Apple has released two new ‘Get a Mac’ commercials and these might just be the best of the lot so far. In “V Word,” you can see John Hodgman, everyone’s favorite PC, quivering at the prospect of anyone even mentioning Vista by its name. Apparently, they “do not say the ‘V word’ anymore” because it “doesn’t sit well with frustrated PC users.”
The second, even funnier, one shows the PC finally taking concrete steps towards putting the Vista disaster behind and making consumers happy. The solution: Put more money into marketing and forget about the rest. I knew Apple wouldn’t be able to resist mocking Microsoft’s $300 “Tom Bill and Jerry” ad campaign for long.
Boo Hoo! I clicked on your link to see the ads but all I get is an Apple page with a rectangle and a circle thingee going round and round and round and round...seemingly forever. Boo Hoo!
Microsoft only spent $300 on the Bill and Jerries? ;-)
I'm as much of a die-hard Mac fan as anyone, and enjoy the Get a Mac ads in general. But I can't help think that Apple's "Vista advertising"-focused ad is a bit hypocritical. I mean, Apple IS spending money on advertising, by making this ad, right?
Yeah, I understand that MS spends a disproportionate amount of time and money on pushing the crap-that-is Windows rather than fixing it. But an ad seems an ironic way for Apple to remind the public of this. Dunno...maybe it's just me.
@Akula The point of the ad isn't that spending money on advertising is inherently bad. It's saying that Microsoft would do well to concentrate on fixing the flaws in its products instead of blowing a huge chunk of cash on a campaign that's been a real dud so far. (The implication is that Apple, having already produced a stellar product, can afford to spend a bit on showing it off.)
@Akula Even more to the point, Apple certainly doesn't spend as much on Hodgman and Long as M$ did on Bill & Jerry.
Gotta say, the three most recent 'Get a Mac' ads are only pegging up to mediocre on the fun scale. 'Bean Counter' was pretty fun, but 'V word' and now 'Bake Sale' were both...well, excuse the pun but, half-baked.
@Matt & Matt K (same, I guess)
Yeah. Hence my 2nd paragraph. And I get that MS's advertising mostly serves to polish a turd, vs. Apple's trying to gain market share from a crappy product for a better product. It just seems an ironic way of going about making this statement. An ad making fun of a competitor spending money on advertising.
Don't worry. I think the Bill & Jerry and "I'm a PC" ads show the same amount of creativity and innovation that's gone into Windows :-) It's just one of those rare times I think Apple's messaging might be a bit hypocritical.
@Alan
It does the same thing for me in Firefox. Try it in Safari or Camino. It's really annoying, I wish they'd fix it.