“Apple has now made available the latest ads in the ‘Get a Mac’ promotion. The number of ads in the series now totals 15 and are iLife, Network, WSJ, Accident, Angel/Devil, Trust Mac, Out of the Box, Touché, Work vs Home, Viruses, Restarting, Better, Counselor, Better Results, and Self Pity,” Chris Howard writes for Apple Matters.
Howard writes, “The last three are the latest ones. Two out of three I thought were laugh out loud funny. That doesn’t mean they will be to everyone. Windows users might find them offensive.”
Get a Mac – “Self Pity” ad:
Get a Mac – “Better Results” ad:
Get a Mac – “Counselor” ad:
Howard writes, “But therein lies my question. Is Apple – or its advertising agency – loosing sight of the goal and just going for laughs? Do laughs sell Macs? Or is the message missed in the mirth?
Howard writes, “It’s hard to know the answer when you’re already a Mac user, but I do wonder if the jokes distract the potential switcher too much from the message. In the beginning they were good attention grabbers. Some people said they were derogatory, but hey, they still were getting attention. But how long can you run a gag before it gets stale?”
Read the full article here.
The ads can be seen in higher quality QuickTime via Apple.com here: http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/
Related articles:
Apple debuts three new ‘Get a Mac’ ads online [UPDATED] – October 09, 2006
‘I’m a PC’ guy John Hodgman really an Apple Mac user – September 25, 2006
USA Today Ad Track poll for Apple’s ‘Get a Mac’ campaign shows above-average consumer response – September 18, 2006
Apple debuts major Mac OS X print campaign with 14-page ‘Get a Mac’ booklet – September 07, 2006
More new Apple ‘Get a Mac’ ads – one featuring Gisele Bündchen – seen in Apple Retail Store – September 05, 2006
Critiquing Apple’s new ‘Get a Mac’ ads – August 28, 2006
Apple debuts three new ‘Get a Mac’ ads – August 27, 2006
Nearly 20 more ‘Get a Mac’ TV spots ready to roll – August 11, 2006
Apple’s ‘Get a Mac’ ads too harsh? – July 31, 2006
Apple debuts three new ‘Get a Mac’ ads (with video) – June 12, 2006
Apple: ‘Get a Mac. Say ‘Buh-Bye’ to viruses’ – June 01, 2006
Expert panel critiques Apples’ new ‘Get a Mac’ ad TV campaign – May 15, 2006
Do Apple’s new ‘Get a Mac’ ads generate animosity among the uninitiated? – May 08, 2006
Why Apple’s new ‘Get a Mac’ campaign will fail – May 04, 2006
Apple’s ‘Get a Mac’ campaign seizes the moment as Microsoft suffers Windows Vista setbacks – May 04, 2006
iTWire’s Beer: Apple’s new ‘get a Mac’ campaign misses, preaches to converted – May 04, 2006
Apple debuts ‘Get a Mac’ TV ads, new section of website replaces ‘Switch’ (link to watch ads online) – May 01, 2006
Why not just provide the links to Apple’s real TV ad pages along with the YouTube inferior flicks ??
For heaven’s sakes…you’d think nobody had ever used a bunch of themed ads to sell a product before.
“Is it just ‘funny’? Or will it actually work?” Welcome to Advertising 101. Why is this any different from any corporate ad campaign? I understand that the Apple user community and the Apple business community has a stake in the success of these ads, but they’re just ADS; it’s not like Apple’s invented a new method of communication or something. And this isn’t some crazy, avant-garde campaign where they only show leaves or something. It’s pretty succinct advertising. I don’t see why it’s all so puzzling to these analysts.
Windows has been making me gag for years now. It’s still around.
they are cute but not being aPC user I couldn’t tell you.
I actually don’t think they do. Too soft sale not clever enough, too cryptic for most households
Poor, Apple, they finally start advertising and then it’s still not good enough. Maybe someone should start a contest for homemade Mac ads and have them posted to YouTube for prizes. Then the people that take issue with Apple’s method or content can prove they can do better.
Or at least shut up.
Counselor ad: LOVE that lady’s legs! Man, I could go for some counseling just to check out her gams…
Alas, in the real world, they aren’t nearly as attractive. Kinda like hollywood’s portayal of lesbians, you know? Always georgeous…in the movies.
Sigh.
While I’m in the business of selling mac’s I can tell you first hand that the ad’s are working. I get many customers who come in referring to the effectiveness of the ad campaign and that they hadn’t considered a Mac before the ad’s were aired.
Is there ANY ad Apple could air that would not offend SOME Windows users?
I’m glad they finally got around to showing one where is its plainly stated that the Mac is good for business as well as arts/entertainment. The last line “Just let me lie here and depreciate” cracked me up.
I believe the ads are way over-the-heads of most Americans. It seems they appeal more to current Mac users than to switchers. Apple needs a new ad concept that will enlighten and entice.
The next ads should show that not only does Windows suck… it squirts!
(PC with a brown brick zune)
Priceless Balmerism!
I don’t think these ads are ment to “sell Macs.” They are ment to raise awarness of Apple. Most people using Windows don’t chose it because they have that one app, or they enjoy the Windows experiance. They have Windows beacause “everyone has Windows.”
Because of these ads, when people want to upgrade their computers then now know there is a choice Microsoft or Apple. That choice is what the ads are all about.
I personally think that Apple has a winning model for their current campaign. People like watching ads that are entertaining and funny. I’m reminded of superbowl ads and how people don’t want to miss them now either. It’s almost as if Apple has made a sort of sitcom out of their ad theme and the ads are really just short shows. I think it’s brilliant and very effective. Then again wtf do I know?
I can’t help but notice that none of Apple’s critics run a $20 Billion a year company.
That’s probably because none have the talent to do so. Kinda like armchair quarterbacks. They always know better than the coach, but nobody is knocking their door down, with a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract in hand.
Anybody that gives any of the critics the time of day, is wasting the time of day.
2 of the 3 are the best and most direct yet. Self pity and the iLife model. Snappy and right to the point1 we do movies so much better, 2. hey we do Microsoft Office for work, have for years.
Counselor is funny but not to the point.
I’m might be a iMac switcher and the ads helped.
In my eyes these ads say that macs are like the new pc’s and they scream youth.
Anyway, I’d say that they work
I think it’s important to realise that these ads are in no way aimed at your windows “fans”, those people who supposedly know about computers, the people who would take offense at being mocked for their “choice”. These ads are aimed at your general home user who has a computer purely to do a few things on it when they need to. For the person who got windows because that’s what came with their Dell, the person who is looking at their computer and thinking to themselves that it really is more hassle than it’s worth. These ads are for people who are already thinking that their computer is actually pretty shitty. These ads tell those people that yes, their computer is as shitty as they’re thinking but that fortunately there is an alternative. If anything they’ll end up angry at microsoft for fooling them and happy at apple for helping them.
*I
Howard writes, “But therein lies my question. Is Apple – or its advertising agency – loosing sight of the goal…”
As opposed to tightening sight of the goal? Sheesh.
The home movie one is priceless !
Greg: “I can’t help but notice that none of Apple’s critics run a $20 Billion a year company.”
– The fallacy in that statement is the suggestion that mistakes can only be identified by qualified people who have certain ambiguously described qualifications.
By your reasoning, none of us here are qualified to point out problems with Microsoft since none of us run businesses of that scope. And no one should be allowed to criticize government policies unless they happen to run an equal size government of their own.
In fact, MDN has even criticized Apple’s advertising decisions. Are you suggesting that MDN is not qualified to criticize Apple?
In actuality, the fact that this writer is a consumer gives him the authority to criticize Apple’s policies regarding its consumers.
The ads are all well-produced, and well-performed. But I wonder about the message.
My favorite Apple ad (other than 1984) was the dad trying to install the drivers so his kid can watch a movie or game on her PC, and finally the kid tells the mom she’s going next door, where her friend has a Mac. Another from that series were two guys in a small business trying to load new software on their PC. Wonderful!
But really, how can you talk “creativity” when most major creative software, other than the iLife suite, can run under either platform? If you work in Photoshop, it really doesn’t matter if you’re on a PC or a Mac anymore, does it? To me, the selling points to get switchers should be ease of set-up, lack of viruses and spyware, and the ability to run all the great iLife apps, not just iTunes…
Just my 2 cents as an advertising copywriter…
“What’s Up? PC Home Movie”
Best one.
If you work in Photoshop, it really doesn’t matter if you’re on a PC or a Mac anymore, does it?
ah yes it does imho. Im much more productive on a mac running photoshop than if i have to use photoshop on windows and its not because of the different key combos. Its just the interface is so un-inspiring, so dull. Trying to do any creative work on a pc is like pissing in the wind. not worth the effort.
No offence but you either get the mac or you dont. Working in any application even if it is the same app is a different experience on the two platforms.
Of all professions, especially someone coming from an advertising background should know this.
Mike said: “If you work in Photoshop, it really doesn’t matter if you’re on a PC or a Mac anymore, does it?”. I think it does. When I help Windows-using colleagues with Photoshop I don’t have any difficulties actually using the application, but it does feel clunky, simply because it’s running in Windows. In other words, it’s not just about the application (though some are more consistent across the two platforms than others); it’s about the total experience of the computer environment that you’re working in: application + operating system + hardware.