrible.

I don't see the need to be connected to everything 24/7 - I even turned down a company blackberry because I value my privacy at home, when I am not working.

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u/qwimjim Dec 18 '12

You might want to try a good smartphone, and no a blackberry isnt a good smartphone either. Touchscreens do not suck, they're actually amazing compared to navigating on a dumb phone. What are you 80 years old? How are you even on reddit much less the Internet? I'm sorry this is not a matter of preference, if you like a shitty Nokia over an iPhone or galaxy s3 you've got to be retarded. It's like saying you prefer your old 19" tube tv over a high end led HDTV.

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u/slipnglide Dec 17 '12

That's great, but you're implying that having a smartphone means you fell for advertising. The truth, of course, is that there are plenty of people out there who have good use for their phones when they aren't at home or work. You also stated that you go the Nokia and computer route because you're smarter than advertisers, when the truth (based on what you've said) is you went that route because you can, with a lifestyle that puts you near a computer all the time. Ergo, your smugness is unwarranted.

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u/tsr6 Dec 17 '12

Been there, done that. Sell a phone case that costs $2.50 in bulk for $14.95 retail. That was $5 commission in my pocket.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Except when the guy who sold me something didn't remember he did that and tried the very same thing the year after. There's no way to drop trust faster than that.

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u/CommercialPilot Dec 17 '12

That's what it's important to only use this trick when the tires are legitimately worn or unsafe. I wasn't meaning trying to upsell a customer if they didn't actually need new tires. Bald tires were unsafe one year ago, and they're unsafe one year later.

It's much better than just saying "Your tires are bald, might want to replace them."

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u/Se7enLC Dec 17 '12

At first glance, it seems like evil trickery....but if you're only using it when their tires are ACTUALLY bald/cracking, I'm not sure I see the problem with it. Really, they should be buying new tires anyway!

You can even sweeten it up with some genuine concern, the "I don't care if you don't buy from us, just tell me you're going to get them replaced immediately?".

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '13

if they were bald or cracked or rotten, the poor sap NEEDED new tyres. Just sayin'

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u/YourLogicAgainstYou Dec 17 '12

I don't care how they feel about my family -- I'm more interested in how they feel about their product. A lot of the companies we're commenting on with regard to their crafty marketing tactics are also the same companies that are highly committed to the quality of their product. This aspect should not be ignored.

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u/Sammzor Dec 17 '12

They are committed to selling the product over all else. Whether it means a good quality product or it just looks like it's good. There are lots and lots of plastic parts in cars and other machines that shouldn't be plastic. And I think a lot of the quality check is so they don't get sued.

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u/Jed118 Dec 17 '12

Doesn't work for everyone - I will never buy an Apple product, rather I am driven by value and price, and what the item can do for me, not how it makes me feel or, worse, how I appear when I am using that product.

Turn off the TV. Read books. Live life, not let life live you.

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u/profcath Dec 17 '12

Why would you rule out an Apple product? Based on their brand? If you seek value and price, it seems rather silly to exclude a product simply because it is Apple. We are a PC/Apple household. We've had nothing but hassles with the PC. The Apple is now 7 years old and works great. The value for me, in the Apple, is that I don't have to mess with virus protection and MS patches. It's basic, clean design, intuitive. That value is weighed against the very high price. And for me, my mental health and lack of pleas for assistance from family members is totally worth it. The only time I refuse to buy a product is when the company's belief systems are totally against my own. I don't HAVE to shop at Walmart when my local store has the same thing I need, albeit a bit more expensive. We do live life....but I'm not clear on the 'let life live you' mantra. I think it's better to say 'choose how you live your life.' Apple 'does' things for me, easier. It makes me 'feel' good. And I really don't care how people view me, because I am using an iPhone. That's a rather narrow-minded measure of life.

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u/Jed118 Dec 18 '12

Easy - I had a Mac IIsi, and then I had no further dealings with the company. Due to their shift from making decent, different computers (Motorola processors, SCSI interface, their own leading edge OS - System 7.1 at the time, and software that never crashed) to one using the same components as PCs, but being marketed as if they had actually evolved since the IIsi - Case in point, my roommate was a sound engineering student and he had a macbook pro. He was a bit pompous and arrogant about it, and kept saying how expensive the software is - Guess what - My 386 from 1992 with a MIDI port and an AWE32 soundcard using a DOS based mixer (I'd tell you the s/w name, but my PC is currently 10,000 kilometers away from me) was able to do 80% of what that expensive status symbol was able to do - at 40 MHz.

Plus, most of the people I know (note - most are not my friends - mostly pseudo-dirty hipsters I have the horror of encountering at ANY Indie band showcase nearby) that have Apple products all but suck Apple's dick and blindly buy and profess onto how great the product is.

Bullshit. Ever try repairing an iPhone or an iPod? (FYI - 3 years of electronics and circuit design - Granted at College, but top of the class for 2 out of 3 years) They are NOT meant to be repaired easily, to keep the cretins out of them, they are purposefully booby trapped to break MORE when repairs are attempted by someone other than "professionals" (I was able to fix the iPhone) - Essentially making the product disposable and therefore bad for the environment - purposefully wasteful.

then there's this:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/want-to-upgrade-that-retina-macbook-pro-tough-luck/20774

Yeah, no thanks - I will go out of my way to avoid Apple and their shit-spewing moron followers at any cost (I'm not insinuating that you are, as you have a valid point about the "leave me alone" tech issue - Being in IT sucks all the time around family) as I do Rogers - I will pay Bell MORE because I have had hateful and terrible dealings with that company.

As with Apple.