The Apple ad that Apple didn’t make

by on May 4, 2006

Loren Heiny has some fun with the latest Apple ads.

Oh, I could riff on that theme all day long. But no one loves a blogger that has fun with Apple's marketing campaigns, particularly one that works for Microsoft.

Or I could link to InfoWorld, which points out that security is an industry problem.

But, no, I'll just link to those and let you draw your own conclusions.

  • met
    Take care!!! Apple is trying to make windows look bland and boring ... From the colorless bootcamp website to the wording on the website about PCs and an older PC guy next to a younger mac guy.

    People do buy into such subliminal crap.
  • Does anyone know Apple's approximate shipping volume and how many Tablet PCs are sold in comparison. I would guess it's actually kind of close.
  • met
    Q1 2005 : it should have gone up a lot now...
    iMac - 456,000 units ($620 million)
    iBook - 271,000 units ($297 million)
    Power Mac - 167,000 units ($381 million)
    PowerBook - 152,000 ($307 million)
    source: http://www.macobserver.com/stockwatch/2005/01/1...
  • met: that's OK. We'll have our day. For now, Apple gets to have fun at our expense.
  • Yeah, but they're great ads! :) Why don't you guys (Microsoft) have some fun and reply with your own ads. Lets see what you can come up with.
  • Diego: I'd love the folks who created the Xbox ads to do some for Windows. http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/2005/11/14/time...
  • Hey, anyone notice that the PC guy looks like Bill Gates and the Mac guy looks like Steve Jobs? Not exactly, but just enough for people to notice (I think).

    The ads are funny, very funny. But you can do on a PC everything may want to do on a Mac and a lot lot more. Can't even compare in reality.
  • The ads aren't great...I doubt they'll convert many people because of them. All I know is I'm a Mac user that, because of my day job, develops in Windows. I'd pick a mac any day of the week and I advise all my friends and family to get macs, and those that have macs, when they see those commercials it makes them feel better.
  • Keith Kotchou
    Wow, those Apple ads must have struck a nerve. I have to admit that the Office Dinosaur head ads really kick butt in comparison. Obviously Apple needs to use Microsoft's advertising agency.
  • met
    Well the Apple ads are lying and Office ones aren't :) But they evoke different emotions. Why haven't they pulled the Office ads yet? I still seem them in magazines.
  • What (where) are the Office ads?
  • Christopher Coulter
    I may have missed on the "hilarious" part, but you get the idea. I bet there are better script writers out there.

    No kidding, and ummm, yeah, lots better. But show me tons of folding green stuffs. Plus needs to be in Hollywoodish (52-60 LPP) FD or MMS format (or rather the Christopher Riley format). And Mac drawing types don't only use mice, rather Wacom Tablets. But the comparison shouldn't be made in terms of Mac vs. Windows, rather in Tablet vs. Laptop.
  • They are NOT great ads. It's a waste of advertising money. All they do is preach to the converted. All the artsy, hip, wanna-be artist already have Macs. Everybody knows Macs are better with video, photos, and media in general. If you want to have effective ads...go for the business man who uses PCs at work...don't poke fun at them. Thats the market they should be trying to convert.

    This guy explans it much better than I do, please read:

    http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4156/53/
  • Oh, and by the way. I use both.
  • sam
    The one ad that really rang true to me was the networking one. I realize it's a gross oversimplification -- tv ads are, by necessity -- but it speaks to a general truth. I use both Windows XP SP 2 and Mac OS 10.4 on a daily basis in a mixed Mac and PC network, and whenever there's a problem printing, connecting to the LAN, whatever, it's ALWAYS XP.
    Fixing networking issues in XP involves navigating a byzantine maze of preference panes and control panels that aren't always obvious; the wizards seem designed to steer you in the wrong direction, and none of the multiple choice questions apply to any configuration I've ever attempted. The whole process is counterintuitive. It's the one part of XP that I really loathe dealing with. The macs, however, are never a problem. They really "just work."
    Improved networking is the number one thing I'm looking forward to in Vista.
  • I agree; Microsoft should retaliate with analogous ads featuring a distinguished businessman (biz-casual, not a full suit) and a wasteoid garage-band drummer.
  • "But you can do on a PC everything may want to do on a Mac and a lot lot more. Can’t even compare in reality."

    Uh, like what?

    Not trying to flame or start any mac vs. win nonesense like that last guy, which is totally worthless. I'm actually curious if there is something you can do on one that you can't do on the other. I'm a long time windows user and been using macs as well for a few years now. I've also helped a few people switch to macs and there's nothing I did on a PC I can't do on a mac. I also thought that I could do things on a mac that I couldn't do on a PC after mostly using a mac for a few years, but when my mac died (toddler + laptop = daddy crying) I was able to find programs to do what I needed for home and business on my win box. Now I consider myself to be able to seemlessly transition between machines, which I do. I actually prefer programs that work on both operating systems, like VLC for video or Audacity for audio or firefox etc.

    Any thoughts? Please, no flaming.
  • "They are NOT great ads. It’s a waste of advertising money. All they do is preach to the converted. All the artsy, hip, wanna-be artist already have Macs. Everybody knows Macs are better with video, photos, and media in general. If you want to have effective ads…go for the business man who uses PCs at work…don’t poke fun at them. Thats the market they should be trying to convert."

    I think this is way off. The Apple advertising model is to be elitist, poke fun, be hip and exclusive, too expensive, etc., etc. It's been very successful. You can't argue with it. They're making nice profits while companies like Dell struggle despite much higher volumes.

    But seriously, you PC users need to take a lesson from Kobe Bryant. When the Suns' Raja Bell clotheslined him and talked smack about him in Game 5, his response was, "I don't know the guy," not, "he's lying! I'm better than him."
  • Oh no, Loren Heiny link is 404'd. The domain looks like its been hacked by the Fedora Hackers. Someone call FBI, and Mr. Taylor...... ;-)
  • Carolus Holman
    These ads are insulting. I liken these ads to the perpetual attack on fathers in alot of advertising, where they show Dad trying to be hip or cool and failing their families at every turn, (except they don't show Dad bringing home the paycheck to pay for all of their products). These ads have actually made me NOT want to buy their machines. What the ads fail to address is that in-order to pay for a Mac most people use Windows machines. If Steve Jobs wants my money, he will have to respect me as a customer first, I know who I am, I don't want to be cool.
  • matt b
    MAC: Oh, you can write with a pen... turing award alert
    Tablet PC: Yeah, you should see my kernel too, it's from the 80's.
  • Anton Prothe
    What blows my mind is how people find its, "ok" to spend twice as much for a computer that has the same potential as the other.
    I've HAD an iMac before, and have only negative things to say, so I wont mention anything. However when I switched to a regular windows comp I wasn't held back anymore. Generally people want low-maintenence machines, thats understandable, but if you want more options,(upgrades, software, etc) something AFFORDABLE and compatible, then get a PC.
    Not to criticize all Mac users out there, but in general, the Apple consumers are less knowledgable with computers than PC users. Only my opinion, not considering those who use Macs on a daily basis of course.
  • JC
    FIRST of all, I want to comment on the link to the article that was posted about 'preaching to the converted'. I guess in order for me to effectively sum up this thread, I have to educate you on the process of advertising. The apple TV Ad account is held by TBWA/Chiat/Day, a Worldwide, Cannes, Clio, etc. award winning ad agency. After most likely an epiphany, a TBWA Creative Director came up with this idea. He most likely came up with 15 ideas for the campaign to pitch to apple. After he spoke with the executive creative director and narrowed it down to 'mac vs pc' idea, copywriters at TBWA then wrote most likely 200 different scripts. 20 Which were eventually pitched to the CD, then to the ECD, then to the client (Apple). You see, this was a very well thought out process. Does mini cooper market their vehicles to senior citizens? There is a reason why NFL and Spike TV is advertised above urinals. And it comes down to generating responses to the ads. People are talking about it, even on small obscure news sites/blogs. You see? It did work.

    Cheers
blog comments powered by Disqus