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New "Get A Mac" commercial just aired "Clothing Giveup"
- Thread starter iTim314
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it might be time to start thinking about retiring these ads. They might start to turn around and bite apple if they use them too long. Even mac users i know are starting to find them irritating and too smug.
Focus on some of the new 300 features - unless of course none of them are worth mentioning, eh??
What's the odds we're gonna get a smug Steve Jobs in January come out with that quote from PC world and whip everyone in the audience into a frenzy just like that German guy did last year with the whole Aero/Aqua thing??
Focus on some of the new 300 features - unless of course none of them are worth mentioning, eh??
What's the odds we're gonna get a smug Steve Jobs in January come out with that quote from PC world and whip everyone in the audience into a frenzy just like that German guy did last year with the whole Aero/Aqua thing??
Just like your avatar
I totally agree though. They could do so much with their adverts but they choose to the easy route and frankly the immature route.
I hate the whole ad series.
But the ads aren't aimed at us. People who are bothered enough to choose Windows because of them are an extreme minority. People who like them are a larger group. But even more important is the big group who get the message whether they like it or not: "it's not crazy to consider a Mac instead of Windows." That's not new to us, but it IS new to a vast number of people who never had Macs on their radar at all. They don't care what supposed advantages Macs have, they know that only Windows is a rational choice--and they don't even know why. They choose Windows "just because." Apple needed to challenge that, and they have.
As for mention of Microsoft being a bad thing, I don't think it is. Microsoft already has 100% mindshare. Reminding people that Windows exists is no threat--nobody ever forgot it. In marketing, the rule of thumb is that an established leader shouldn't ever mention the little competitor and give them any legitimacy. But the reverse isn't true: the little guy CAN go after the monopoly and make some headway.
As for showing the details of OS X--that works in print and online, where people have time to read and think and see high-res images. It also works in a physical store with demo machines. And Apple does show OS X in detail in those places. But in a brief TV spot, at far less resolution than a computer screen, you can't show a complex desktop computer OS and make an effective point. Some details you could show that way, but the real message about what makes OS X better would need to be explained, not shown. Better to get people interested, and lead them to the real details online.
Thing of the TV ads as the entry point for the message--the topic sentence of the paragraph. You lead with that, not the details. The details won't be absorbed anyway unless people have accepted the initial message: "it's not crazy to consider a Mac over Windows."
I suspect some data has been gathered on these ads, and that the reason they keep making them is that they're working.
(And yes, like any 30-second ad, they present a partial truth rather than a full and detailed picture. That doesn't make all ads lies, but it does mean advertising is driven by profit above all. I don't like it either, but it's the case.)
But the ads aren't aimed at us. People who are bothered enough to choose Windows because of them are an extreme minority. People who like them are a larger group. But even more important is the big group who get the message whether they like it or not: "it's not crazy to consider a Mac instead of Windows." That's not new to us, but it IS new to a vast number of people who never had Macs on their radar at all. They don't care what supposed advantages Macs have, they know that only Windows is a rational choice--and they don't even know why. They choose Windows "just because." Apple needed to challenge that, and they have.
As for mention of Microsoft being a bad thing, I don't think it is. Microsoft already has 100% mindshare. Reminding people that Windows exists is no threat--nobody ever forgot it. In marketing, the rule of thumb is that an established leader shouldn't ever mention the little competitor and give them any legitimacy. But the reverse isn't true: the little guy CAN go after the monopoly and make some headway.
As for showing the details of OS X--that works in print and online, where people have time to read and think and see high-res images. It also works in a physical store with demo machines. And Apple does show OS X in detail in those places. But in a brief TV spot, at far less resolution than a computer screen, you can't show a complex desktop computer OS and make an effective point. Some details you could show that way, but the real message about what makes OS X better would need to be explained, not shown. Better to get people interested, and lead them to the real details online.
Thing of the TV ads as the entry point for the message--the topic sentence of the paragraph. You lead with that, not the details. The details won't be absorbed anyway unless people have accepted the initial message: "it's not crazy to consider a Mac over Windows."
I suspect some data has been gathered on these ads, and that the reason they keep making them is that they're working.
(And yes, like any 30-second ad, they present a partial truth rather than a full and detailed picture. That doesn't make all ads lies, but it does mean advertising is driven by profit above all. I don't like it either, but it's the case.)
Soooo......the common Windows user likes smugness? Is this the image we Mac users want to give off?
Everytime I'm at a friend's house and a Mac ad comes on, my friends think the ad is just plain stupid, and then look at me as if I made the advertisement. I didn't. I tell them I hate it too.
Firstly, apparent resolution is dependent upon the distance that a viewer is from the screen, so unless someone is sitting directly in front of a TV, it doesn't matter that much.
Secondly, if they want to show what OSX can do, they CAN do it in a small TV advert. Have Apple Loser show off a Mac feature, and explain to PC Guy why it's useful and how he uses it.
Right now, it's just 30 seconds of "I'm a Mac, and you suck. I'm better than you, so HAH!"
No they don't. The common Windows user doesn't see smugness. YOU see smugness. Many of us here see smugness. People who have something against Macs--like your friends--see smugness. But most people have nothing against Macs. They don't care either way and never consider owning a Mac at all. That large group is one Apple can win sales from. Not from your Mac-hating friends. (And for the record, I've never run into anyone in person who didn't like these Apple ads. Mac users and PC users alike all seem to enjoy them--outside of the microcosm we tech forum-goers inhabit
)And if you're not sitting right in front of a screen, you'll never see the details of a high-res computer interface anyway. Run a computer to TV some time and see what a mess it is no matter what the distance. An ad shouldn't be full of UI text and details you try to read and can't. Not even if there's some big thing (like CoverFlow) going on too. Leave those details to print, the web, and hands-on demos. Nobody will pay attention to OS demos on TV. They'll tune them out. Funny little skits get attention. Annoying but true.
Regarding the new 'misprint' ad, I've noticed a few posts (here and elsewhere) calling it 'Windows-Bashing'... seems more like Gateway/HP/Dell bashing to me.
This add is perfect, it sends a clear message to the general public that Macs can run Windows. We see points and comma's but the rest of the world still needs to be educated on the fact that the Mac is capable of running Windows at decent speeds.
An ad showing Leopards features wouldn't get a second look.
Apple is looking to create mindshare and has really stepped up the advertising (at least here in the States) leading up to the Holiday season.
While not exactly tasteful you do remember the characters and what the commercial was for.
Apple is looking to create mindshare and has really stepped up the advertising (at least here in the States) leading up to the Holiday season.
While not exactly tasteful you do remember the characters and what the commercial was for.
I don't post here too often but want to air a view;
These ads aren't about the script, content, message, whatever, as much as they are about attitude. Possibly the best example of this is the 'Wheel of Vista' advert - read on and you'll see what I mean.
I don't think Apple are trying to portray their users as smug - but as users who are relaxed and have enough time to be smug. The body language is the important thing. Whichever country's ads you look at - be it the US, English, or even Japan (I don't understand what they're saying but that kind of proves my point . . . ), you can instantly tell that the mac character is more confident. It's that that Apple try to sell - the lifestyle, not the individual points that the adverts sell individually. While together they do build up pictures and characters, even from just seeing one thirty second clip, you can tell that Apple believe in what they are selling - and that's something no marketing can buy.
Just my $.02!
MohThoM
These ads aren't about the script, content, message, whatever, as much as they are about attitude. Possibly the best example of this is the 'Wheel of Vista' advert - read on and you'll see what I mean.
I don't think Apple are trying to portray their users as smug - but as users who are relaxed and have enough time to be smug. The body language is the important thing. Whichever country's ads you look at - be it the US, English, or even Japan (I don't understand what they're saying but that kind of proves my point . . . ), you can instantly tell that the mac character is more confident. It's that that Apple try to sell - the lifestyle, not the individual points that the adverts sell individually. While together they do build up pictures and characters, even from just seeing one thirty second clip, you can tell that Apple believe in what they are selling - and that's something no marketing can buy.
Just my $.02!
MohThoM
I didn't see this ad as bashing Vista. It was just saying that Macs can run Vista as fast or faster than wintel boxes. And I really don't think these ads come off as smug either. I mean it's hard to say the Mac character is smug, when all he does is stand there and the PC character pwns himself. I think Windows people who hate these ads are afraid of anything being as good or better than what they have. If the ad characters were reversed, the Windows people who are miffed over the current ads would be all over these ads and think they're hilarious. So they need to get over it.
HUH??
Apples just reporting what PC Mag said. No lies here. And note the line from PC Mag is quoted as 'fastest that we tested'. Again, no comprehensive claim.
I liked the iPod Touch commercial that kid made, and then Apple produced a professional version of -- it shows the Touch, and shows off its major selling points including the touch-screen interface, cover flow view, etc, all without anyone saying a word.
I don't know if it would be as easy to show off someone working in Leopard -- Spaces, Cover Flow in the Finder, Expose, Dashboard, Time Machine -- but that would be cool if they would even just plant the seed in people's minds. "Apple computers are futuristic and slick!" (And they run Windows, too!)
If it ain't broke...
Apple's market share is up -- the commercials have at least SOMETHING to do with it. If Apple's market share would've gone up during the SWITCH campaign, we'd still be seeing those now. Ain't nothing going to change while things are going well.
Apple's market share is up -- the commercials have at least SOMETHING to do with it. If Apple's market share would've gone up during the SWITCH campaign, we'd still be seeing those now. Ain't nothing going to change while things are going well.
As a PC user saving eagerly for his next mac (used them a long time ago, itching to switch back) I don't think these ads are smug. I can see why many do - you don't have to put up with windows. There are thousands and thousands of people out there who absolutely hate windows and are either forced into using it or don't know any differently - any student who's ever lost coursework because Word 'ate it' or their computer crashed, most people who have constantly breaking windows PCs.
These ads have to state that they are better than Windows because if they don't they will be marked as 'another operating system that's probably crap'.
We're getting the ads because we're pissed off with Windows and we want to know that there's a better way.
Of course it doesn't work for windows fan boys or existing mac users, but that's not who Apple is going for. They're going for the ones that want to be converted.
These ads have to state that they are better than Windows because if they don't they will be marked as 'another operating system that's probably crap'.
We're getting the ads because we're pissed off with Windows and we want to know that there's a better way.
Of course it doesn't work for windows fan boys or existing mac users, but that's not who Apple is going for. They're going for the ones that want to be converted.
As a recent switcher, the ads turned me off. They seem to exemplify everything I hate about the stereotypical "mac user".
They are offensive to pc users in my opinion. I'm not convinced making your potential customers feel stupid is a great marketing strategy.
They are offensive to pc users in my opinion. I'm not convinced making your potential customers feel stupid is a great marketing strategy.
I don't think the tests they were using (or quoting haha) involved gaming...but i'm not positive, because without a doubt the SLI machines would slaughter a MBP at that.
Right. It was actually saying that users who want Vista SHOULD keep using it. (!) This is pretty amazing message from Apple.
How can people see an Apple ad that says "Hey, you want to run Vista? Go for it!" and think that it's an attack on Microsoft? This is the most PRO Microsoft ad they've ever done!
It is, however, very cruel to Dell, HP, Sony, etc. But there's something wrong with that?
Sadly, Macs are not immune from Word's voracious appetite. I lost half of a master's thesis in a Word crash (luckily it was early in the process, so maybe only 50 pages?) where the file got corrupted so badly that Word could never open it again -- any attempt to do so and it would simply crash again and again. I didn't just lose my unsaved changes, but the entire document!
Between a week-old backup and a hex editor, I was able to retrieve most of the text. That's when I switched my thesis over to LaTeX. Never looked back.
I tolerate Microsoft Office, but barely.