Do specific mac brands and forms map to the power structure in organizations?

January 12, 2005 8:18 AM

Ad-Culture Filter: Inspired by an odd source, I find myself wondering this morning about some sub-cultural differentiators within ad-shops....[MI]

I'm always interested to see the ways that "toys" (i.e., the computer you use to do your work) play out as status markers in a workplace, and with their strong model-branding, I'm wondering if that doesn't have a particular force in Mac-shops. The odd source of inspiration for these musings at this particular moment is the new Apple announcements. For reasons that would require self-link to explain in detail, I've been really curious where Apple is going with what we now know is the Mac Mini. That led me to wonder about a hypothetical iBook vs. PowerBook shakeout. Since the iBook and iMac haven't supported working with high-res graphics very well, I've hypothesized that the workstation sub-branding (or primary branding, since I'm imagining now that accounts and writing staff might get Windows systems) might be a strong status marker within agencies. Further, I know that many cultures are more cut-throat than others; around here, the rule is pretty humane, but there are some real sweatshops in this town, too.

I further hypothesize that these markers would have different dynamics depending on market size, line of business, volume, and region. So, where you are, how big your agency is, and what your primary line of business is, would be good things to know. Also, some general characterization regarding the culture....

posted by lodurr to Society & Culture (7 answers total)

Ad agencies that use Macs use all levels: low-end for account and support staff, high-end for designers, art directors, retouchers, etc. Each according to his needs, though arty types who move up into management often still have high-end or high-status machines, even if they only use them for email and Word. This comes from more than 10 years of being an IT guy for dozens of advertising agencies in New York City.

Also, for fuck's sake, what kind of question is that? Why couldn't you have said, "How are advertising agencies responding to the Apple Mini? Do they buy specific Apple models for status reasons or for their features?"
posted by Mo Nickels at 8:53 AM on January 12, 2005

We are a small (12-ish people) offshoot that left a much larger Boston agency about a year ago. Almost exclusively web design. Creative group (6 of us) is mixed Macs (just got everyone on G5 desktops) and PCs (P4s we built ourselves). The Flash kids use the PCs as MX seems to run a bit more smoothly than on the Macs, I spend most of the day in Photoshop on my G5. Way back when, the entire company was Mac - long before we broke off the account folks (and many of the Flash designers) had moved to PCs.

All in all we get along, and there's a fair amount of crossover (one Flash guy teaches classes on Macs, I have a self-built Athlon box at home along with my PowerBook). They make fun of me when a Flash movie runs slowly on my machine, I make fun of them when it takes 2 hours to get the dual monitor set up working correctly on the PCs. But it's all good-natured. We seem small enough that tool-based status doesn't rear its head (until I can somehow score a 17" PowerBook and lord it over others.)

If we still had reception/account on Mac, the mini might make sense, but those of us on Macs currently tend to be power users, so I don't see us wavering from the G5(G6?) desktop path.
posted by jalexei at 9:09 AM on January 12, 2005

Response by poster: Well, I'm not interested primarily in how they are responding to the Mini; I will be, but it's too early. What I'm interested in is whether the specific sub-brands (iBook vs. Powerbook) and form-factors (laptop vs. desktop) and platforms (Mac vs. PC) map to the power structure. Or if they do.

One large agency here, for example, the mapping is instructive: Accounts people get Windows laptops or desktops, writers get windows desktops, higher-echelon accounts and CDs/ACDs typically get high-end windows laptops, and the graphic artists get System 9 G3s. And they have no Mac IT support, for practical purposes. This is an agency that routinely wins regional Addys on the strength of its graphics work, BTW.
posted by lodurr at 9:11 AM on January 12, 2005

I think most creatives will tell you that the machine they're working has little to do with the work the produce. Sure it's nice to have dual 23" LCDs hook up to a G5 but in the end the output is what matters.

It's interesting to note that the people bringing in the awards and doing the substance of the work are "valued" less, if you judge by the IT budget.
posted by rschroed at 10:51 AM on January 12, 2005

Someone I know works in a design shop with ~35 people. Apart from one Dell at the IT station, it's all Macs (including Xserves in the server room). There's little rhyme or reason to who gets what model, and for the most part, everyone seems to be stuck with a weaker setup than I'd expect. Some of the designers do have G5s, but some are stuck with relatively underpowered G4s and puny displays. Some of the account reps have iBooks, some have Powermacs. I think I've only seen one display larger than 17" in the whole place.
posted by adamrice at 10:53 AM on January 12, 2005

I think most creatives will tell you that the machine they're working has little to do with the work the produce. Sure it's nice to have dual 23" LCDs hook up to a G5 but in the end the output is what matters.

To a point (and that's certainly true in a Mac vs. PC sense). Before I was upgraded to the G5 I was working on a nearly 5-year-old 400Mhz G4 whose speed (or lack thereof) was becoming a real impediment to productivity. It crashed a lot, too.

It's interesting to note that the people bringing in the awards and doing the substance of the work are "valued" less, if you judge by the IT budget.

That always kills me. Our founder is a creative, so I've been blessed to be in the opposite situation.
posted by jalexei at 11:47 AM on January 12, 2005

The people I know who do graphics for a living have either hand-me-down G3s (whatever was left over from when the last guy left) or have brought their own system in. They get exactly what they want, they can write it off on their taxes, and they take it with them when they move on.
posted by cali at 2:17 PM on January 12, 2005