I’m a big fan of the “I’m a Mac” “…and I’m a PC” ads. Some of them have been hilarious, and I always enjoy when a new one debuts.
I found out that the UK has their own series of the ads. A couple are the same scripts as the US ones, but most are entirely new:
Check them out here. (There are two sets, you can scroll through at the bottom)
You ever seen the genius that is Peep Show? The stars of the UK ads, David Mitchell and Robert Webb, star in that and it’s absolutely fantastic. The only problem is, in Peep Show, Rob (Mac) is an absolute w****r, which might not be the message they’re trying to send out …
Awesome… and OMG the Mac guy in those ads is so on my team (I know there’s often a fine line between “English” and “gay,” but c’mon…)
Oh, man; anyone who enjoys those ads must be a Mac Person™. Everyone else – including many Mac People™ – hate ’em: They’re condescending, reflect poorly on the Mac-Person™ personality, and are simply inaccurate, unless the “PC” character is supposed to represent Windows 98.
I’ve never been able to get my mind around why people get so cultish about Macs. They’re just computers with a different approach to computing (UI rather than internally configurable), and they used to be way overpriced. Care to enlighten me?
the Japanese ones?
http://www.apple.com/jp/getamac/
I don’t really want to get into the whole debate here, suffice to say that the different approach to computing appeals more to creatives, in my experience, than PCs do…. it really is an entirely different approach, far more organic and intuitive, in my opinion.
The reason that I (like many Mac folks) enjoy those ads are because they match my experience with PCs. Not only the different focus, but some of the issues that the ads address — PCs do have crashing issues that Macs do not. PCs are vulnerable to viruses and spyware that Macs are not (although not via an issue of superiority, but rather because of marketshare….nobody really bothers to write code to exploit Macs, because they represent only 10% of the market), etc.
The only people I’ve heard complain about them being condescending, innacurate or “reflecting poorly on the Mac Person™”…..have been PC People™, so take that as you will. :)
My 5 cents:
Adam finds the Mac UI less frustrating and infuriating than the Win-UI.
That is all.
–
BUT this is not a small of a thing as it seems at first glance…
As all my interaction with my Mac (with the internet, tons of research time, music, video-stuff, and the occasional game playing experience) all have this ease-of-use for me, OF COURSE I become a great fan of something that is not a great big pain in the ass.
–
As I have a paying job servicing and maintaining WIN-UI machines, I have all the comparison I need every-frickin-day to avoid having MY MACHINE be a Windows machine.
-=-
I suspect this is why some of the mac cultists are the way they are.
Those are pretty funny too. I especially like “ステップス” — where the Mac is telling the PC the steps to designing a homepage (I think — my Japanese is rusty), and the PC is writing down the steps. The process is fairly short, but the PC gets upset when there is no step 4….so the Mac tells him that Step 4 is “drink some coffee.”
Wow, it must be National Mac vs. PC day, because there have been arguments all over the F-list today!
Anyway, having worked on both, I must say that I seriously prefer a Mac. No Blue Screen Of Death. No virus worries. Easier to navigate.
The only things that make PCs better in my mind are really just the fact that certain services online (Netflix’s instant viewing options, Snapfish’s store) are more friendly to PCs and often not Mac compatible. That’s annoying. It reminds me of VHS vs. Beta. Betas were better quality, but VHS was cheaper and smaller, so the masses bought them, and Beta was no more.
I find the ads highly amusing and quite accurate.
Those were great! Thanks for sharing! :)
It’s funny.
The only Mac I ever worked with locked up almost everytime I opened a program, would crash when scanning, and was the slowest running thing I’ve ever seen.
I’ve been running various PCs since 3.1 and have never seen this legendary “blue screen of death.” Never had a PC crash, damn rarely lock up (and when it did it was an issue with a particular program I was trying to run, not with Windows) and have never met a virus my software couldn’t handle.
It’s like cars. Some people like Fords, and some like Chevys. And they’ll all swear the other brand is junk. They’re just machines. Every bad thing I’ve heard about one I’ve heard about the other.
The commercials, though, are hilarious. They lie through their teeth, but they’re hilarious. And memorable. Hell of a job of marketing.
I hear you on the Beta vs. VHS, but Mac People™ keep comparing today’s Macs to the bad old days of Windows when there used to be a BSoD – hasn’t happened since Windows 98 – and when viruses only used to target PCs. Except for compatibility and the UI (as Adam argues for above, and why I like the Windows configurability and fixability), there really isn’t a difference in the two besides cost.
Y’know, come to think of it…
I wonder how much the bad PC rep owes to Compaq. I’ve never owned one, but everyone I’ve known who did had nothing but problems with them.
That’s the other thing to consider with PCs. Apple makes Macs. God knows how many companies make PCs. I’d bet, if one were to check, the PC horror stories follow certain brands pretty closely.
Can you network-manage Macs better than you can user-manage them? I can see the admin’s positive perspective toward them in that case. On the other hand, if companies were to adopt Mac networks, we’d see overwhelming Mac-targeted viruses rather than PC-targeted ones, thereby defeating the whole point of going Mac. Maybe that was Steve Jobs’ plan all along by over-pricing Macs….
Silly McKitterick,
If the user perceives a difference,
then FOR THAT USER
there is a difference.
–
What have you taught your students about user testing?
That’s enlightening: The reason that I (like many Mac folks) enjoy those ads are because they match my experience with PCs. But if the ads are only targeted at happy Mac owners, how can they work except to help get Mac owners to buy more Macs?
The complaints I’ve heard about those ads being condescending and reflecting poorly on the Mac Person™ is from other Mac people. PC people are just irritated with ’em unless they’re still running Windows 98.
I’m fairly sure that while we will see mac-centric-attacks rise with the rise in market share,
I am less sure that we will see the proportional/equivalent amount that most people seem to predict.
–
I’m quite sure that the Windows-based world is built on buggier code with more security holes.
-=-
Yes, I use both platforms extensively, and I find that as an administrator, I get way fewer maint. calls for Macs. by a factor of about 60-1.
With regards to your first question — that’s how message-reinforcement ads work. Play to the experiences of your base, and so when the viewer talks to their Mac Friend™ and says “is that true?” –the Mac Friend™ will confirm.