New Mac Ads Up the Childish Ante
Over the weekend Apple unleashed a barrage of new commercials which some say is the company “hitting back” at Microsoft for the laptop hunter series, despite the fact that the new ads don’t mention the new Microsoft ads much at all.
Apple has released four new ads in its ‘I’m a Mac’ series starring Justin Long and John Hodgman. It’s the same formula as before. Macs are easy to use, more stable and nothing like the bumbling, nervous Hodgman. That said, one of the commercials in particular caught our eye and we’re wondering what you think.
In the ad entitled Legal Copy, PC says he’s incredibly easy to use and as he does, fine print appears at the bottom of the screen. PC says it’s necessary to explain how he’s much more simple and intuitive than Mac. While the text isn’t on the screen long enough (nor is it big enough) for anyone to read, MacJournals has transcribed every word, and it’s pretty snide to say the least.
“Please note that when you first receive your PC there is some suggested work that needs to be done before PCs can perform at their peak. These steps include, but are not limited to, downloading and installing necessary drivers for peripherals. These drivers may include printers, scanners, cameras, storage devices, music players, and other media devices. There may be more depending on your needs. It is also recommended that first time users remove all unneeded bloatware and remove all operational components.”
PC goes on to say that he can’t just claim getting started with a PC is the easiest thing in the world, and the disclaimer grows and grows. Pasting it all in here would be pointless because not all of you want to read it but those interested can read it all here and view the adverts themselves on Apple's website here. No doubt they'll be all over our TV screens in no time.
I don't know about you, but I think it’s probably safe to say, the childishness of these ad campaigns has hit an all time high. Commence pigtail pulling, wedgying and of course, flaming now.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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bone squat "(not is it big enough)", or (nor is it big enough).Reply
Mac is not going to get one penny of mine. Lamers. -
deltatux Both Microsoft and Apple are acting like kids. I have products from both companies (I run Windows on a PC and own a Mac) and think that these ads are getting stupid.Reply -
Pyroflea I have to agree, Microsoft is not completely innocent in this. But, they have been pretty good throughout the years of me raging at my TV for those idiotic, childish Mac commercials. Microsoft has just recently started fighting back (as they are entirely entitled to do), and Mac, as said in this article, has cause "childishness of these ad campaigns has hit an all time high. Commence pigtail pulling, wedgying and of course, flaming now."Reply -
antemon I think they're both stupid.Reply
true that I won't buy a mac because of the price/power ratio and even if they are stylish, but that doesn't mean I'd buy a PC or laptop just because it has windows.
if I had to upgrade, I'd still use my old XP if applicable and boot up the old hardware with linux. commence the stoning of the linux fanboy. -
krazyderek i always loved these, i still think that comparing a mac to a pc is apples and oranges, both take a different approach to the computer experience and both do a reasonable job, mac's work well and enjoy a lack of crapware and virus's, and are completely designed by one company. windows will install on almost anything, it may not run but if it does there's a flurry of driver's that may or maynot work, but at least they're trying i guess.Reply -
JimmiG The most stupid one so far was when Apple released an ad, complaining about Microsoft spending too much money on ads. The ad wasn't even aimed at consumers..it was just an internal flame war between the Microsoft and Apple marketing teams.Reply
Apple seem to be running out of ideas. Especially the biohazard suite one looked like something from 2005. The Legal Copy one is kind of silly - it's not like OSX doesn't need drivers, and they obviously can't include drivers for products that were not even released when the OS came out. In fact Vista takes care of the driver problem in a great way because many times when you plug in a new device, it just grabs the drivers more or less automatically from Windows Update.
I wish both companies would stop with this childish business. They should advertise the features and advantages of their own products, not the fictional or real shortcomings of their competitor. Why does a Microsoft ad even need to mention Apple, and why do most Apple ads spend more time talking about PCs and Windows than Macs and OSX? If OSX is so great, it should be possible to market it on its own merits. -
tacoslave they should have a fist fight "gates vs jobs". Then i would buy parts of newegg and boot up with my copy of windows and have a beast for $800 instead of, well nothing if i'm going to buy a mac.Reply -
waikano I guess sarcasm is only allowed on forums and news articles, but never in Commercials.Reply -
audioee I think it is time to pull out the MS Search Companion Dog and have him piss on the Apple site after he can't find a large screen laptop for under $1000 or a midlevel desktop for the same.Reply