Just wanted to share a news item that I found interesting.
Apple Computers has publicly stated their opposition to Proposition 8. In a era where corporations frequently support or oppose political issues in secret, I’m happy to see a big corporation like Apple express an opinion on a still-contentious issue: gay marriage in the USA.
Here’s the background on Prop 8:
Sadly, gay marriage is still an impossibility in most US states. However, California deemed gay marriage to be valid and constitutional on June 17, 2008. Now there is an initiative measure called Proposition 8 intended to remove this right and define marriage as “one women and one man.”
I’m not impressed by the new MacBook Pros (so I’ll wait a few more months for a new computer), but I am impressed by Apple’s choice to take a civil and political stand.
This announcement provides a good example of corporate values reaching beyond a business’s space. Apple reinforces its brand with this move—they are progressive and human(e)—but not, directly, their bottom line. Marketing professors could write papers on the risks and potential benefits of Apple’s political stand; I’m simply happy to see a corporation doing something, no matter how small, that seems good and authentic.
Here’s a quote directly from Apple’s site:
As you may know, Laura and I took a brief trip to NYC in the early-mid part of October. While I could tell you about Pentecostal Wall Street prophets, Ground Zero situated conspiracy theorists, 11pm t-shirt weather, or masturbating homeless man, I wanted to instead call you attention to the photo on the right.
