“One more thing”: Apple’s language of innovation is dead

Three powerful words. Symbolic. Now broken.

In 1915, the linguist Ferdinand de Saussure wrote about signs. He explained how every sign included a signifier – something that was real, physical – and a ‘signified’ – the concept to which the sign refers. Only when the sign and signifier relate to each other can the sign work, make sense and hold meaning. Think about an offensive gesture as an example: in the UK or US, flip a middle finger at a driver on the road who has done something to offend you, the recipient of the gesture will understand that your middle finger signifies.

How many Apple blogs open with a discussion of an early twentieth-century linguist? What has this got to do with Apple? Well, a brand like Apple – and the activities that it carries out – is filled with signs. The Apple logo itself, the iconic white earbuds, even the stores. The key to Apple’s brand building under Steve Jobs was in developing these signs: symbols to the brand. We all know what they mean: and as the meaning is shared, the symbolism is understood. Apple has been the master at anchoring these signs to messages that it sees as important to the brand. To bastardise a well-known saying: a symbol is worth a thousand words.