Annoying or Cool: Microsoft ads vs. Apple ads
I own a Mac laptop and a little iPod. I use the Mac all the time and love it. I like my iPod, but I don't really use it much because I'm still a fan of regular old-fashioned radio (don't judge, I'm old-school like that). So yes, I am a fan of Apple products.
But can I just tell you how I'm so over those smarmy, cooler-than-thou Apple commercials? At first, I thought they were kind of cute. But the more I watch them, the more they grate on my nerves. Seriously. Can Apple come off any more elitist than they do in their ads with Mac Boy?
Am I the only one annoyed?
I gotta say, though, as annoyed as I am about the Mac ads, I have to say that the Seinfeld-Gates ads that Microsoft has been running weren't really doing much for me either. Slightly amusing, but... meh. Not very memorable, just odd.
Better, I think, are the savvy ads that Microsoft launched next to battle back against the stodgy stereotype created by Apple ads. Have you seen them yet? They're not pretentious. They're not hipster cool. They're not trying to be edgy. They're just showing that PC users are you, me and lots of other (every day and some famous) people in the world.
There are two more similar to it.
Which of these two ads speak to you? Are they a hit or a miss? Does it make you prefer either product more or less? Do you strictly identify with one or the other? Do you identify with Macs or PCs when you watch these ads?
I bought a Mac for my home use, but I also use a PC for work. I'm a technophobe, but I am able to find my way around both. But watching the ads, I feel like I identify more with PC Guy than Mac Boy.
Sorry, but I'm no hipster. I embraced my inner-dork years ago. So when Mac Boy picks on PC Guy, I just want to find a bigger PC Dude with anger issues to get him to punch Mac Boy out. You know, take down his smarm a notch or two. (heh. not that I'm advocating violence. yaaargh. we're opposed to violence here, but not opposed to Talk like a Pirate Day, of course. heh.)
Have a good weekend, me hearties!
Categories: Computers, Marketing/Advertising
Comments
The new PC ad is pretty clever - and much more amusing than the Gates/Seinfeld drama. It's surprising that Microsoft felt compelled to respond to Apple's (very clever) PC/Mac Boy ads since they've got over 90% of the personal computer market. But now Bill Gates has retired from MS and maybe he's testing the waters as a comedian..
Apple makes great products. I've got a MacBook and an ipod too, and love them. Your post got me thinking of "when exactly did Apple become hip?" Still not sure but it might have been after the original MacIntosh was introduced in 1984 and the (graphic) design/artist community fell in love with them. But instead of being perceived as hip, at least one cartoonist back then did a great parody of the Mac. The "Banana Jr." of Berkley Breathed's Bloom County had a mind (and legs) of its own. Those were the days..
http://www-i5.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/mbp/bloom/bloom.html
Posted by: bob | September 21, 2008 9:04 PM
The real irony the designers who made these Microsoft adds aren't PCs:
http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/New_Microsoft__I_m_a_PC__Ads_Made_on_a_Mac
Posted by: K E | September 21, 2008 11:42 PM