Apple has debuted a new section of their Apple.com website. Entitled “Get a Mac,” it replaces the old “Switch” section. From Apple’s new “Get a Mac” site:
Why you’ll love a Mac.
The gold standard.
The Mac consistently gets 4-star reviews from publications like The Wall Street Journal and even popular PC magazines.
1. It just works. How much time have you spent troubleshooting your PC? Imagine a computer designed by people who hate to waste time as much as you do. Where all the hardware and software just works, and works well together. Get a Mac and get your life back.
2. You can make amazing stuff. Every Mac comes with iLife ’06, a suite of software that transforms your photos, music, and video into all kinds of projects. Make high-quality websites, photo books, DVDs, songs, slideshows, music CDs, calendars, cards, prints, podcasts, music videos, documentaries, and more.
3. Design that turns heads. You won’t want to hide your Mac in a corner of the den. You’ll want it front and center in your life. The Apple style shows in every detail, from its sculpted surfaces to its gorgeous Mac OS X graphics.
4. 114,000 Viruses? Not on a Mac. Mac OS X was designed with security in mind. Windows just wasn’t built to bear the onslaught of attacks it suffers every day. A Mac offers a built-in firewall, doesn’t advertise its existence on the Net, and isn’t compromised within an hour of being turned on.
5. Next year’s OS today. Since Mac OS X engineers aren’t busy damming a flood of viruses, they have the time to think up amazing new technology. Like Dashboard widgets, mini-applications offering a world of capabilities just a keystroke away. Or a built-in RSS news reader.
6. The latest Intel chips. Intel Core Duo processors put you on the cutting edge. In fact, a Mac with an Intel chip is so fast it surprises even longtime Windows pundits, who keep running benchmarks again and again. Results? Fast. Fast. Yup, still fast.
7. Instant video chats. Setting up a video chat with the people next door — or across the globe — should be as simple as picking up the phone. On a Mac, you just click an icon to have a four-way video chat in a full-screen window with amazing clarity and special effects.
8. More fun with photos. On a Mac, you don’t need any extra software to make a photo book. You don’t have to leave your photo software to visit a separate website and wait for forms to load. All you need is a camera and a Mac.
9. One-click websites. How long does it take to post a photo or video to your blog on a PC? On a Mac, you can shoot a picture or a movie with the built-in camera, then post it on the web in a few clicks. Pontificate, preachify, and publish. The hardest part is coming up with something to say.
10. Amazing podcasts. Want to get your message out to the world? Podcast it. A Mac makes it simple to create professional podcasts, complete with artwork. Add sound effects and jingles, even use the built-in radio engineer to make it perfect. So you can be a talk star in seconds.
11. Rock star tunemaking. Musicians get all the girls (or guys). And a Mac has the software to turn you into the musician of your dreams. Choose from hundreds of cool riffs and instruments to create your own songs. Get good enough and you could be on iTunes.
12. Hollywood-style movies. Connect your DV camera and turn your movies into spectaculars. Add graphics, titles, and sound effects in minutes. Then use your Mac to burn a DVD or post to your website.
13. No hunting for drivers. Just plug in your stuff. A Mac includes USB drivers for mass storage, digital cameras, input devices, iPod, and more. It can see Bluetooth cell phones and headsets, as well as FireWire cameras. No rebooting.
14. Awesome out of the box. Other computers include software, it’s true. But once you start using that software, you find that you’re hobbled in some way or another. Software included with the Mac, on the other hand, is critically acclaimed as best in class.
All those reasons you never bought a Mac? Not true anymore.
1. Know iTunes? You know the Mac. You’ll recognize features like library collection, playlist arrangement, and instant search in many Mac programs. So you’re something of a Mac expert already.
2. You can take it with you. A Mac can open most of your files with the right software. Most popular applications for Mac and PC use the same file formats, making it simple to exchange documents with coworkers or move existing files from a PC to a Mac.
3. Yes, Macs run Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office for Mac OS X gives you Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, all with familiar features and the same shortcut commands. And when you need to use it for collaborative work, Office for Mac connects to Microsoft Exchange servers.
4. No, Macs aren’t slow. The latest Intel Core Duo processors put other chips to shame. And a Mac just loves that second core, since Mac OS X has known about multiple processors from the start. Try burning a DVD while watching a TV show on iTunes.
5. No, you don’t have to buy new stuff. Your printer, camera, keyboard, and mouse will work with a Mac. PCs and Macs can usually share peripherals if they connect via USB, FireWire. or Bluetooth, three industry standards built into every new Mac.
6. Yes, you can even run Windows. So you have to run just that one thing, or maybe your office requires it. Now that the Mac has an Intel chip, you can configure your Mac to run Windows — in some cases even faster than on a PC.
Apple’s new “Get a Mac” webpages are here: http://www.apple.com/getamac/
In addition, Apple has debuted six television ads and also placed copies of the ads online in QuickTime in “small,” “medium,” “large,” and “HD” sizes. The six ads, “Viruses,” “Restarting,” “Better,” “iLife,” “Network,” and “WSJ” all feature two actors: Justin Long representing the “Mac” and John Hodgman as the hapless “Windows PC” (The “Network” ad features a third actor, playing a “digital camera from Japan”). The new Apple TV ads can be seen here.
MacDailyNews Take: Be still, our beating hearts, but aren’t these are actual, honest-to-Jobs Mac ads? Miracles do happen! Now, who the hell authorized this?! Seriously, what do you think? We think that they’re cute. They get the ideas across well without even showing a Mac or Windows PC. Hopefully Apple plans a large budget (God knows they have enough iPod cash littering the place) and a strong, comprehensive TV campaign for these new ads which do strongly state several Mac advantages over Windows PCs. Surely, they’ll back up the messages with in-store materials in Apple Retail Stores (see April 29, 2006 related article below).
Very strong ad on the virus issue; now we know why the FUD campaign was revved up again lately. If you think it was just coincidence that several news outfits generated stories about “Mac viruses” on and around the day that Apple launches a TV ad stating that last year there were 114,000 known Windows viruses and none for Macs, you’re naive. Microsoft and those that suck on the Redmond teat have long arms, lots of cash, and a desperate desire to protect their Windows money machine. From the mom and pop shops in every town that charge pigeons $99.99 per box to wipe and reinstall Windows on up to corporate IT bigwigs with multimillion dollar budgets and huge, bloated, MCSE-festooned staffs, we must assume that they’ll defend the Windows hegemony to the death, by any means possible, facts be damned. They’ve done it in the past. They’ve done it even today. And they’ll certainly do it in the future.
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Related articles:
Apple debuts flyer, retail staff t-shirts with slogan ‘We can help you do it all’ – April 29, 2006
Apple in secret deal with Microsoft to hide Macintosh from world? – January 19, 2006
Why in Jobs’ name doesn’t Apple advertise the Macintosh? – October 27, 2005
More would switch from Windows to Mac if Apple advertised more effectively – September 04, 2005
Forrester analysts: Apple should advertise Mac OS X Tiger on television and in movie theaters – April 29, 2005
Mac fans line up for new operating system as passberby asks ‘what is a tiger?’ – April 29, 2005
Apple posts QuickTime movies of Mac OS X Tiger features in action – April 13, 2005
Why doesn’t Apple advertise Mac OS X on TV? – April 12, 2005
Why doesn’t Apple show its patented Mac OS X ‘Genie Effect’ in TV ads? – October 07, 2004
Top Ten things Apple needs to show the world about Macintosh – July 30, 2003
donnie, the ads aren’t aimed at the PC geeks and nerds since they’re the least likely to switch.
The ads are aimed at the average adult who watches tv, who wants to use their computer to do cool stuff, and doesn’t want to spend their life building and working to make their PCs work. (Geeks and nerds are proud of spending all their time building and working to make their PCs work.)
Saw the WSJ ad during 24 – too bad 24 has got some horrible Microsoft sponsorship going on. Typical MS thing too – lots of words, no meaning.
The ads are perfect on so many levels…love the iTunes one where the PC is “groovin”. Hehe.
@ Jeffrey
The stuffy guy is a hybrid between Gates and Balmer. Gates’ head on top of Balmer’s fat body. This is no accident. They are sticking it to Redmond.
Did anyone else notice that they’re marketing only their Intel machines? What’s up?
my favorites:
1. restart
2. virus
weakest:
1. better – blows off the corporate/enterprise market too explicitly
Ahahah otakuppokunai!!! That Networking one is great.
2 ADS SO FAR ON THE TONIGHT SHOW
HELL HAS FROZE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HELL HAS FROZE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
APPLE WITH A GOOD AD CAMPAIGN AND WILLING TO SPEND SOME MONEY ON A BLITZ
HELL HAS FROZE OVER!!!!!!!
All I can say is:
WITH THIS NEWS AND THE RECORD LABEL DEAL WE’D BETTER SEE SOME MOTHERF*CKING UPWARD MOVEMENT IN THE STOCK PRICE YOU WALL STREET PINHEADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone who is complaining doesn’t get it…you have 30 secs..you have to communicate a concept…not go in to detail. Thats how advertising/marketing works..and these work beautifully
The ads are cool. People will feel bad just for looking like the PC guy. This will not make corporations switch to the Mac but I can tell you that younger insecure teens will love it. Then they may discover that they moved to the Mac for the wrong reason but they will probably choose to stay with it for the right ones.
This is not aimed at PC geeks. It is aimed at Joe average.
Thank God Apple did not give us another ” liberal loft crowd” and ” punk gangster raper” ad.
The wife and I watched all of the ads, and we chuckled at each one. They are sure to spark a bit of interest.
I hope that more are on the way showing OSX. It is an amazing OS.
But all in all….no crashes, no viruses, and walt mossberg…good stuff.
The ads SUCK.
Typical …. they show NOTHING. All talk. Waste of money, even juvinile.
G — You just . . . don’t . . . get it.
Go back to sleep.
These are great opening salvos but where the hell are the product shots? Let me see iLife! Even a little Expose action would be sexy enough to woo the PC drones.
This is great!!! I know they aren’t that funny, but I can hardly contain myself! It is about frickin time – nice job Apple!
The digital camera pulls the photo out of her butt. I’m not usually prone to bathroom humor but that really stuck out to me in the networking ad.
100% Apple Thinking…
All winners…
Folks we may well be see the end of PC’s by M$ – Thank God!
Life will improve with iLife -it just takes a little time and some great Ad’s Now Apple has them both (iLife & the Ad’s)
Good Job – Jobs
The proof of the pudding will be the next two quarterly sales statistics.
Al Jazzoo, said “Notice how the PC guy is this stuffy middle aged corporate looking dude and the Mac guy is this young hip kid.”
And that makes me wonder if big business people will be impressed. Very hip for young consumers but sort of weird for big corporation types. Then the big corps try to be hip.
I like all the Ads. Restarting and Network with the lady from Japan are my favorites. Wait! I don’t have a favorite – I love them all. Strange but I can watch them over and over. Go Apple!!!
I am posting this on the latest thread because that way more people will see it (hopefully). I usually don’t get to reading MDN until late and haven’t even read today’s other stories, but I thought this was worthwhile enough to post.
I am NOT fear mongering here. Just want to let everyone know about a NEW type of phishing scam using VoIP that has hit the internet in the past few days. Tell your mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa so they don’t get suckered. This one is quite unique and clever. You can read the story here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20060428/tc_nf/43038
back to reading…..
it’s actually rob glaser
YES YES, Apple show the OS Show the OS!! It is a start!!
“Did anyone else notice that they’re marketing only their Intel machines? What’s up?”
I thought it was obvious. Intel-based macs are the future. PowerPC will be supported, but slowly weeded out. There’s no point in advertising a product you plan to totally replace in a few months, and that’s exactly what it would be if they pushed any PowerPC products.
The Ads are great, although I think PC Geeks will scoff at them. They really need to mention that Macs can run Windows if necessary now! They were missing a seventh ad with the PC saying “What if I have some programs that I have to use Windows for?” and the Mac guy saying “Well if you absolutely have to, I can run Windows too.” or something.
I’ve watched each a few times! Great attention getters. And the music is subconsciously memorable. Like a little lullaby that’s like “It’s ok, don’t be afraid.”
Did you guys see that pig flying?