6 ms·

i just watched the fitness+ segment. it was so targeted at upper/upper-middle class (white) people, it wasn't even funny (despite, as always, featuring a fair d

i just watched the fitness+ segment. it was so targeted at upper/upper-middle class (white) people, it wasn't even funny (despite, as always, featuring a fair diversity of people). most americans simply don't have the time and mental space to carve out big chunks of time (not to mention living space) to devote $10/mo and a commitment to multiple apple devices that it requires. it's myopic, to say the least. even though i like and almost exclusively use apple computing devices, i feel apple has jumped the shark as a lifestyle brand. the whole thing feels so fake and overproduced (reiterating this, as it's not the first time feeling this way). the tech and products are still interesting; the marketing and the branding are increasingly not. fitness+ was a definite turn-off for me.

danielscrubs 6y ago
As an upper-middle class white dude, no it wasnt for us. Maybe upper class black girls can take it?
remir 6y ago
iPhones are still selling very well. The Apple Watch has been a massive success. People subscribe to various services. Apple identified that people owning a Watch for fitness reasons may also be interested in a fitness subscription integrated with their Watch. In a pandemic, the demand for such service may be higher. End of story. I don't see what the problem is, honestly.
petr_tik 6y ago
I watched it too and I failed to see how the whiteness of those people was relevant. I can understand how skin pigmentation may correlate with income in the US, but that’s an American problem not a property of the skin colour that Apple are not required to solve
- georgespencer 6y ago
  I believe OP is talking about class, not race, and is making the same orthogonal observation as you that race is tied up in class to some extent. But tbh that makes it a strange point to my eye: Apple remains a luxury consumer goods and services manufacturer, it should not be a surprise that they target the upper/middle classes.
  - petr_tik 6y ago
    Pointing out that someone is white is about race and I don’t see why we should bring race into this. Are Nike basketball sponsorship deals targeted at black people or are they targeted at the most successful and famous basketball players regardless of their skin pigmentation?
    - wait-a-minute 6y ago
      Some people have nothing interesting or valuable to say, they just always talk about race. Somehow everything becomes about race, even things which have nothing to do with race.
      - georgespencer 6y ago
        A few years ago I read an upsetting news story about a girl who was sexually abused for three years by her stepfather, up until the age of eleven or so. She was so traumatised by it that a lasting symptom was a fearful, hysterical reaction to sausage. It was an upsetting, almost cartoonish detail in the story, but it might be helpful to you here. On a rational level she should not be afraid of sausage. But years of abuse meant that she was. It's sad, but understandable. It's just how trauma and conditioning work. One doesn't need to be a victim of racism to empathise with the fact that it has a profound and traumatising impact on people. Maybe you know something about OP that I don't, but if you are right, and there's no reason for them to be talking about race in this instance, it's unlikely you'll persuade them with incredulity that they hold the point of view they do.
    - georgespencer 6y ago
      > Pointing out that someone is white is about race, and I don't see why we should bring race into this. OP didn't point out that anyone was white, they pointed out that although Apple included a variety of races in the video, they believe that this is a service which will appeal to upper and upper middle class Americans, which means predominantly white Americans. They are talking about class, and noting as an aside that they believe this service caters to a predominantly white audience as a consequence of catering to the upper and middle classes. The point is inane because ultimately Apple sells luxury consumer goods which are affordable only to the upper and middle classes, and as you point out Apple rightly has no interest in fighting for equality through its new fitness service. I agree with your point, I'm just saying that OP's point, whilst unintentionally clumsy, did not bring race into it in a meaningful way.
austhrow743 6y ago
Are people not allowed to make products aimed at upper/upper middle class people? Why would that have been anywhere near funny? Why is a luxury brand targeting those with discretionary income short sighted?
hombre_fatal 6y ago
Who else than the upper-middle class do you think is going to be using a group workout subscription service on their iPhone/watch? And, more interestingly, what would that ad look like? "Ugh, appealing broadly to most Americans is so lame, we should inject some 'inclusive' racial/class flavor!" sounds like the utterance that birthed every cringey ad of the last 10 years.
- clairity 6y ago
  yes, it was cringey not only for that reason but also for its tone-deafness. the dissonance comes from a company who's strategy has clearly shifted downmarket and into lower-price services since the peaking of iphone sales in 2015 but is composed of an overwhelming majority of decision makers and marketers too far removed from anything less than an upper(-middle) class existence. they're trying to sell a lifestyle they firmly believe is desirably luxurious to a broad group largely composed of people with starkly different lives and challenges (in a year that's clearly made those differences more readily apparent to all). they slap on a layer of feel-good, socially-conscious color over a monotonous, lululemoned lifestyle to push a decidedly limited-appeal product, and they can't even see the mismatch or disingenuousness of it. you see the same blindered strategic mistake with news+, icloud, and even tv+, whereas apple music (which, along with ipod, saved apple from irrelevance) actually cut across class and race and appealed to a broad and diverse customer base, and without trying so hard to sell us on it. besides the interesting socioeconomic angle, fitness+ is a clear indication that apple is losing touch with customers, a dangerous sign for their future.
conception 6y ago
Apple is a luxury brand. The fact they have such a market share is an aberration not the norm. The ex-ceo of Burberry works at Apple. They are for rich folks, 1500 for a phone remember! Their incredible success has been in convincing non-rich folks their product is worth stretching their finances to get a new one as often as they can. Every product line is marketed as a luxury product. It’s not surprising that their services are also marketed in the same way.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  > The ex-ceo of Burberry works at Apple. If you're talking about Angela Ahrendts, she left last year.
- alwillis 6y ago
  The Apple Watch SE is $279—that’s not luxury level money.
  - conception 6y ago
    If you think $300 for a watch, smart or not, isn't luxury level money, I think you really need to re-evaluate where "rich" starts and "most people" ends.

danielscrubs 6y ago

As an upper-middle class white dude, no it wasnt for us. Maybe upper class black girls can take it?

remir 6y ago

iPhones are still selling very well. The Apple Watch has been a massive success. People subscribe to various services. Apple identified that people owning a Watch for fitness reasons may also be interested in a fitness subscription integrated with their Watch. In a pandemic, the demand for such service may be higher. End of story. I don't see what the problem is, honestly.

petr_tik 6y ago

I watched it too and I failed to see how the whiteness of those people was relevant. I can understand how skin pigmentation may correlate with income in the US, but that’s an American problem not a property of the skin colour that Apple are not required to solve

georgespencer 6y ago
I believe OP is talking about class, not race, and is making the same orthogonal observation as you that race is tied up in class to some extent. But tbh that makes it a strange point to my eye: Apple remains a luxury consumer goods and services manufacturer, it should not be a surprise that they target the upper/middle classes.
- petr_tik 6y ago
  Pointing out that someone is white is about race and I don’t see why we should bring race into this. Are Nike basketball sponsorship deals targeted at black people or are they targeted at the most successful and famous basketball players regardless of their skin pigmentation?
  - wait-a-minute 6y ago
    Some people have nothing interesting or valuable to say, they just always talk about race. Somehow everything becomes about race, even things which have nothing to do with race.
    - georgespencer 6y ago
      A few years ago I read an upsetting news story about a girl who was sexually abused for three years by her stepfather, up until the age of eleven or so. She was so traumatised by it that a lasting symptom was a fearful, hysterical reaction to sausage. It was an upsetting, almost cartoonish detail in the story, but it might be helpful to you here. On a rational level she should not be afraid of sausage. But years of abuse meant that she was. It's sad, but understandable. It's just how trauma and conditioning work. One doesn't need to be a victim of racism to empathise with the fact that it has a profound and traumatising impact on people. Maybe you know something about OP that I don't, but if you are right, and there's no reason for them to be talking about race in this instance, it's unlikely you'll persuade them with incredulity that they hold the point of view they do.
  - georgespencer 6y ago
    > Pointing out that someone is white is about race, and I don't see why we should bring race into this. OP didn't point out that anyone was white, they pointed out that although Apple included a variety of races in the video, they believe that this is a service which will appeal to upper and upper middle class Americans, which means predominantly white Americans. They are talking about class, and noting as an aside that they believe this service caters to a predominantly white audience as a consequence of catering to the upper and middle classes. The point is inane because ultimately Apple sells luxury consumer goods which are affordable only to the upper and middle classes, and as you point out Apple rightly has no interest in fighting for equality through its new fitness service. I agree with your point, I'm just saying that OP's point, whilst unintentionally clumsy, did not bring race into it in a meaningful way.

austhrow743 6y ago

Are people not allowed to make products aimed at upper/upper middle class people? Why would that have been anywhere near funny? Why is a luxury brand targeting those with discretionary income short sighted?

hombre_fatal 6y ago

Who else than the upper-middle class do you think is going to be using a group workout subscription service on their iPhone/watch? And, more interestingly, what would that ad look like? "Ugh, appealing broadly to most Americans is so lame, we should inject some 'inclusive' racial/class flavor!" sounds like the utterance that birthed every cringey ad of the last 10 years.

clairity 6y ago
yes, it was cringey not only for that reason but also for its tone-deafness. the dissonance comes from a company who's strategy has clearly shifted downmarket and into lower-price services since the peaking of iphone sales in 2015 but is composed of an overwhelming majority of decision makers and marketers too far removed from anything less than an upper(-middle) class existence. they're trying to sell a lifestyle they firmly believe is desirably luxurious to a broad group largely composed of people with starkly different lives and challenges (in a year that's clearly made those differences more readily apparent to all). they slap on a layer of feel-good, socially-conscious color over a monotonous, lululemoned lifestyle to push a decidedly limited-appeal product, and they can't even see the mismatch or disingenuousness of it. you see the same blindered strategic mistake with news+, icloud, and even tv+, whereas apple music (which, along with ipod, saved apple from irrelevance) actually cut across class and race and appealed to a broad and diverse customer base, and without trying so hard to sell us on it. besides the interesting socioeconomic angle, fitness+ is a clear indication that apple is losing touch with customers, a dangerous sign for their future.

conception 6y ago

Apple is a luxury brand. The fact they have such a market share is an aberration not the norm. The ex-ceo of Burberry works at Apple. They are for rich folks, 1500 for a phone remember! Their incredible success has been in convincing non-rich folks their product is worth stretching their finances to get a new one as often as they can. Every product line is marketed as a luxury product. It’s not surprising that their services are also marketed in the same way.

saagarjha 6y ago
> The ex-ceo of Burberry works at Apple. If you're talking about Angela Ahrendts, she left last year.
alwillis 6y ago
The Apple Watch SE is $279—that’s not luxury level money.
- conception 6y ago
  If you think $300 for a watch, smart or not, isn't luxury level money, I think you really need to re-evaluate where "rich" starts and "most people" ends.