Apple has begun running a new online “Get a Mac” ad which is currently running on CNET and other online tech outlets.
No word on whether this ad is also intended for TV airing and it is not currently available on Apple,com’s “Get a Mac” ad section:
In the ad, Windows PC tries to hide from viruses and spyware much to Mac’s bewilderment. The ad closes with the text, “114,000 viruses? Not on a Mac.”
114,000 viruses? Not on a Mac: http://www.apple.com/getamac/viruses.html
MacDailyNews Take: We wonder, does CNET (and other outlets where this ad is running) take offense at being called “seedier than a truck stop bathroom?”
We will, we will rock you!
Ain’t that the truth!
I prefer it when the Mac doesn’t put down the PC – it is just assumed. Subtle and less arrogant. Mac almost agrees with PC of the problem PC is facing.
114.000 Windows virusses? That was last year… now there are more like +200.000 Windows virusses in the wild!
I think most of these ads are very good, and this one stacks up. Most of them do a good job of pointing out the flaws of Windows with at least a small twist of humor. More importantly, “Mac” isn’t smug or condescending, but is generally either bemused by or sympathetic with “PC’s” plight. This ad is a good example of that.
i feel like this ad campaign has just about run its course. One more batch, perhaps, with the release of 10.5 and then it is time to come up with a new meme.
I agree that the ads where Mac is less condescending are much better. I’m sure that Apple must have redone at least one of their ads. My recollection is that in the original Tech Support ad (with the tech guy strapping a camera onto PC) the last line was originally spoken by Mac. It comes across as a lot less arrogant with the tech guy speaking that line.
Thanks, Mike K. Didn’t know what a “meme” was until your post!
This campaign is only just beginning to touch the nerves of the wider population.
It will run for a couple of years more at least…
But you can bet they’ll turn them off they stop going down well. But remember there is lot’s of fud from the Wincamp about them..
Keep the news ads coming. The more people hate them, espeically the M$ lovers, the more press Apple gets.
These ads are a lot more effective than the switcher ads. At least these ads have something to say about why people should switch.
I am a vocal Mac evangelist. I am that guy, as most MDN readers probably are, that notices Apple product placement, and points it out to others, annoyed as they may be.
People come to me at work for their computer problems because I have somehow made a reputation as “The Computer Guy.” I usually end up saying something like, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to fix this. I’m a Mac guy–I don’t do Windows,” and the conversation is opened up from there.
What I’m getting at is that I have seen what works. I can only recall one person ever saying something about the switcher ads, that wasn’t a Mac user.
Countless people, however, have said various positive things to me about the current ads.
Whether you like them or not, they work.
I agree, these ads are more effective…even though watching that Ellen Feiss chick get stoned and tell me ” beep beep beep…it devoured my paper” was enough to get me to switch….
This is just stupid.
It’s ASKING for these tools to buy a Mac and do it.
And make no mistake, it WILL be done.
We can’t laugh forever.
They should issue an apology to truck stop bathrooms everywhere!
Only 114000? That doesn’t compare to my spysweeper at work proudly proclaiming that I am now protected against 374,495 known traces. I can’t imagine why I have so many problems with my work computer.
It’s what I have been preaching for years!
Me in LA
They have had over 6 years to make a virus for OS X, and none so far. Could someone make one in the future? Possibly, who knows.. but the OS is more secure from the ground up, so the task is MONUMENTALLY harder than WIndows where it’s trivial.
Apple also patches problems as they are found, like the Java exploit in QuickTime (I just turned off Java in my browser settings, since I don’t really see any reason to leave it on by default).
If someone ever does figure out how to write a Mac OS X virus, come back and we’ll talk about it. No one has so far, so it’s clearly a benefit Mac users have over Windows.
twilight: and that’s the ‘tude that will bite our collective asses one day.
I LOVE these ads! I think they hit “regular” America better than any ad they’ve made so far. This one is great like all the previous ads in this series!
mike k.,
are you really steve b. or bill g.?
this one is like one of the Japanese Get a Mac Ads. The Japanese Mac is all “protected,” but then when Japanese Mac spots a virus, the Japanese PC slowly hides behind the Japanese Mac…
MW: anyone: anyone can see that there are no viruses on Macs!
mike k. Good call.
These ads are running coincident with Apple kicking the computer industry’s ass in year-over-year growth. 36% growth in Mac sales versus 12% for the rest of the market compared to last year’s figures. Apple’s stock is trading at over $105/share. Record high — all time. That’s 735 in dog dollars. Read: The ads sure look like they’re working. So Apple is going to pull the plug on them any minute now.
Whatever you’re smoking seems to have shut down your correlator.
Way too funny.
i’d like to see this one on tv
methinks The Professor needith spell-check
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Anyhoo.. to those who dont like the ads, remember.. its the most irritating ads which seem to be the most effective …
Those old enough to remember “Mr. Whipple” telling the ladies to ..“…..PLU-EEZE … dont squeeze the Charmin….!!” … Well that ad campaign sold a lot of toilet paper !
And what about the elderly lady inquiring …“…. WHERE’S the beef ?….” … that one sold a lot of burgers !!
Bottom line is … if these Mac vs PC ads irritate you … they MUST be effective !
I think this one will work really good. They should air it. Maybe during some highly watched event, at least.
You have to be a Windows-lover to feel hurt. And if that happens, it’s a good thing.
I can already hear the cash register going a lot faster in Apple Stores and the credit card reader is about to die.
MW: Science. On a Mac, it isn’t.
On the 17th March 2006, the anti-virus definitions file for Symantec’s Windows AV products weighed in at 13,748KB. Today’s file is 18,437KB.
To put it another way, every day the anti-virus definitions file gets 11,500 bytes larger.
At that rate, In five years, the definitions file will be over 38MB in size. If you’re lucky enough to have broadband, you can download that relatively quickly – although, if you’re on a capped plan, you’ll be consuming over 1GB of bandwidth just to keep your computer safe from viruses (don’t forget, that doesn’t include anti-spyware definitions).
But if you’re on a dial-up link, it will take you two hours every day to download these files.
I’m trying to imagine why people persist with this crock of shit product, but I’m not sure I can do it without drugs.
Me in LA: “wilight: and that’s the ‘tude that will bite our collective asses one day.”
I’m waiting.
“This is just stupid.
It’s ASKING for these tools to buy a Mac and do it.
And make no mistake, it WILL be done.
We can’t laugh forever.”
I agree, that is why as these commercials run, time goes by, nothing happens. Apple is taunting hackers, but the more time goes by and nothing happens…
OS X will get hacked, there will be viruses. I am no security expert but I have a hard time believing that it will ever get to the state WIndows is in now. M$ doesn’t want to close up the holes because that would mean closing themselves out. Besides think about what the ad says. All they are really saying is there aren’t <u>114,000</u> on a Mac.
methinks The Professor needith spell-check LOL
Nah. The professor has tenure.
The Mac will get more attention as Windows gets more secure, but it’s never going to be anywhere near as bad as the current situation on the other side. At the moment it’s like we’re living next door to someone who leaves their doors and windows open when they leave the house. No way is anyone going to burgle us with such an easy target nearby. But that won’t always be case.
However, due to OSX’s modular nature I’m quite confident that when the viruses do start to appear, Apple will be able to issue patches to close the holes as they have been doing with the proof of concept code that’s occasionally being released. So you’ll end up with a small amount of limited-damage viruses at worst.
Check this BBC experiment,
good info on how people will decide what is best in future. It is a BBC site.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6625279.stm
Enjoy!
Spread the good word.
Cool ad, but it unfairly puts truck stops in a bad light. Most respectable truck stops go to great lengths to keep their facilities clean as they are equipped to provide drivers all their hygene needs, including showering (yes, they bathe). Still, I’ve always used macs and, excepting for a nasty little worm attack in 1998, I have never used virus protection.
mmm. truckstop bathrooms
Hello, Daddy!
Of course they’re seedy. You wouldn’t catch the likes of Thurrott or Dvorak anyplace there wasn’t a glory hole.
Justin Long (Mac) doesn’t have very much dialog in these “Get a Mac” ads these days. The best one by far was “allow or cancel” and Mac had about 5 words. Mac has become the straightman (straightmac) to PC!
Thank you MDN for posting a uTube version of this ad. Since I’ve upgraded to QuickTime 7.1.6 I can’t view these ads on the Apple web site any more.