What are the new Apple Contest Rules?
Apple has recently dictated several new rules regarding the usage of its products as online contest prizes.
Meant to protect Apple’s image and to display products in the best possible light, these restrictions have been established despite much confusion and debate in hardware and software circles. Apple claims that the restrictions exist to preserve the Apple brand and to prohibit the public from garnering a poor image of the computer company, but some feel that the stringency with which Apple protects its brand is unnecessary. This is similar to Apple’s dispute with Amazon over the use of the term “App Store.”
What are the restrictions regarding Apple Contest Rules?
If its products are to be used in any kind of promotion by another company, Apple Contest Rules regulate to a great degree the appearance and descriptions all Apple products must take. For starters, the word ‘free’ is never permitted to be used when referencing any Apple product. Apple Contest Rules also prohibit any pictures shown of non-current Apple products.
From there, restrictive Apple Contest Rules requirements go even further to the extreme. Namely, Apple prohibits pictures of Apple products from being distorted or altered in any way. Restrictions also include restrains on the background colors that can be shown behind Apple products and even restrictions on the use of Apple’s signature font- Myriad Set. Apple even flat out prohibits the giving away of iPhone gift cards, and giving iPod touch products away can only be done in very limited specific circumstances.
Why would Apple contest rules this bizarre be implemented?
Apple really does think that its brand is a powerful thing that does not need to be tampered with or shown in a light less than the best possible. Until recently the perpetual underdog in its fight for dominance of the personal computing industry, Apple has developed a personality, charisma and culture that few companies can rival. Perhaps restrictions like these are savvy business moves meant to discourage the use of Apple images in a disparaging manner, or perhaps they simply reflect Apple’s uniqueness and company’s the devotion to style that fans of the company have come to both love and expect.
But are these Apple Contest Rules completely necessary? Critics claim that measures this extreme stem from a source of paranoia rather than devotion to style. Some claim that the detailed list of terms and conditions required to give Apple products away is both arrogant, and will lead to a loss of business if companies refuse to adhere to such restrictions and instead opt to endorse the less stringently protected products other companies produce. Whatever happens, the restrictions in Apple Contest Rules are not thought to go anywhere for a while, and will likely continue contributing to the company’s uniqueness.
