Apple has posted their new television commercial for new Power Mac G5. The new spot is narrated by Jeff Goldbum and features a Mac user being blown through the walls of his home and tossed outside by a tremendous force. The camera then dollies through the tunnel that’s been bored through the interior of the home to settle on a computer table holding the Power Mac G5 while Goldblum’s voice-over announces, “Introducing the Power Mac G5, the world’s fastest, most powerful personal computer.”
The ad can be seen at with QuickTime here.
[UPDATE, 5/4/05, 3:52pm: Apple has removed their QuickTime of the ad. Substituted another link to same ad.]
As much as I want to love this commercial I feel it’s a big mistake to use explosions of any type these days when you want to sell something.
Fred says, nice add.
I just don’t get it, honestly. Why would I want to buy a computer that blows up?
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I also agree that it’s bad form, and would have MUCH preferred advertisments along the lines of the old snail commercials. MUCH more appropriate, IMHO.
Oh, paleeeze… lighten up!! I think it’s VERY funny!!
First, it doesn’t imply ANY explosion. The woman in the kitchen and the small dog are completely unhurt.
Until saw this commercial, I was rather neutral about the G5 design. But now, I like it.. A LOT! Its industrial look is a very good reflection of its industrial power. This commercial would not be possible if it were a plastic beige box sitting there.
I would like to have heard the tag line at the end be, “…seatbelts not included.”
Steven,
Did ya watch the commercial? There was no explosion. The power of the G5 just blew the guy off his feet… and through the walls… and through the kitchen… and out onto the front lawn. Don’t worry, the G5 is fine (and the cool Apple Cinema display next to it, too).
2 out of 3 reviewers just dont get it, as seen above. And woof-x’s comments about explosions are just so politically correct (excuse me while I throw up on you woof). Great ad.
I stil think a computer with nine fans should not be shown as blowing someone through the walls of his house.
Would the lemmings please go crawl back into your holes and remain afraid to live your lives and let the rest of us enjoy what time we have left. What makes “explosions” worse now than say 10 or 20 years ago? Besides that. Nothing blew up in this commercial! The computer was still in one piece. The guy was just blown away (literally) by the power of the computer. Whats the big deal? It was funny.
I believe an explosive force was necessary for the gentleman to exit his house in the manner depicted. It is therefore rationale to conclude that an explosion preceded his exit.
Needless to say, I do not wish the same on anyone.
If Wintel users were able to understand, they wouldn’t be Wintel users, now would they?
I think it’s funny and very well done, but I really think Apple’s ads have been taking the wrong track for a long time. I think they need to give Chiat/Day the boot, and get a new, fresh, energetic attitude in their spots. They need to focus more on all the cool things you can do with OS X and not so much on what the box looks like. One of the things I do to make my living is TV commercials, and for one client, an auto dealer, who wanted to focus on his website I put screenshots of his site seen in Safari on Jaguar, and people just went crazy for it, wondering why their computer didn’t look like that, etc. The Mac boxes have always been gorgeous, but no one buys a computer because of what it looks like. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, they could make the box out of rocks and sticks and I’d still buy it because of the OS. That should be their focus.
One more thing: for such a well-designed and capable computer as the PowerMac G5, the commercial is not funny, it’s silly and at times seems stupid. It lacks the punch of the old G4 commercial depicting tanks rolling over and destroying the competition.
The only thing good about that ad was goldblum… love that dude’s voice. Other than that, I think the ad will flop. Why? Well, it doesn’t have the appeal of previous apple ads. Remember Rip/Mix/Burn, the asian kid falling over himself while listening to his iPod, Yao Ming and mini ming? You probably do b/c these ads are memorable. This new G5 ad isn’t, sadly.
Do you think Terrorists could use the G5 to blow up buildings? Commuter trains.? Computer labs? Aye, the possibilities are endless . Maybe if you overclock the fans.. or you could hide explosives in them so when people turn them on they will explode. It is a good thing there isn’t a G5 powerbook yet, as they are easier to hide and smuggle place. It might tip people off if Terrorists are walking around government buildings with a G5 looking for an outlet to plug it in. Of coure just having a Mac OS system in a government building might alert some people. I think I will avoid going into Apple stores for a while, make sure the G5s are safe.
better safe than sorry, Glad I have a fanless iMac
I wonder how much Goldblum has been paid for doing all the voice overs all these years ??
What a great ad. will it persuade people to switch ?
BAH HUM BUG! I cannot view the commercial on this darn PC in this office because QT 6.2 will not work…only QT 5.0 anyone care to convert it to mpg? Bugger…I’ll just wait till I get home to my Mac.
(Lowering umbrella which luckily protected me from Robert’s vomit)…what were they thinking? There are countless creative ways the G5’s power could have been shown. Instead we have a rehash of the old “Memorex effect” at a time when PLENTY of people are going to go into a “startle” response rather than the desired “lust” response when they see a guy being blasted through a wall. I give it a week, max.
Put Nemo on there.
Anyone notice THERE’S NO WIRES! No wire connecting the monitor to the machine and the machine to the walls. Just a small observation.
come on, it’s humorous.
this is a fun lighthearted commercial. I like it.
I think it’s funny. Those who don’t simply lack a sense of humor. It’s a great commercial.
Go through a hi-fi magazine and see if you find speaker wires in ANY pictures. Apple is definitely not the first to omit wires from their ads.
It’s called “wireless”. Hmmm. Wireless Power. Wi-Po. Wait let me go patent that. Be right back.
All I can say is that the money they spent on this ad was not well spent by the reaction here. It could have so much more impact. We did not need an explosion. If Mac people don’t like it, it will fall on its face with everyone else.
Back to the ad agency for a “do-over”
It’s five (fantasy) years later and the woman with the sledge hammer is now happily married and happily puttering in her kitchen
Once you can differentiate between blown *away* and blown *up* you’ll start seeing the real meaning behind the ad. Until then you’ll continue to be caught up in the “oh my god, thats not right” or “how will people react to the explosion?” politically correct knee-jerking.
Frank