Steve Jobs revolutionized the world.
And he did it with zero technical knowledge.
It was because of his phenomenal use of psychology and persuasion.
Last week I broke down 5 psychological principles used by him.
This week I’ll cover 4 more. (i know the four is triggering)
#1-The best commercial
Steve Jobs cried when he saw Apple’s ‘Think Different’ commercial.
He knew it would do well. In fact, It ended up winning the 1998 Emmy for Best Commercial.
It talks nothing about the computer, but instead, it features great people like Gandhi, Edison, Picasso, Einstein, and more.
There’s a great reason for doing so.
It’s the halo effect.
It’s the effect where one positive trait of a person(or thing) makes us associate more or even unrelated good traits with them.
If we buy one good product from a company, we assume its other products must be good.
It’s the reason attractive people are seen as more competent. We associate their attractiveness with their skill.
What the commercial does is that it attributes the admiration we have for these great people to Apple.
This is also a reason why advertisements usually feature celebrities. It’s because they want that positive association to be brought to the brand.
Though it’s a common advertising trick, the way Apple did it just hits differently. Just watch the commercial(after you’re done reading this article).
#2 Simplicity is the Secret.
The world is a noisy place. The human mind can only pay attention to so much.
Jobs knew it. So he removed 70% of Apple products from the product line.
He wanted people to focus on Apple’s 30% of products; its gems.
“It’s a very noisy world.. and we’re not going to get a chance for people to remember much about us, and so we have to be very clear on what we want them to know about us” —Steve Jobs
Jobs also wanted Apple’s message to be really clear.
That’s why many great Apple commercials didn’t emphasize on the technical details but on Apple’s purpose.
He wanted Apple to be associated with a feeling of changing the world.
So he went all in on creating that feeling.
As Jobs explained in a presentation-
“ What we (Apple) are about isn’t making boxes for people to get their jobs done even though we do that well…. Apple is about something more than that…
Apple at its core— we believe that people with passion can change the world.. for the better
the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that actually do
It honors the people who have changed the world… some of them are dead.. and you’ll see— you’ll know… if they ever used a computer it would have been a Mac!” —Steve Jobs (source)
The result of this approach is a cult-like following.
I don’t think even the most die-hard Windows lover would match the devotion of your average Apple fan.
Apple’s refined design also adds to this feel.
When I asked a friend why he loved Apple so much, he didn’t say- the graphic card or the RAM or any of that.
He just spoke about the way it made him feel. He loved its refined feel.
The secret of design is simplicity. That’s why Apple's designs are so minimalistic.
This is probably the reason why Chrome is used more than Edge. Even though both browsers do the same job, Chrome doesn’t have a bunch of random news popping at your face like Edge.
It’s a lot easier on our minds.
To stand out you had to be simple but different and Jobs did it well.
#3 The Von Restorff effect
Speaking of being different…
There’s the Von Restorff effect
simply put it’s nothing but—distinct imagery stands out.
Numbers are 30x more memorable when placed among letters.
Steve Jobs knew it. He pointed out how boring most computers looked at the time. Then he unveiled the new Mac.
The new Mac had a curved design and came in 7 different colors.
Look at it. I think it still stands out.
Just that tiny touch made the Mac so much more iconic.
#4 Just One More Thing…
Just one more thing.
Literally.
That’s the line Steve Jobs used before introducing FaceTime.
It’s something he used time and time again in his presentations during the end.
It’s because of the recency bias- we remember the beginning and the end the best.
That’s why sometimes saving the best for the last is nice.
But I’ll end this with a
bye.
Hope you liked this.
See you in next one :)
This episode from Nudge heavily inspired this article. Check it out here.