When the “Get a Mac” campaign started back in 2006, most everybody (PC and Mac users alike) got at least a little chuckle out of the commercials. They were funny. At some point though, it started to get a little old. The PC guy is always the stuffy boring person in a suit and the Mac guy is always the “cool dude.” When Vista came out, the commercials went from making general comparisons between PC’s and Mac computers to bashing Windows Vista over and over again. Now when the commercials air on TV, you get an idea of why Vista is supposedly bad but usually no idea as to why Leopard is superior. There is definitely something wrong with that…
Now the latest Get a Mac ad is distorting the facts. It’s one of those two-part top and side banner web ads (examples here and here) that appear on a handful of different sites. It starts out the same as usual and then the PC looks up and says “Oh great, another bad review of Vista. Looks like we need to do an emergency refresh.” What he’s looking at are two different quotes – one from CNET and one from PC Mag. They called them “reviews” in the ad but the CNET quote came from an opinion section so it was far from a review. The PC Mag quote was the title of a column in which the author talked about how there was nothing really wrong with Vista, but that Microsoft does need to do some work on their next operating system to make it great.
At this point, it’s about time that Apple shift gears and start a new ad campaign, perhaps one that points out features of Leopard instead of pointing out why Vista is “bad.” If they have to turn to distorting the facts to come up with an ad, it’s time for something new, don’t you think?
And perhaps Apple doesn’t realize that their commercials have a lot of people rooting for the PC guy. A few days ago an article appeared on Digg in which the author said “When I would watch the Mac ads with the nerdy PC guy and the cool Mac dude, I always secretly rooted for the PC guy.” One of the comments was, “Dude, everybody does. I love my Mac, but PC guy is funny and likable, while Mac guy is just smug.” That comment ended up with 575+ diggs so clearly he wasn’t the only person that felt that way.
Source: Gizmodo
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This does not surprise me one bit. I’ve noticed Apple started to “stretch the truth” when they began bashing Vista.
I think the whole attitude of Apple is smugness. That is part of why I’ll do my best not to use Apple products, though I have had some given to me so I can’t completely avoid it. If they felt a little more down to earth and real instead of feeling like they think they are better than everyone else it might not irk me so much. Then I might be more willing to consider their products. The worst part is they do make decent products, it is more a problem of perception.
Exactly which is why it’s time for a new ad campaign, something that really gives consumers an idea of what Leopard is all about.
Nothing new. Apple always likes to stretch the numbers a bit.
Sounds like they have the same people working on their ads as people who run for political office…
Well, look, I don’t trust Apple any more than I trust Microsoft, however, those ads were funny for me. Loved them. Especially the “Give up on Vista” neon sign. Funny cos it’s…
Never liked and was never a Apple fan, have my brother running OSX for years and its NOT as stable as my XP. My one example is not scientific, accurate or representative but neither are Apple’s ads.
Of course by ‘accurate’ I meant ‘may not be typical of everybody’
Agreed — the ads are getting a bit tiring. However, they make people talk, folks keep talking about Apple, and that’s the point of great advertising: get people to talk about your brand, even if they don’t like it.
Another interesting aspect of the ads is how easy they are to parody, which can only benefit Apple, regardless of what the author’s intent was.
I’m not certain that the ad distorts the facts: another bad review of Vista is pretty common. I agree that they should link to proper, fully vetted reviews instead of opinions of blowhards (even if they’re paid by CNet, et al), but the tenet of the ad remains: bad reviews of Vista are published on a regular basis.
If more than a few dozen people used a Mac then there would be someone to point out all the things wrong with it.
With every new Microsoft OS it’s the same old story, “this thing sucks!” Then when the next new OS is release it’s, “This new one sucks, I love the old one.”
Bottom line is that negative, attack-style articles get read whether they are accurate or not.
What Cory said, +2. Most folks dislike the “upperdog,” and M$ is it. I bought my first computer in ~1982, a Timex-Sinclair, and people have been on a “your choice of computer/OS sux” binge since then. WTF kind of system do people have that they have any problem at all with Vista? I’ve had this ‘pooter over a year and Vista has never crashed on me and I’ve been “up” for weeks at a time. Ditto with XP. The OSs do everything that I need in an academic and business environment and I see nothing about Apple products that make them a better choice, except proprietary snob appeal and sphincters who trumpet elitist BS about Apple crap being free of virus dangers.
You’re clever enough to look past the ad and review the actual product. These ads are easy ammo for jealous windows users but then vista is the same for jealous mac users. Consider the products on its own merits and you will find both vista and osx can be great tools for some of your needs and both have caveats. I’d just advice to compare what you need out of such a tool with the particular strengths and make up your own mind. Apple / vista bashing is getting a bit old.
I’d suggest that the tone of the articles posted on the blog reflects on the image of the blog in general, thus sensationalist articles reflect an sensationalist blog (and critical comments reflect a critical audience). It’s easy to find 575+ people who agree with a particular view on any topic on the internet, that doesn’t make a claim more credible in my opinion.
While I don’t disagree that since it’s in an opinion piece on CNET it shouldn’t be considered a “proper” review, it’s a bit wrong to say it’s “far from a review.” All reviews are opinions.
Maybe saying “far” from a review was wrong, however in my opinion, they weren’t reviews. My definition of a review is going over something thoroughly, in this case Vista, which the author of the CNET article did not do.
I’m a fairly longtime Mac user. I do advocate them, often. But not all the time nor for everyone or everything. And for particular reasons.
Not one of those reasons is due to Apple’s attitude or campaigns. Nor those that booster any of that. It’s actually a bit of an embarrassment. Please forgive “us”.
Can I have some of my credibility back now?
We understand that the people who usually “speak-up” for/about Apple are the fanboy type. We also understand that there are Apple users like yourself who use Mac products but don’t act as unofficial Mac spokesmen or believe Apple is perfect. So I don’t think you ever lost your credibility.
Apple Mac computers and Software are great. Granted. But, Windows Vista deserves better and fairer reviews. It’s more or less always the same. Software is ahead of hardware and if the latter is not advanced enough then the former doesn’t look good. Remember when people used to clinch to DOS because it was “stable and reliable”, etc.? I am running Windows Vista ultimate in an “old” machine (4 years old) and it runs smoothly, faster than XP SP2, and it’s really a pleasure to work with. I’d rather listen to actual users of Vista and not to “reviewers” who base their “views” on other “reviewers” and the rumor mill.
We’re seeing it now: the Operating System is the Internet. While that becomes a common practice, enjoy your OS (I like both). It is not a black & white matter. I love Windows Vista. That’s what I use, that’s my tool to make a living today. Who knows, if need be I’ll be using a Mac. No problem. Life is good.