This particular advertisement/marketing tool, using the knowledge of the product and the knowledge of the consumers against such consumers, is designed to not only describe the basic uses designs and features of the new technology but it is also designed to make the consumers--and other technology buffs--believe that they cannot live in the modern world without this new piece of technology. The devices that Apple employs to promote this ideology are greatly varied: from clear and highly descriptive diction to drastic overstatements, stimulating imagery and an annoyingly persuasive tone. For their intended audience, this type of marketing works. 
Apple is very effective in communicating how they feel about their new product: the words they use, the phrases they use, and the emotions they convey all demonstrate these feelings. Through these mean Apple drags their faithful consumers, their followers, down unto the new bit of technology wire by wire. They get the audience to think the same way they do by making the "Applesumers" believe that this new product is a necessity. It is as if the audience is lacking if they do not buy or even think about buying this new product. For instance, on one of the web pages Apple depicts the photography viewing software on the iPad. It is described as having, “[a] crisp, vibrant display and unique software features” as well as stating that it is “an extraordinary way to enjoy and share your photos.” Right from the beginning of the quote it is clearly visible that by using words like crisp, vibrant and unique, Apple is trying to convey the idea that the iPad is a piece of technology like no other. Then, by using words like extraordinary and joy, they evoke a feeling of excitement and happiness about this new idea, this new creation that they have managed to throw together again. This statement perfectly demonstrates how effective the rhetoric is in making the readers believe that the product has something that no other product has and that it really is a ground-breaking piece of equipment.
Word choice is vital in this new, modern market around which our world revolves today. Apple conveys, not just in the images that they put on their website, through their word choice very clear images about the product. This clear and clearly effective imagery stimulates the readers of the web pages to conjure, within their minds, images of the product being used. The readers are able to put themselves into the marketing. Apple wants their products to seem universal and they make it seem that when they cater their marketing to people understanding how they can use it in everyday life. On another one of the web pages devoted to describing the new features on the iPad, Apple states that it has “[a] large multi-touch screen” and that is “lets you see web pages as they were meant to be seen--one page at a time…with vibrant color and sharp text.” Words like vibrant and sharp in context with describing different features about the iPad make the viewers imagine using the new equipment. Those words make me dream up images of me using the iPad, but then I have to snap myself out of it to realize that the software already exists and I use it in one of Apple’s existing devices. It may not be as is is “meant” to be used, yet it still works for me.
Many of the statements and claims that are on the iPad web pages are overstatements. They claim the iPad to be extraordinary, something almost unreal. It is as if the iPad is a mystical object that has descended from the sky to save all mankind from evil things like normal computers and simple music playing devices. For instance, Apple claims the iPad to be "[the] most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price." Sure, it may be new and may have a new design and layout, but it is not terribly, amazingly new (and the price is unbelievable, starting at just $499). Really, why would one buy an iPad at nearly $500 when one can buy a computer, with comparable software and features for the same price.
The tone of the entire set of pages attributes to the product, evoking feelings of pure amazement. The tone comes off as overly-excited and as such makes the all the texts seem as if they are so exciting to read, when in reality they are just like all the other pieces of text Apple has written for their products and for their marketing strategies. One of the pages, devoted to informing readers of the features on the iPad states, “all of the built-in apps on iPad were designed from the ground up to take advantage of the large Multi-Touch screen. And they work in any orientation. So you can do things with these apps that you can’t do on any other device.” This statement made at the top of the page indicates the tone and the mood for the rest of the page: the descriptions of the features are going to be just as praising as the title and subsequent information.
Layout and alignment are also vital to the success of Apple’s marketing approach. As a person navigates the web pages devoted to the iPad (much like many of the other products Apple currently has on the market), it is evident that time was taken to place the words and images in a clearly coherent and cohesive manner. The photographs depict the new product and the text that accompanies them draw images in the mind. The fonts also have a lot to do with the layout. The fonts used on the web pages are clear-cut, fine fonts that make the black text greatly contrasts the white background and fits in with the images of the photos of the black and gray product with a white background.
These types of advertisements, such as online guides, galleries and showcases for new products allow the “Applesumers” to take a virtual look at the new item the company is releasing. Then the consumers can get a virtual taste of what it is really like to use such a product from the brief descriptions that accompany the images: by combining the photos with the text the technologically advanced, intellectual and artistic consumers can place themselves in the text and in the photos and truly visualize themselves using the iPad. In that regard Apple is very effective in their use of rhetoric, for by using rhetoric to their advantage, and using the rhetoric well, Apple markets their products to their faithful followers (and even the not-so-faithful followers) and makes their product popular, causing their sales to go up: making the entire company full of happy, unnecessarily wealthy, elitist nerds.
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