Apple: How a tech company had one of the biggest PR comebacks in history

A deep dive into the last 20 years of positive proactive PR for Apple

By: Alyssa Stevenson

 Apple is one of the most successful companies of our time. From its innovative tech designs to communication strategies, it has been ahead of the game in almost every aspect. It didn’t always used to be that way though. There was a time in Apple’s history where it just couldn’t seem to win, sparking headlines in the media like “101 Ways to Save Apple” or “Rotten to the Core.”  So how did it rise above and become so deeply rooted in our culture today?

Logo for Apple

It was achieved through good and positive public relations. According to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), public relations “is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficials relationships between organizations and their publics.” Not only did Apple use this factor of PR to its advantage for its consumers, but it also catered its message to the everyday person and redefined how to communicate with audiences.

Simplicity

According to a Harvard Business Review article from Cameron Craig, who worked in Apple’s communication department for almost a decade, Apple’s communication methods were simply, simple. Apple press releases ran at a readability of around 4th grade because it wanted Apple’s voice to be easily understood. Audiences and media sources can interpret different phrases in different ways, so to avoid this issue, Apple wrote at a level that even an 11-year-old could comprehend. It also avoided confusing technological jargon, cliches and fluffy phrases. This concept was so important to the company that the creator of Apple, Steve Jobs, would personally read all press releases before they were finalized.

Inside the Apple Newsroom. The company enhances its articles by having filter and search features.

This foundation now reflects deeply in the simplicity and ease of use in the Apple Newsroom. All press releases and feature stories follow this same model, are labeled with specific categories that can be filtered and have a comprehensive search bar to find the information one would need.

Signature Campaigns

                  With great technical advances in its products, came Apple’s iconic campaigns that are still engrained in pop culture today. One of the first of these famous campaigns was Think Different, a commercial released in 1997. This campaign was designed to target audiences that wanted to break the status quo by

showing b-roll footage of historic out of the box thinkers. It related to the audiences that wanted to push barriers and marketed a product that was different than all of the rest.

One of the ads used in the Think Different campaign, published in 1997.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s Apple was most known for its celebrity and pop culture placement in its ads from Taylor Swiftto the Rock, to even Hal, an artificial intelligence robot from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Apple brought in many classic music and movie references to insert themselves into pop culture, keeping its relevance alive until its products became a necessity within cultures around the world. Apple intertwined itself with culture through these clever campaigns and then began to create a new culture from its brand identity. Today, Apple no longer needs to rely on pop culture references to have great campaigns because it is the culture, with their own identity.

Corporate Social Responsibility

                  In recent years, Apple has shown its dedication to CSR especially through its environmental and diversity initiatives. Apple currently has a pledge to be 100% carbon neutral by 2030, in hopes that other companies will follow with similar initiatives to make big change for the environment. This positive proactive PR will not only help them in creating real change within the industry but might also help to increase options for consumers who want to be environmentally conscious.

Amidst large corporations cutting their Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies, Apple has taken a firm stance in keeping their diversity programs up and running. This has proven to be a good move as people across the United States have begun to boycott companies that have rolled back their DEI initiatives. Now that over 50% of U.S. consumers believe that brands have a responsibility to speak out on societal issues, Apple is aware of what is important to their audiences and stays relevant within that sector.

As a new PR professional, I have learned that clear communication and keeping relevance with everchanging audiences are key. Apple has used tactics to achieve just that, keeping its brand and communication simple, entertaining, and essential for the everyday audience.

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About the Author:

Alyssa Stevenson is a new public relations professional completing her final semester at the University of North Texas, majoring in Journalism with a concentration in public relations. She is currently the media manager for Orion Moto, a Fort-Worth based motorsports company and the PR Manager for UNT’s Ad Club chapter. She is looking to go into event coordination or strategic planning post-graduation.

Sources:

Apple. (2024, June 3). Newsroom. Apple Newsroom. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/

Baduel, F. (2025, January 20). When DEI morphs into a “political football”, be more like Apple. PR Week. https://www.prweek.co.uk/article/1902869/when-dei-morphs-political-football-apple

Bennington, C. (2018, March 7). Apple Music – Taylor vs Treadmill. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlkhoouJffg

Chaffin, B. (1997, September 5). The Mac Observer: Rotten To The Core. Macobserver.com. https://www.macobserver.com/perspectives/chaffin/chaffin8.shtml

Craig, C. (2016, July 27). What I Learned From 10 Years of Doing PR for Apple. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/07/what-i-learned-from-10-years-of-doing-pr-for-apple

Daly, J. (1997, June). 101 Ways to Save Apple. WIRED. https://www.wired.com/1997/06/apple-3/

Ellis, N. T., & McKend, E. (2025, February 27). “A spiritual act of resistance”: Black consumers are boycotting corporations retreating from DEI. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/27/us/black-consumers-boycotts-dei-target/index.html

Gold, G. (2010, February 25). Apple Commercial - Hal 2000. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOu2vqqPVqQ

Kratz, J. (2024, April 7). Inclusive Marketing Is About Relevance And Growth. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliekratz/2024/04/07/inclusive-marketing-is-about-relevance-and-growth/

Piotr, H. (2013). Apple - Think Different - Full Version. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sMBhDv4sik

The Rock x Siri Dominate the Day — Apple. (2017, August 3).  YouTube.  Www.youtube.com. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRftq2nHHwQ

Thorbecke, C. (2020, July 21). Apple pledges to be 100% carbon neutral by 2030. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/apple-pledges-100-carbon-neutral-2030/story?id=71894809

What Is Public Relations | Learn About PR | PRSSA. (n.d.). Www. https://www.prsa.org/prssa/about-prssa/learn-about-pr