Apple today has debuted two new “Get a Mac” ads on U.S. broadcast and cable television networks.
In “Top of the Line, ” the customer wants a great computer, so she gets a Mac, of course:
Direct link via YouTube here.
“Top of the Line” PC is played by Patrick Warburton who played Seinfeld’s “David Puddy,” voiced “Ken” in Seinfeld’s Bee Movie, and currently stars on the U.S television series Rules of Engagement (CBS), among many other roles.
MacDailyNews Take: When you’re ready to compromise… We would have used “settle” instead, but we’re not complaining.
In “Surprise,” PC tries a new way to sell Windows PCs, but, as always, fails in the end – just like a real Windows PC:
Direct link via YouTube here.
MacDailyNews Take: After viewing this spot, it feels like we’ve been expecting this one for awhile and we’re glad to finally have it.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Judge Bork,” “Fred Mertz,” and “MacRadDoc” for the heads up.]
The PC people are funnier than the smug, holier than thou Mac guy.
And someday, in the not too distant future, there is going to be some horrible, destructive, Mac virus, and Apple is going to have to eat one big ugly crow.
The Mac should be sold on its relative technological merits, not the virus crap. It’s just a constant taunt.
What the h***? Are you insane? You don’t say negative things about your own brand in your ads! Once an idea gets lodged in people’s brains, they can’t recall where they heard it. So when some PC dork says “Macs are no safer than PCs” or “Windows 7 fixed all that. Now Macs are insecure” or they read a hit piece on some Mac malware written up as a virus, they think, “Yeah I’ve heard that before somewhere. It must be true!” This is the worst ad I’ve ever heard of a company running. I expect a lot better from Apple than adding their own misinformation to the mountain of Mac myths out there!
Wake up!
@thelonius, wouldn’t you say that a virus-resistant operating system is one of the technological merits of the Macintosh?
And someday, in the not too distant future, there is going to be some horrible, destructive, Mac virus, and Apple is going to have to eat one big ugly crow.
iCal it.
How many b>years</b> have to go by before that little fantasy gets dropped?
is for Surprise. “top of the line” not their finest work at all. “surprise” well played.
oops, lost my <
Indeed, PCpeople are funny.
as cute as these commercials have been, not to mention keeping these two clowns employed, when will Apple make commercials for all mac models like they do for the iPhone and show function, and nice and easy it is. I just think it will be the kick to the nuts advertisement wise Apple needs to give. and just say “All this in a Mac”
[And someday, in the not too distant future, there is going to be some horrible, destructive, Mac virus, and Apple is going to have to eat one big ugly crow.]
FunnyPeople have been saying that for a very very, long time, now. Can you be more specific?
Will it be around the same time that Microsoft releases VaporWare2009?
@Digits McGee
I’d say about the same number of years they have been predicting the death of Apple itself (approximately 25yrs and counting).
As for the ads, they are just brilliant. The sleaze-ball salesman is just right for emphasising the amount of sleaze it takes to sell a PC to a sucker! In the same way as the guy in the dress home movie ad shows the quality of what you’d get if you you were a mug and happened to fall for the sales pitch…
The second one is just great jujitsu!
Say it, “A Mac is just better than a Windows box.”
Now say it again and again in an ad, then spell out the facts.
Come on Apple, the lack of viruses is great, but Macs are greater.
Deft as usual!
The top-of-the-line-PC ad is OK (“compromise” is great, or “settle”, or whatever), but it sort of carries the connotation that Mac performance, or iMac 24in screen size for that matter, are below par. And they aren’t.
Top of the Line: The Return of Joe Isuzu
@theloniusMac:
Do everybody a favor and just STFU!
@ theloniousMac
> And someday, in the not too distant future, there is going to be some horrible, destructive, Mac virus, and Apple is going to have to eat one big ugly crow.
And IF that ever happens, THEN I will start to worry. Until then, this Mac user is smug and happy to NOT be a Windows user. So, let me know when it happens, OK (I feel like I’ve been saying that for the better part of a decade – Oh wait, I have been saying that for the better part of a decade).
Oh, someday… Someday… Maybe the same “someday” when Zune turns a profit.
@theloniousMac: “And someday, in the not too distant future, there is going to be some horrible, destructive, Mac virus, and Apple is going to have to eat one big ugly crow.”
Apple’s ads never claim to be impervious to viruses, just that there aren’t thousands of viruses running amuck (in the wild) for Mac OS X. There probably never will be an influx due to the fact the Unix was designed for networked systems and security was built-in from the beginning. Peer-to-peer networking on DOS/Windows was an after thought and as such so was the need for strict security. The fact is Windows has been a fairly secure system since XP SP2, but before then, tens of thousands of viruses were written to exploit security holes in the operating system. Those viruses still have to be watched and scanned for even in modern Windows systems due to backwards compatibility Microsoft has to drag along with it.
It has been 8 years since OS X was released and there still has not been a single viral exploit in the wild affecting Macs. That doesn’t mean that there never could or will be, what it does mean is that Macs are currently not inundated with the same issues that plague Windows. That is a fact! And there’s no reason why Apple shouldn’t try and capitalize on it!
Nice to see Apple take on the PC shoppers ads, but I seriously didn’t expect to see the Mac and PC guys again as the idea is growing a bit old. I also thought they might have done more than just tout the Mac’s virus free status.
Great adds, I especially love the second one. Someday, maybe in the not too distant future, there is going to be some horrible, destructive, Mac virus, but by then, their holographic Object User Interface will be the wow of the town.
Not to mention it will give new meaning to the phrase “a million to one.”
Yesterday I went with a friend to a store that sells both Macs and PCs to buy her first notebook, a Macbook Pro. A salesman came up as we were looking at the notebooks and asked if he could help. My friend said she was looking at the Macs. The salesman started his pitch, and never mentioned the possibility of a Windows machine the whole time we were there. He did say she should get an anti-virus program. I told her I didn’t think it was a good idea, that it would eat up processor cycles, could only identify known viruses, and there were no viral exploits in the wild that harmed OS X. I suggested she get Little Snitch, practice safe internet use, and police her connections. The salesman never mentioned anti-virus programs again.
It was the first time I’ve not had a salesman try and push a Windows machine. I noticed another couple looking at the iMacs, and their salesman didn’t mention Windows machines, either.
“Indeed, PC people are funny.”
And attractive too. Especially Ballmer.
@Gordon Horne
I’ve been watching that kind of from a distance too, but really haven’t seen that yet. PC salesmen have taken on car salesmen traits, they ask “how much do you want to spend” and then take the customer on a test drive of a dressed up lowend car.
So unless you go there knowing what you want (seriously know what you want) you will still be steered to the highest margin crappiest computer your hard earned dollars can buy.
Why is there no link to apple.com? I don’t hate youtube, but prefer watching the QT version from Apple. MDN usually provides a link. Where is it?
@ theloniousMac:
I hear you, but it’s true. Everyone in my family who complains about the Windows computers–viruses is their chief complaint.
and regarding:
“The PC people are funnier than the smug, holier than thou Mac guy.” –ask any comedian, funny people no respect beyond making people laugh–they’re not…well…taken seriously.
A lot of people say Justin(the Mac Guy) is smug. I don’t get it.
He’s the straight-guy–he’s just handing the PC Guy the shovel.
I am disappointed in these ads. They should talk about iLife, the unibody, or iChat. The virus issue is old. This is the third ad with shoppers, the PC commercials must be having some affect that they feel the need to take them on.
I am surprised that they put this out just before the launch of SL. I would think they would want to show that off. Maybe we will see some new ones in 2 weeks.
@Ting
That’s it!! Jujitsu! For my fellow Westerners that’s: “Using the opponents momentum against him”. that’s akin to my “handing the PC guy a shovel” comment earlier.
Hand two guys a shovel. One will dig a hole, the other will dig himself into a hole. It all depends on who’s digging.
Is the Mac Guy smug? Maybe smug is not the word. The Mac Guy is not encouraging the PC guy, he’s more trying to convince him how not to dig the whole.
But I do think it’s time for Apple to start focusing on the merits of the machine. The “no virus” thing won’t be a selling point much longer.
@ theloniousMac
The Mac is sold on its technological merits… the fact that its relatively virus free IS A TECHNOLOGICAL merit! Its not simply by chance, or because serious coders aren’t trying. Don’t believe the crap the so-called professional security analysts are spewing. You don’t think it would be a huge feather i the cap of the coder that happened to be the first to create a real Mac virus! They’re trying believe me, they’ve been trying.
…”You don’t say negative things about your own brand in your ads! Once an idea gets lodged in people’s brains, they can’t recall where they heard it.”
Where exactly did you see negative things about “our own” brand? It must have been late in the day, and you must have been tired…
Ordinary (PC) people actually love these ads (for the most part). By now, they treat them as a soap opera (or a long-running sitcom). They wait to see what’s the next one going to be about.
The ad people behind this have been paying attention. These days, vast majority of Windows sufferers complain about viruses. Nothing else in the Windows world annoys them more than the threat and the destructive power of malware. This is the most effective line of attack. And obviously, this is where they will hurt the most.
Keep them coming! There has never been more effective campaign from Apple.
As for MDN’s take on “compromise”, I don’t think it’s weaker than “settle”. The way I understand the use of “compromise” here is in the sense as in “to compromise the network security”, or “to do something where the troops could be compromised” (or, as the dictionary widget defines it: “bring into disrepute or danger by indiscreet, foolish, or reckless behavior”). It’s the very definition of choosing a PC…
Yeah, I’m just not seeing the smugness. For the most part, the Mac guy just stands there. The PC fanboys just see what they want to see in these commercials. And yes, thelonius, one day there will be a destructive Mac virus. On that day there will be 1 malicious Mac virus versus the 250,000 Windows ones. The only people who say the Mac is invulnerable are Windows fans.
Love “Top of the Line”, if for no other reason than Puddy appears as…himself. Priceless.
One for time for theioniousmac.
“And someday, in the not too distant future, there is going to be some horrible, destructive, Mac virus, and Apple is going to have to eat one big ugly crow.
The Mac should be sold on its relative technological merits, not the virus crap. It’s just a constant taunt.”
—–Some day in the future, a giant asteroid is going to crash into the earth and destroy all life here. We should all die now to save time. Cause…….. you know……. its going to happen………
right??? ——
Please Ionious, buy a PC and enjoy some smugness.
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Just a thought.
en
“But I do think it’s time for Apple to start focusing on the merits of the machine. The “no virus” thing won’t be a selling point much longer.”
As other people have mentioned, that is not the selling point. The point is (# viruses on Mac) << thousands on PC. Whether that number is zero or one (sometime in the future) won’t change the commercial.
Both these masterful commercials enable PC users to relax and laugh at themselves. Both also feature appealing young women interacting with men in a 30 second timeframe.
This reminds me of Professor Richard Wiseman’s work to scientifically identify the world’s best Speed Dating pickup line:…The winner? “If you were a pizza topping, what kind of pizza topping would you be?” The entire idea being to make the other person relax and laugh at themselves (in 30 seconds).
They are lame.
If this is the best they can do, Apple is in trouble.
I can’t believe those were the roles MDN mentioned for Patrick Warburton.
Patrick Warburton is best known as the voice of Joe on Family Guy, the voice of Brock Sampson on The Venture Brothers, and was also the star of the short-lived live-action The Tick sitcom. He’s got serious geek cred.
——RM
Actually Mary, the best Apple can do is their products. You don’t need as much ad space after that. Not to mention that most people disagree and love these ads.
The best MS can do is their ads. That is why they are in trouble…
“Once an idea gets lodged in people’s brains, they can’t recall where they heard it.” – andintroducing
If ideas could get lodged in people’s brains, advertising would not exist.
“I am disappointed in these ads. They should talk about iLife, the unibody, or iChat. The virus issue is old.” – Sarasota too
It’s old to us Mac users. It is VERY current/timely and pertinent to the average PC user.
Most PCs I’ve seen at my job open programs in 1 minute as opposed to 3-4 seconds on a Mac. The average person I see is bogged down with malware, spyware and actual viruses, not to mention speed-killing firewalls and anti-virus/anti-spyware programs constantly running.
Does anyone else think these get a mac adverts are lame?
Apple should actually advertise the Macs and OS X, not these moronic men pretending to be Macs.
I cannot believe why such acted out stupidity could lead anyone to want to buy a mac. Like my phone co submerging me with images of geckos, dogs, cats to lure me to upgrade my system or buy a cell phone. Only morons…
@theloniousMac
Ugh! I hate that smug, holier than though Mac guy too… the way he just stands there saying nothing while everyone else talks, and then at the end when the girl decides she wants to go with the Mac, he says “Great” and shakes that girls hand. Argh!!! Can you be any more elitist and high and mighty!!! …So obnoxious, that Mac guy.
Brau “but I seriously didn’t expect to see the Mac and PC guys again as the idea is growing a bit old. “
Ronald McDonald is getting old, the “Verizon Guy” has been around longer than the Mac vs PC guys, and what about Orville Redenbacher? In relative scheme of things, as far as advertising campaigns go, Mac vs PC guys are relatively new.
They keep them fresh by continually making new ads and not just running old ones over and over.
Also, to theloniousMac and anyone else who thinks that the Mac guy is smug, it’s in the eye of the beholder. He’s not doing anything that would make him out to be smug.
@Smack! (or for Smack!)
For those of you who didn’t get Smack!s tone–that was brilliant sarcasm, if i do say so myself.
I think “Surprise” is taking a jab at Windows 7. Win7 is the closest that MS has taken the Windows GUI to look and feel like the Mac GUI. Vista already copied many features of OS X, and Win7 has gone further with the revamped Taskbar, Aero Peek, Jump Lists, etc. MS has even gone so far as to use a numeric naming convention just like Apple. (Where was Windows 4, 5, and 6?) Win7 is disguising itself to look like OS X, but underneath it all it is still a clunky, virus prone PC.
@macdofan:
<<<I cannot believe why such acted out stupidity could lead anyone to want to buy a mac.>>>
The best advertising is subliminal and acts on the viewers subconscious. My fellow Americans don’t know why they buy what they buy, they just buy.
@Lorax
Windows XP was named after Mac OS X. Win 7 is less of a copy name-wise than XP was.
macdofan I cannot believe why such acted out stupidity could lead anyone to want to buy a.. (fill in the blank)…Only morons…
Leaving PT Barnum aside, people do not make conscious decisions for most of what they do, even intelligent people who perceive they make conscious intelligent decisions for everything. This is simply not true, this is not how the human brain works, it never has and never will.
The subconscious part of your brain makes the vast majority of decisions of what you do for you. Most never even rise to the conscious level, but those that do, most are made up in your subconscious mind before you are aware that there is a decision to be made, and then your mind later rationalizes the decision you already made in your subconscious to give you the appearance of a rational conscious decision.
This is merely an illusion. A trick your mind plays on you.
Humans are baboons with a slightly enhanced ability to communicate, especially verbally. Nothing more.
Awww C’mon Folks
Mac Guy is Bugs Bunny just standing there minding his own business
And is never “smug” to ask your Neighbor, “Eh, What’s Up PC?”
Well, as long as you’re not chomping a carrot …
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Now, on a more “serious” note …
Been catching up on that TV Show – Mad Men
Very Interesting™
Not sure how to describe – like Father Knows Best meets Hitchcock, Twilight Zone, and SNL
But sure does shine a 50 year old light on Shoveling Bull Shit
Check it out – Mad Men – then these Ads will make a LOT of sense
BC
Oh, and Moonie …
Maybe we just travel in different Human – Baboon Circles, but …
After looking at just that one “Human” running Microsoft
You sure you want to stick with “slightly enhanced” ?
That your Final Answer ?
for Christ sake! Look just show what you can do with GarageBand for instance – it’ll bring in more sales!
“Puddy, don’t wait for me”
That’s Brock Samson!!!!!
Patrick Warburton FTW!!
“Humans are baboons with a slightly enhanced ability to communicate, especially verbally. Nothing more.”
Yeah that describes you and a lot of other educated idiots, but the rest of us grew beyond baboon stage quite some time ago. I could give you examples, however your brian hasn’t developed to where you could grasp the idea. Pity.
theloniousMac has to be joking: “And someday, in the not too distant future, there is going to be some horrible, destructive, Mac virus, and Apple is going to have to eat one big ugly crow.”
We’ve been hearing that dum-a$$ line since August of 2005 when it was first perpetrated by Symantec in a desperate effort to sell Norton Anti-Virus, the single worst anti-malware application ever created for Mac. At the time NAV was notorious for crashing Macs, something rather difficult to do. And guess what? NAV is still a POS and remains the single worst anti-malware app for Mac. Darn!
So how many years has it been now? Hmm! Exactly 4 (FOUR) years!
And how many viruses are there for Mac OS X? – NONE
And how many spyware apps are there for Mac OS X? – NONE
And how many worms are there for Mac OS X? – NONE
So what malware is there for Mac OS X?! Just Trojan horses, those things that require USER failure in order to infect a computer. Just sucks doesn’t it.
I follow Mac malware at my blog:
http://Mac-Security.blogspot.com
I’m no expert, but you don’t have to be an expert to know what is the single safest GUI based OS on the planet. (It’s Mac OS X!).
(Psst! The very safest OSes on the planet are CLI based OpenBSD and FreeBSD. Elements of both are built into Mac OS X. Kind of helps. Sorry Linux. I still like you though).