The iPhone isn't just sexy. It's sex itself.
That's according to New York University marketing professor Scott Galloway, who told a crowd at the Cannes Lions marketing festival in France that Apple isn't so much a tech brand as it is a luxury brand.
The Freudian analysis here, he says, is that iPhones are useful for luring the opposite sex, just like Porsches and Prada shoes. "Apple is sex," Galloway said from the stage on Tuesday, adding that the iPhone actually "isn't a phone".
Rather, the sleek gadget is a status symbol that says, "If you mate with me, your kids are more likely to survive than if you carry an Android phone," according to Galloway.
The bespectacled prof likened using an Android phone to the no-frills experience of paying with a Discover card or listening to ad-free Pandora.
"The wealthiest people in Europe are in luxury," Galloway said, depicting the continental jet set as typical iPhone users.
"They are iconic founders, they have vertical distribution, print ads, supermodels, fashion shows."
Ironically, Apple has barely been a presence at Cannes Lions, which is dominated by a host of other tech players including Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat, Google and Facebook.
That said, Apple's vice president of marketing communications, Tor Myhren, is set to chat with Monica Caro, the CEO of OMD USA, on Thursday to discuss the impact of marketing and the concept of cultural relevance.
The tech giant has also sent a handful of music executives to the Cannes Croisette.