A few days ago, an inconspicuous piece of news hit the hot list:
The new iPad no longer comes with Apple stickers in the package.
This wave of manipulation made me sit up directly from the bed, but lay down slowly.
"If you don't send it, you won't send it, I've never used it, what's the big deal?" That's what most people think. But there are always some people who play with this sticker that doesn't cost money.
So let's take a look at where the netizens who have received Apple stickers over the years have posted it.
An apple sticker, a sticker is the apple peripheral
This first victim is a mediocre garbage can that he comes into contact with every day. However, as we all know, Apple's stickers are magical, and once enchanted by Apple's stickers, any product can become an Apple merchandise.
Two trash cans, just like that, turned into the iTrash Can. But looking at the body type of the brothers, it shouldn't be the Pro version, at most it's a regular version.
A well-wisher asked, "Will there be a Pro or Pro Max version?" "Of course there will be, there is a row of garbage stations in the community.
Also as a container, a science and engineering college student put stickers on his engineering drawing toolbox filled with pens, rulers, and compasses, claiming that every time he opened it, it was as sacred as opening an Apple laptop. This sense of ritual that only craftsmen understand makes BENQ on the opposite side of the industrial assembly line feel ashamed of himself.
However, it is also an industrial assembly line product, and this white glittering iCar has brought great pride to the owner. In the crowded traffic, this iCar, which is full of stickers, has become the most beautiful cub in this street, and the corners of the buddy's raised mouth can't even be suppressed by hanging two scales.
Who said it's a pity that Apple gave up on car development? In fact, there is no need to regret that people have embarked on the road of "OEM".
This kind of OEM behavior has unconsciously extended to Tesla owners.
When Apple officially announced that it would no longer build cars, empathetic car owners spontaneously helped Apple continue its dream.
"Apple, your dreams will be realized by me Tesla!"
Stickers that are given as gifts for the purchase of digital products may be the original way to use them by attaching them to the body of the digital products. No matter how the iPhones at the press conferences were compared to worthless by the friends, after the meeting, the netizens who cherished their talents still spontaneously took the hands of friends and Apple, and turned all kinds of mobile phones into iPhones.
Although the press conference must be compared, we still have to walk hand in hand in life.
Laptops are no exception.
From the moment Joe pulled out the MacBook from the kraft paper bag, all laptop brands began to question Apple and then understand Apple.
It wasn't until netizens glued the sacred stickers to the shell that they completed the last process of "becoming an apple" and were officially baptized as a member of the "Fruit Sect".
I have read many forums and found that the behavior of netizens sticking Apple stickers on the products of friends is as impulsive as the rebellion of adolescence.
Why do people do this in unison? A Japanese IP netizen who is well versed in psychology pointed out the essence:
"The sense of back of this NTR is cranial pleasurable."
It's not just cold household appliances that have been harmed, but also some innocent little animals.
Wangcai and Laifu, who have lived for half their lives, don't know why after a white thing sticks to their bodies, their names become Tim and Cook?
Although enthusiastic netizens have spared no effort to work for Apple in their lives, more people actually stick it on Apple's devices and abide by a righteous behavior.
There are many ingenious netizens who have recreated the stickers and posted them with a sense of art.
At the beginning of its birth, there was a lack of a bite of the apple logo, and the Apple users who were manipulated with scissors interpreted the "beauty of mutilation" of Apple in a bolder way.
Perhaps Apple's initial hope for the sticker was just that it would appear in one corner in its entirety. I never thought that the effect of everyone's post was so amazing.
As a great man said, the creativity of the masses of the people is endless.
However, a netizen pointed out: In fact, other stickers posted on Apple devices are not interesting, and this is the most interesting. As soon as it sticks on, it tastes right.
So the question is, why do Apple products have stickers?
After all, for many people, the usage rate of this thing is 0, which is lower than the card pick-up needle that is only used once when changing to a new phone. But in fact, stickers that seem to be the most useless are actually quite useful.
Why? It starts with sticker culture in the United States.
The sticker culture that is popular in Europe and the United States is the cradle of apple stickers
Since the 1970s, sticker art and graffiti art have appeared on the streets of Europe and the United States, and this kind of street art form that represented the "rebellion and rebellion" of teenagers at the beginning of its birth quickly became popular on the streets. Graffiti and stickers complement each other and together become one of the ways for teenagers and artists to express themselves.
A few years later, the sticker culture gradually became independent from the graffiti culture and formed its own culture.
Because stickers are easy to produce and easy to disseminate, stickers can be scattered far away through letters and packaging, compared to graffiti that require "hand-drawn drawings by craftsmen". So, it gradually became a private collection in a collection book. From the very beginning of skateboard brands to give away fashion stickers in their magazines, it dawned on people that stickers could be used to advertise themselves.
In 1977, Apple at that time abandoned the original version of the very complicated "Newton Reading under the Apple Tree" logo, and Jobs personally shook a big guy to design this classic colorful apple logo with stripes.
At the same time, in order to follow the current sticker trend, Jobs printed the fruit he ate first into a sticker and gave it to users in the packaging of the Apple II computer as part of the brand promotion.
Later, the Apple II was indeed successful, and in the 1980s~1990s, it became the standard computer actually adopted by the American education system, influencing the youth of this generation. The stickers that come with the computer have naturally become the best peripheral sought after by that generation, and Apple has successfully met the psychological needs of users.
As fruit fans, they can spontaneously post the stickers they receive anywhere to show their pride in buying Apple products.
Like the anglers who "get lost in cyber" in the comment sections, they like to proudly show off the big fish they just caught under unrelated videos, much like the stickers "inadvertently" announced to everyone:
"Oops, how did you know I bought apples!"
Starting with a small sticker, this advertisement for Apple Walking has made a huge difference invisibly.
Relying on such simple and convenient stickers, Apple was able to effortlessly get users to spontaneously promote and brainwash everyone over and over again.
It can be said that stickers are the "psoriasis" before the Internet era, and they are also well-known emojis.
50 years of "honorary old employees", it's time to retire
With the continuous upgrading of Apple products, Apple's stickers are also keeping pace with the times. At first, the logo was simplified from color stripes to white, and later with the continuous enrichment of product colors, different solid color versions were introduced.
However, under the increasing abundance of publicity methods, new publicity methods gradually occupy the minds of users, and the role of stickers is gradually declining. You used to call me Britney, but now you only want to call me Mrs. Niu.
Over the years, Apple has been doing away with some classic or practical designs, first by eliminating my advanced 3.5mm headphone jack, then by cutting off the extremely handy 3D Touch and Home buttons, and then by ignoring my headphones and charging heads in the name of environmental protection.
Now, the broadsword has finally slashed at the sticker head.
From the moment he saw the news, this "honorary old employee" who has played a role for nearly 50 years has announced his retirement. How lively the carnival once brought by apple stickers, how lonely it is now.
Times will never have mercy on outdated guys, and some things are destined to become history. Either way, this little sticker has done its job.
Maybe one day, the iPhone in your hand will also go with the sticker?