Selling Magic, Not Technology
“Magical” seems to be the best way to describe technology products in 2010. Behold Apple’s iPad:
And now Google, upon launching Instant Search, claims that their search tool “should feel like magic” (0:16).
Should technology feel like magic?
According to the Oxford American Dictionary, magic is “the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces.”
If that’s the intention of technology companies, then that’s pretty sad. It’s the equivalent of giving up on a certain kind of technological literacy. In these ads, we’re seeing the marketing departments of two of the most influential technology corporations in the world deciding that people are more comfortable in the middle ages. Indeed, it’s a little too reminiscent of recent marketing campaigns in other sectors:
Couldn’t technology literacy be an exciting marketing strategy? Imagine:
“The iPad. It’s a step forward in software/hardware integration.” Or: “Google Instant Search: Searching ought to give you more results.” For example:
I guess literacy just doesn’t make for a good ad campaign. But when it comes to buying technology, are a majority of folks really hoping to buy magic? I’d love to see a company challenge this pathetic state of affairs with ads showing that excitement can come with understanding.
The best analogy I have heard about the iPad is that of the automobile. The majority of drivers do not ‘understand’ their cars in any sort of significant way. If their car were to break down they could not fix it. Technology is the same thing. The majority of people don’t care about ‘software/hardware’ integration at all. They care about ease of use and having a product that fulfills multiple needs at once, and the iPad does that while being very slick about it. This is advertising and let’s not kid ourselves that advertising is the realm of any sort of literacy, no matter who the company may be.
Right on. But I like to lament it, just the same. Ideally, we’d increasingly understand the world around us… especially the items and technologies we rely on for work and play. It would be refreshing for marketers to acknowledge that, and for people to respond accordingly. But, it’s asking a lot, I guess.