"Hello, I’m a Mac" ad campaign to end?

[Rick]

After spawning 66 ads in a four year period, Gizmodo reports that Apple might be ending its very successful “Get a Mac” ad campaign soon. Despite being lambasted by PC enthusiasts, the often times quirky and sometimes unscrupulous series of ads generated plenty of buzz for Apple, creating a meme-like interest in the form of parodies, memorabilia and more.

While still little more than a rumor, the claim is substantiated by actor Justin Long (the Mac) who quotes his PC counterpart (John Hodgman) as saying Apple is “going to move on.” Justin continues, expressing a heavy heart from the possibility of not working with his antithetical colleague any longer.

If you are feeling nostalgic, Apple maintains an extensive archive of its “Get a Mac” ads here.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/38535-hello-im-a-mac-ad-campaign-to-end.html

 

[captaincranky]

Oh no this is a disaster, now what will PC owners have to be offended by? Oh wait, I'm sure Apple will think of something.

 

[Tekkaraiden]

They'll always have consoles and DRM to grieve about.

 

[gwailo247]

Does PC actually stand for something? Is it one of those acronyms whose meaning has been lost in the sands of time? Cause if a Mac is not a PC, what is it?

 

[Vrmithrax]

gwailo247 said:
Does PC actually stand for something? Is it one of those acronyms whose meaning has been lost in the sands of time? Cause if a Mac is not a PC, what is it?

Blasphemy! Haven't you heard the Good Word as spoken by Messiah Jobs? A Mac is not a PC! Sure, it does the same stuff, looks similar, operates similar... But don't let the facts cloud your mind! The Mac is just better, stronger, faster, and way more expensive so it MUST be superior, right? Oh, and it comes with a lifetime supply of elitist attitudes, and an entire army of logic-free condescending fanboys to support your fanatical love of all things Apple (should you choose to use them).

/end sarcasm

 

[DelJo63]

Does PC actually stand for something? I

hmm; Personal C**p? (tease)

 

[Guest]

These ads always represented a very stereotypical view of the reality and were not even remotely funny.
Many colleagues of mine could be entitled as being a little nerdy and they owned Macs nonetheless.

 

[Timonius]

If PC stands for personal computer, I'm sure a device such as one's cell phone qualifies even more as a 'personal' computer. Just sayin'.

 

[MrAnderson]

I'm not a PC fanboy or anything, I just like to have freakish control over my hardware... but those ads annoyed the heck out of me. I did smile, but for those who did not know any better, I was bothered at the implications. Anyway, I did enjoy the annoying Microsoft I'm a PC ads to rebut the I'm a Mac. The fact that Apple was annoyed at getting a taste of their own meds was a bit priceless. If you cannot take it, don't dish it out IMHO.

 

[Guest]

I'm a long time PC user but enjoyed the ads which mostly had a point

However the mac does fun stuff while pc does spreadsheets bit was kind of phoney. I mean the main difference is PCs can play all the latest games while macs can't.

 

[matrix86]

Guest said:
These ads always represented a very stereotypical view of the reality and were not even remotely funny.

The thing I never understood is why the guy representing Windows was dressed so boring and so plain. Windows is highly customizable and should be anything but plain. So Mac kind of screwed up there, lol.

Windows needs to make adds like these. You know, where they show Apple blaming someone else for their problems (blaming Adobe for being buggy which is why the iPad doesn't use flash and blaming people's routers for the reason the iPad has wifi issues). Mac has an inferiority complex, and I think that would come off great in a commercial, lol.

Bottom line is, Windows has issues, Mac has issues. Neither are perfect. At least Gates is honest. All Jobs wants to do is rant and rave about everything else being the problem.

And Jobs is right when he says that Mac is not a PC...it's an operating system that runs on a PC, just like Windows is an operating system that runs on a PC. I'm not a PC (a personal computer) I'm a Windows user.

 

[Timonius]

matrix86 said:
And Jobs is right when he says that Mac is not a PC...it's an operating system that runs on a PC, just like Windows is an operating system that runs on a PC. I'm not a PC (a personal computer) I'm a Windows user.

Priceless! Excellent job defining the terms. I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Relic]

While humorous (love John Hodgeman!) those ads irritated me a bit as I know some who actually think Macs are not PC's and something completely different rather then just a brand.

matrix86 said:
And Jobs is right when he says that Mac is not a PC.

No he's not, Macs are a brand of PC like a Pavilion from HP. Macs run OSX while the Pavilion runs Windows. I understand this was the easiest way to market and target Microsoft negatively but its misleading.

 

[tengeta]

Oh well, it was well overdue and the horse was beaten to dust.

It was basically the first version of what we now see in Verizon vs AT&T commercials. One useless argument after another.

 

[LookinAround]

File this under "The more things change, the more they stay the same"

Latest '1984' spoof casts Apple as the villain
Remember Apple's now famous 1984 commercial where they villainized Microsoft for controlling PC software and content? Well, 25 years later they're being spoofed for repeating the same practice as MS with their iPhone

 

[9Nails]

gwailo247 said:
Does PC actually stand for something? Is it one of those acronyms whose meaning has been lost in the sands of time? Cause if a Mac is not a PC, what is it?

Mac stands for; Make Another Choice.

 

[maestromasada]

I always hated those stupid adverts, they are totally misleading, making weak people believe they were superior for just owning a Mac, a piece of white hardware with a non-right click OS that only support Mac products. Give me a break apple! You stole the logo from the Beatles and they claim it was them who came first with the idea of an apple. If you want to advertise your products, do it by saying how good they are, not by estressing how bad the others are.

 

[Guest]

I thought the ads were rather clever. Granted , a Mac is a computer--but the gentle ribbing (as opposed to the AT&T/Verizon wars) was kind of fun. I know a number of us laugh at these--my wife does, she's a PC while I'm a Mac.

I also feel that these ads are far better than the current Win 7 ads ("I'm a PC, and Windows 7 was my idea"). So, if it's really your idea, who do you blame when IE8 doesn't work right...and/or you have to install a new patch every week...or a program doesn't work right because MS has held up sharing bits of the coding that would help...so I ask: You still wanna admit that it was all your idea?

 

[captaincranky]

I thought the ads were rather clever. Granted , a Mac is a computer--but the gentle ribbing (as opposed to the AT&T/Verizon wars) was kind of fun. I know a number of us laugh at these--my wife does, she's a PC while I'm a Mac.

If she allows you to flaunt the typical Mac owners superiority complex, hold on to her tightly, she's a good woman.

I also feel that these ads are far better than the current Win 7 ads ("I'm a PC, and Windows 7 was my idea"). So, if it's really your idea, who do you blame when IE8 doesn't work right...and/or you have to install a new patch every week...or a program doesn't work right because MS has held up sharing bits of the coding that would help...so I ask: You still wanna admit that it was all your idea?

"I'm a PC and I accept no responsibility of guilt for Vista, nor credit for Windows 7. Beyond that, I have been directed by my attorney to make no further comment".

 

[Didou]

It definitely struck a few chords, that's one of the reasons why you can now find brand name computers with a little bit less bloatware & if I'm not mistaken Microsoft requires that all computers available in its retail stores have as little pre-installed programs as possible.

 

[SNGX1275]

... a piece of white hardware with a non-right click OS that only support Mac products...

Macs have supported right click since at least OS X (2001) and have been shipping mice with right click (and other features) for 5 years now. Harping on things that Apple hasn't done for almost a decade as if they still exist really zaps your credibility on Mac bashing.

 

[captaincranky]

Macs have supported right click since at least OS X (2001) and have been shipping mice with right click (and other features) for 5 years now. Harping on things that Apple hasn't done for almost a decade as if they still exist really zaps your credibility on Mac bashing.

Are we still good to go on Mac bashing because of price versus performance...?

Although I love those IPS panels they use. Can't afford 'em, but I love 'em.

 

[Didou]

Are we still good to go on Mac bashing because of price versus performance...?

If your arguments happen to be valid.

 

[captaincranky]

If your arguments happen to be valid.

It's hard to tell, til you put them out there, that's why I asked. That said, didn't they ask M$ to take down their ads on the subject...? I would have said no, they're true.

After all, those ads didn't go as far as saying anything like, "I walked into the Apple store with 300 dollars, and all I got was this crummy T-shirt...!

Macs have supported right click since at least OS X (2001) and have been shipping mice with right click (and other features) for 5 years now.

I'd have gotten on him about how a PC has no "Command" or "Option" key.

 

[Flannelwarrior]

I'm glad to see these ads go, as they only contributed to the insufferably elitist attitudes of apple fanboys.