Kate LeaverApple of My Eye
January 19th 2009 07:02
The humble apple must be the most popular fruit-based symbol of all time.
Sure, the banana had a long time in the spotlight with Bananas in Pajamas. The rotten tomato makes the occasional stage appearance and PopEye put spinach on the map.
But the apple... the apple has been around for centuries and advertisers just can't get enough of the delicious orbe. Whether they're selling human sin or the world's sexiest laptop, the apple is cast time and time again in legend, brand campaign and fairytale.
Don't believe me? Have no idea what I'm on about?
Shine up your favourite shade of apple, take a bite of the juicy celebrity-fruit and chew on this:
Once Upon A Time, there was an ordinary apple, just hanging out in his apple tree, with his apple buddies. He was enjoying the soft breeze against his crunchy red skin, the ruffle of the leaves on his tree and the fact that that Granny Smith green apple he'd be crushing on was right in his eyeline, and boy was she looking juicy today...
All of a sudden, OUCH! He was pulled down from his tree with the greatest of sin and landed, stranded and lone, in the hands of a naked female human. As she bit into his succulent flesh, a sneaky snake off to the side smiled smugly and a big guy roared down from the heavens, something about temptation and sin and very simple instructions and the doom of the human race...
Years and years and years pass and the apple race has been hiding, living down the story of Creation and trying to buy up every copy of the Bible, cross out the word apple and replace it with 'cucumber'. Apples had a pretty bad rep for a while there...
...before a noble young dentist decided that the apple was the best fruit in the world for maintaining teethy nutrition. Before they knew the apples of the world were famous again, only this time because of the popular proverb 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'. Proud to be an emblem of children's and dental nutrition, the apple community settled into its new identity. There were several pesky legal proceedings from angry doctors, demanding the apples give them back their patients, but when they realised how scrumptious and nutritious the apple was they embraced the trend.
Just as apples were in their hey-day, basking in the glory of the dentistry campaigns, Disney came about and rained on their parade. Snow White, the first of the Disney Princess movies, was made. They could have picked a hostile fruit like a pineapple or a lychee as the evil stepmother's poision fruit. They could have written that Snow White was killed by eating a poisonous avacado! But no, the fruit to kill the fair maiden was none other than the shiny red apple.....
Children shied away from the apple at mealtimes, they would only eat strawberries and watermelon and other friendly fruits. They did not trust the apple. It was a sad time.
The apple once again retreated into hiding, waiting for the whole Snow White thing to blow over. Disney insisted on releasing Limited Editions of the film, just to remind people of the evilest fruit in all the land. With the death of VHS the apples hoped their dignity would be restored. And though some DVD versions of Snow White were made, it was another technology that came to the rescue.
The Apple Computer was not always a trend setter. People used to ignore it, perhaps dismissing it for its fruity associations. But the Apple computer worked and worked and worked and with the help of a delightfully wry advertising campaign and excellent graphics software the Apple overtook the Microsoft. Bill Gates didn't mind but whoever came up with the name Microsoft rued the day he chose that over a fruit name. Who could have known the public would embrace a fruity laptop?!
And so now, centuries after Adam and Eve's dilly-dally in the Garden of Paradise, the apple has clawed its way back into the public arena. It is better loved than ever. It has been through several, grueling image changes but as it turns out, the apple has the last laugh.
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