New 'Get a Mac' Ads: Flashback and Computer Cart

[Rocketman]

Mac and PC go back in time and revisit the "good old days" in this new ad from Apple, Inc.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2365193598746798097

Rocketman

[Xander562]

Haha, Nice! So true too... so true.

[Max Payne]

Nice.....

[FF_productions]

They'll never get old...

[G5Unit]

HAHA. Although I don't think it has much to do with macs, that's funny!

[LimeiBook86]

Here's another new ad. Windows Cryptic Messages (http://media.putfile.com/Cryptic-Error-Messages-Get-A-Mac-Ad)

I like the new ads, I wonder when we'll get to see a third since they are usually released in threes :) :D

[Airforce]

Eh, these are kinda getting old.

[Rocketman]

I find it interesting (and good) that the computer branding on all these ads is :apple:Mac.

Rocketman

[puckhead193]

i just saw it on discovery channel...very funny!

[gkarris]

Eh, these are kinda getting old.

It's like a fine wine - they improve with age...:p

The cartful of PC's is histerical - I just fixed a cartload of old Wintel boxes not too long ago...

[EricNau]

Can't say I entirely get "Calculator," but I do like "Cryptic Messages."

[nutthick]

Getting tired of these.

[Rocketman]

Can't say I entirely get "Calculator," but I do like "Cryptic Messages."

I agree with you more often than you know :)

Rocketman

[gkarris]

Can't say I entirely get "Calculator," but I do like "Cryptic Messages."

Bundled programs, silly....:p

When I use a Windows box, I constantly use calculator...

On Macs, I use iPhoto, iWeb, iTunes, iDVD, and iMovie...

[Texas04]

The calculator one just does not make sense to non apple consumers. It is a very different market approach Apple seems to be following. Instead of doing the usual "buy my product" they seem to be doing a "look product!" message to the public. I believe they are using us, as Mac Fanatics to do the "buy the product" line. And it seems to be working.

With that being said calculator fit that description while the Cryptic Messages fit the more traditional ad style.

[Zweben]

The ad is now on the Apple site.

http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

[nagromme]

I guess they know what works...I only like the Vista security one and the rest (like most ads) just bug me. But non-techie consumers ARE talking about them--still after all this time! So--whatever works :)

[k2k koos]

Windows cryptic messages is great, the other is nice, and demonstrates a nice apple core animation transition... :-)
We need more of these, and especially here in europe, get the recent stuff out here, the Vista ones would be very helpfull right now :-)

[Mgkwho]

HAHA.

Both are hilarious. Flashback & Computer Cart are the names, btw. Not calculator.

-=|Mgkwho

[gkarris]

The ad is now on the Apple site.

http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

wmp.dll - Windows Media Player program error?

If I'm right, I've been working on Windows way too long - I might go and get that :apple:TV afterall...

[Rocketman]

Damn, they called it "Flashback" not "Calculator" :(

[katanna]

There are two new Get a Mac adds on their website:
http://www.apple.com/getamac/

"Flashback" (not Calculator) and Computer Cart.

Matthew

[Rocketman]

There are two new Get a Mac adds on their website:
http://www.apple.com/getamac/

"Flashback" (not Calculator) and Computer Cart.

Matthew

Not "cryptic messages" :mad:

:D

:apple:

[ariza910]

Lets all pitch in and buy Rocketman a new monitor! ...CRTs are dead :D

Thanks for capturing these commercials Rocketman!

[p0intblank]

I just saw a new ad, too! It was about PC getting all kinds of errors. I found it funny. :D

[psycoswimmer]

I just saw the end of the Computer Cart one on TV. I was going to post it here but saw that rocketman and others had already seen them. I'm currently watching them on Apple's website...

[Rocketman]

Lets all pitch in and buy Rocketman a new monitor! ...CRTs are dead :D

Thanks for capturing these commercials Rocketman!

I am not inside the reality distortion field.

But I want to be!

They posted the AppleTV ad 24 hours after airing but the new GAM ad 12 hours after posting. My question is this. Why doesn't Apple.com "have it first", or at minimum, iTunes for $1.99 during the first 24 hours of new content. Surely for tens of thousands of folks, the freshness of it has monetary value?

The new internet paradigm. Microsoft missed the boat, 5 times, how about Apple?

Rocketman

[queshy]

Everyone knows these are posted on Apples website, right? (dont want to be repeating old news!)
WHy is this page 2? Does Page 2 mean less important?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Apple officially posted two new Get a Mac ads (http://www.apple.com/getamac/) on their website tonight: Flashback and Computer Cart.

'Flashback' shows Mac and PC in their youth while 'Computer Cart' targets cryptic error messages on PCs.

[Rocketman]

Everyone knows these are posted on Apples website, right? (dont want to be repeating old news!)
WHy is this page 2? Does Page 2 mean less important?

It means fewer people care. This is YA "get a mac" ad in a long list to keep the bore-dogs from being bored.

The Apple TV posting was not only a new ad for a new product line, but my posting scooped (for MacRumors.com) not only the airing of it starting, but the first posted capture of it (despite of how foul the quality was).

The official Apple version took 24 hours, giving me a Google Videos and macrumors.com coup. :p

Rocketman

[dpaanlka]

I just saw this a minute ago on TV!

[bdj21ya]

I love the computer cart one. I wish they thrown in the Svchost.exe memory read error that everyone is having since these latest updates (really bad one, the system locks up completely everytime you try to launch anything. I work tech support (hey, it pays the tuition bills) for Dell and I've been getting all these calls. Today I finally found a Microsoft KB Article explaining the problem--this error may occur on Windows XP systems which have automatic updates installed and MS Office.

Yes folks, this horrible seemingly unsolvable error message was caused by 3 the way 3 products work together--3 products by the same company that created the latest Windows patches, Microsoft. Sometimes I just feel so bad for these people I'm trying to help. If I could just explain to them why they should get a Mac, their lives could be so much better (but somehow I doubt my supervisor would appreciate that). :D

[Zwhaler]

I don't get Flashback, but the cart one made me laugh, because I actually had one of those annoying dll messages on my old PC.

[PharmD]

The cart one is hilarious. I had to watch it twice.

[EricNau]

I am not inside the reality distortion field.

But I want to be!

They posted the AppleTV ad 24 hours after airing but the new GAM ad 12 hours after posting. My question is this. Why doesn't Apple.com "have it first", or at minimum, iTunes for $1.99 during the first 24 hours of new content. Surely for tens of thousands of folks, the freshness of it has monetary value?

The new internet paradigm. Microsoft missed the boat, 5 times, how about Apple?

Rocketman
...And put you out of a job? ...Nah, Apple wouldn't do that. :p

[amoda]

I found cryptic errors to be quite funny but sadly untrue. I remember when my mbp started crashing and what not it kept giving a bunch of weird errors. Even when i went to the certafied repair center the people there didn't know what the errors meant and had to call Apple to get the offical stance on what each error means.

[tutubibi]

This Mac/PC ads are getting boring, really rehashing the same thing over and over again. Move on Apple, think of something else. :D

And I am not sure those ads actually send the intended message. Seems that only thing Macs are good for is "artsy" stuff and PC people spend all day working on spreadsheets. :confused:

[daneoni]

My view is the securty ad is still the funniest.

"You are now coming to a sad realization.....cancel or allow?"

[obesecat55]

I found cryptic errors to be quite funny but sadly untrue. I remember when my mbp started crashing and what not it kept giving a bunch of weird errors. Even when i went to the certafied repair center the people there didn't know what the errors meant and had to call Apple to get the offical stance on what each error means.

wow that's a rare case then- I've always used Macs (for over a decade) and never have I gotten cryptic errors. Yes, occasionally an error, but it makes perfect sense and it is easily overcome (that is, since OSX)

[penter]

very funny.
and yes, the wmp.dll DOES regard Windows Media Player, which just makes me laugh :D

here's the exact error message, by the way. how typical of those Windose machines......

"The file wmp.dll has a version number of 9.0.0.2980 where 9.0.0.3008 was expected. Windows Media Player is not installed properly and must be reinstalled. Do you want to install the Player from the Microsoft Web site?"

just one word (or symbol) to that:

:apple:

[trevorlsciact]

I guess they know what works...I only like the Vista security one and the rest (like most ads) just bug me. But non-techie consumers ARE talking about them--still after all this time! So--whatever works :)

Yea, my english teacher actually brought them up in class as a perfect example of different character voices, I was very happy inside.

[queshy]

Some of the ads are funny, but they're also pretty mean to MS lol,...I mean, how would you feel if MS posted a video like this but with Mr. Mac kernel panicking?

[EricNau]

Some of the ads are funny, but they're also pretty mean to MS lol,...I mean, how would you feel if MS posted a video like this but with Mr. Mac kernel panicking?
Shhhhh. Don't give them any ideas! ;) :D

[Rocketman]

Some of the ads are funny, but they're also pretty mean to MS lol,...I mean, how would you feel if MS posted a video like this but with Mr. Mac kernel panicking?

Then Apple can retort with Force Quit "Explorer".

[queshy]

haha, all true. The ads are a good way to make PC users get into Macs more and look into them as a viable option. The flashback one is funny, but only if you've been following the ads for a long t ime. For a "foreign" mac user, I doubt it would be funny. The best ad, by a long shot, is "security".

[dogbone]

i just saw it on discovery channel...very funny!

Who would have guessed that the real purpose of the 'discovery channel' was to discover new adverts in the wild.

Some of the ads are funny, but they're also pretty mean to MS lol,...I mean, how would you feel if MS posted a video like this but with Mr. Mac kernel panicking?


As they say..."for satire to be funny, it can't be fair"

[bcharna]

flashback (or calculator) was really the only get a mac commercial IMO that was just really stupid . It just didn't point out the flaws of PCs as all the other ones did...

on a side note, it sounds like Mac is saying, "my website on home movie i just made" :confused:

i did like the computer cart one however

[Xavier]

I love how its not really promoting the mac, its just bashing the PC

But hey, its funny

[Dronomophone]

i was just watching lost and waiting for the commercials so i can watch the videos on apple's site, and the first commercial that came on was flashback:D

[notjustjay]

I feel these ads are beginning to get a little long in the tooth.

"Flashback" may have been way too subtle for me. Early posts in this thread suggests the comparison between the Mac's built-in apps (iPhoto, etc) versus the Windows built-in apps (Calculator) -- which of course has already been pointed out in another ad. Was this another, subtler, dig at the same thing? Or a dig at the fact that nothing's changed in a long time? Or ... ? I'm just not sure what message I was supposed to be getting from that.

Computer Cart was cute, mostly because I've seen exactly such carts in the hallways at work, piled with PC's, so I identify (somewhat) with that image.

[kevindosi]

Has anyone noticed this quote on the get a mac page?
"No other operating system, Vista included, offers the rich features and simplicity of Mac OS X. And just as Vista tries to get closer (emphasis on “tries”), Mac OS X Leopard is right around the corner — ready to leap even farther ahead."
Is that a promise?

[galstaph]

lol
those are funny:D

[galstaph]

Has anyone noticed this quote on the get a mac page?
"No other operating system, Vista included, offers the rich features and simplicity of Mac OS X. And just as Vista tries to get closer (emphasis on “tries”), Mac OS X Leopard is right around the corner — ready to leap even farther ahead."
Is that a promise?

Yep I did notice that one a while back

[Rocketman]

Has anyone noticed this quote on the get a mac page?
"No other operating system, Vista included, offers the rich features and simplicity of Mac OS X. And just as Vista tries to get closer (emphasis on “tries”), Mac OS X Leopard is right around the corner — ready to leap even farther ahead."
Is that a promise?

Not only a promise but subject to SEC scrutiny, so it BETTER be true :)

Rocketman

[pknz]

:apple: Excellent.

[Max Payne]

Great... Good ads.

[capvideo]

I think the flashback one was a message that "we understand". The Man thinks you're wasting your time when you're being creative, but The Mac understands.

[Chrispy]

I really like these ads because most of them hit upon things we have all dealt with at some point or another. The PC Cart one is a classic... our old G4 PowerMac at work still works great while our graphic designer's fairly new Dell (good hardware but Win XP) is starting to get slow from constant heavy use. I finally convinced my boss to order him a MacPro and he could not be more happy :) Gotta love the Apple ads for their harsh realities haha

[MacSlut]

flashback (or calculator) was really the only get a mac commercial IMO that was just really stupid . It just didn't point out the flaws of PCs as all the other ones did...

I agree, the Flashback one is the worst of all of the I'm a Mac ads. It almost qualifies as a Microsoft ad.

Translation...

Mac: Here I am again talking about my website, photos and home movies.
PC: Ya, ya, ya, we keep hearing the same broken record. While you were a kid playing with this same old stuff, I was getting to business.
Mac: What do you mean?
PC: How about I use my statistical skills and tell you how much of your iLife you've wasted?

Really, if you were to hire one of these characters in this specific ad, which one would you hire? For office work, taxes, organizing stuff, the answer is clear in this ad...but there's no need to advertise a concession (one that I disagree with as I do prefer Macs for work).

Do you want a professional in a suit, or some guy who won't grow up and stop only using his computer for Myspace?

I really do like the computer cart ad.

Every PC user has experienced a cryptic error message and the frustration it brings. In this ad, you don't want to be a PC, you don't want to hire a PC, and you do want to be like the Mac...cool, friendly, under control, and easy going.

[twoodcc]

funny stuff :)

i love these ads

[queshy]

I hope I dont get bashed for saying this, but I think Apple should quit making ads and get moving on Leopard and some newer Macs! I kinda feel like they're "all talk" as of late with these adds. I agree that the Mac is overall a better computer than the PC (like the ads want me to), but "nothing has changed" is indeed correct - bring on leopard! Then the ads will have much more meaning.

[rockthecasbah]

flashback (or calculator) was really the only get a mac commercial IMO that was just really stupid . It just didn't point out the flaws of PCs as all the other ones did...

on a side note, it sounds like Mac is saying, "my website on home movie i just made" :confused:

i did like the computer cart one however

My thoughts exactly. Flashback was really completely pointless, it did nothing and to top it off wasn't even amusing! Computer Cart was cute with the different errors... :rolleyes:

[Rocketman]

I hope I dont get bashed for saying this, but I think Apple should quit making ads and get moving on Leopard and some newer Macs! I kinda feel like they're "all talk" as of late with these adds. I agree that the Mac is overall a better computer than the PC (like the ads want me to), but "nothing has changed" is indeed correct - bring on leopard! Then the ads will have much more meaning.

Apple doesn't run many ads. They do run ads when they need to "juice" a product line that is in fact, running and online, just prior to a major revision cycle.

At any moment in time, whatever is shipping right now is the thing. Not what is shipping 2-4 months from now, no matter how great you know that will be.

Rocketman

[MattyMac]

I saw the flashbak commercial during LOST tonight (great episode), but oddly I wasn't too impressed with this particular commercial. I just checked out the cart commercial...much better.

:apple:

[Prom1]

Some of the ads are funny, but they're also pretty mean to MS lol,...I mean, how would you feel if MS posted a video like this but with Mr. Mac kernel panicking?

1st off you WON the most quoted post in any thread here - I think :p

How often and in what situations can M$ do that to the Mac?

I love that wmp.dll error "Wha?" :eek: :D :cool: :apple:

Reminds me of a recent photo that I saw somewhere ....

I imagined a conversation like this ...

Steve " Just how many ppl in your corporation even fully understand these .dll error msg's" (well that's NOT what I originally thought)

I really thought ....

Steve ' Its only a matter of time before corporations make more software & get sick of paying for fixes of each OS your company makes Bill! I mean IT personal has so many fields because of the incompetency of bad code mixing with other bad code in the world of Windows."

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/ecq300/billsteve4.jpg

Or how about ....

Steve " Hey Bill ... do you think M$ will do as well over a 10yr period AFTER you fully resign & leave Balmer in charge?"

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/ecq300/billsteve.jpg

Then this thought jumped in my head and scares me.

other dude with BIll laughing histerically ...
" At least Bill has a fanatic to take the reins when he leaves. When you leave STeve, Apple's stock will plummet, loose huge wads of cash and go bankrupt within less than 5 yrs! Unless you never leave .... HAHAHAhahah, (Bill) You'll be the the ONLY CEO to work past 65 because he HAS TO in order to continue his lifestyle & keep his company alive, hahaha"

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/ecq300/billsteve5.jpg

Has anyone thought of anyone good enough with the passion & drive and savvy to keep Apple going into the future if Steve leaves? Judging from the last keynote - that dude that presented TimeMachine is the best runner up (he even enjoyed that presentation, executed it beautifully).

[fairnymph]

Although I don't think it has much to do with macs, that's funny!
I interpreted the message as one about the value of computers being more than sheer processing power and low cost, but about enjoyment and emotional value. Which I think is totally a big part of why consumers buy a mac over a pc.

And of course the standard 'creative' spin on macs.

[Rocketman]

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w193/ecq300/billsteve4.jpg

In that image the most telling thing is the body language and the personnel placement.

I made no judgement about the current Apple ad, I only scooped it.

Rocketman

[bankshot]

Horrible. Just horrible.

I don't even know what the flashback ad is trying to say. It almost sounds like "Macs are a waste of time!". Great message, Apple. Really, it just reinforces the negative stereotype in the PC world that Macs are useless toys.

And the computer cart ad is false advertising, plain and simple. "Macs don't get cryptic error messages" -- what a lie! The situation is better than the pre-OSX days (System Error -2531 with the little bomb icon), but that claim is flat out false. Just a quick search of Apple's own website in about 2 minutes turned up numerous cryptic error messages:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301377
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303723
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303032
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=ServerAdmin/10.4/en/c4qt5.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=164894

etc.

I've known so many people who were seriously considering switching, but were completely turned off by the arrogance and false claims of these ads. I guess they're reaching a different demographic, because Apple's certainly not endearing themselves to the kind of people I know. I wish these ads would go away already. Make some nice Mac commercials like the AppleTV ad (you know, show what the product does).

[RedDragon870503]

Love it.

[ortuno2k]

Yeah these are getting old.
Stop the bashing and release some new software and Macs, DAMN IT.:mad:
The ads were funny at the beginning, and they do still bring out a smile on me, but come on; the whole thing is getting kinda childish.

[Prom1]

Horrible. Just horrible.

I don't even know what the flashback ad is trying to say. It almost sounds like "Macs are a waste of time!". Great message, Apple. Really, it just reinforces the negative stereotype in the PC world that Macs are useless toys.

And the computer cart ad is false advertising, plain and simple. "Macs don't get cryptic error messages" -- what a lie! The situation is better than the pre-OSX days (System Error -2531 with the little bomb icon), but that claim is flat out false. Just a quick search of Apple's own website in about 2 minutes turned up numerous cryptic error messages:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301377
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303723
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303032
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=ServerAdmin/10.4/en/c4qt5.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=164894

etc.

I've known so many people who were seriously considering switching, but were completely turned off by the arrogance and false claims of these ads. I guess they're reaching a different demographic, because Apple's certainly not endearing themselves to the kind of people I know. I wish these ads would go away already. Make some nice Mac commercials like the AppleTV ad (you know, show what the product does).


Only 1 of the links you posted shows a cryptic error msg. 1 (maybe 2) only showing JUST the code as the only part of the error. The others are in decent english.

the example ... " wmp.dll" is something even I had to pause the Apple ad for and do a quick google search to find out its related to Windows Media Player. It makes common sense now but at first guess I was stumped.

This happens ALL the time in Windows much more than I've searched or read or experienced in my little brief stint on Mac OS 10.1.4/5.

[Anthony8720]

I think the security one is by far the best one yet. I love these ads. I especially love how engadget interviewed bill gates, and basically found out they piss him off. I love it.

[biturbomunkie]

i feel that these ads are getting olddddddd...

[Rocketman]

All I know is they are reading this thread :) and increasing the rotation on Apple TV. But this much broadcast advertising means a product cycle is ready to hatch.

Rocketman

[ALoLA]

I liked Computer Cart. I've been suffering with errors and codes like that with my work PCs constantly. Flashback is probably suggesting that PCs are good for number cruching, but Macs are good for much more (webpage design, photos, movies, etc.). Or at the very least, easier to get such things done. ;)

[letswastetime]

these ads do hint that leopard could be released very soon. ;)

[Evangelion]

I hope I dont get bashed for saying this, but I think Apple should quit making ads and get moving on Leopard and some newer Macs!

Yeah, their marketing-people should be busy coding Leopard instead!

As to the ads... Well, I'm not sure that are they such a good idea or not. If I didn't know Macs beforehand, I would be left with an impression that if you want to do any serious work, you need a PC. Is THAT the image Apple wants to convey here?

As to the funny-factor in the Ads... The UK-ads are funnier.

[weg]

Bundled programs, silly....:p

When I use a Windows box, I constantly use calculator...

On Macs, I use iPhoto, iWeb, iTunes, iDVD, and iMovie...

If Microsoft would bundle this kind of software with Windows, they would be sued (over here in Europe they even had to remove the Media Player from Windows - ridiculous, considering that Apple ships QuickTime Adware with every Mac).

Yeah, their marketing-people should be busy coding Leopard instead!


Fire the marketing guys, hire more programmers :D

[mrkgoo]

My thoughts exactly. Flashback was really completely pointless, it did nothing and to top it off wasn't even amusing! Computer Cart was cute with the different errors... :rolleyes:

I think it's pointing out that while a mac comes with all sorts of creative software, the most fun thing a PC lets you do out of the box is play with the calculator - which it's had since it was young.

Yes, not entirely true, but most of these ads are like that.

[Mr. Amiga500]

Yeah, their marketing-people should be busy coding Leopard instead!

Only Microsoft uses marketing people to code an OS. ;)

[matticus008]

Why doesn't Apple.com "have it first", or at minimum, iTunes for $1.99 during the first 24 hours of new content. Surely for tens of thousands of folks, the freshness of it has monetary value?
Yeah, that would go over like a lead balloon. Bloggers from here to Slashdot would have a field day with Apple charging for its own ads. They get posted online within a day or two of first airing, for free. I think that's enough to satisfy interested parties.
Not only a promise but subject to SEC scrutiny, so it BETTER be true :)
Of course it's true, but it's a function of how many minutes are in a "corner" so it's not exactly testable. 2008 could be "just around the corner" if they wanted it to be. There's a reason ambiguous phrases are used prior to the setting of a launch announcement, and furthermore no binding agreement to launch products on time (to the SEC or anyone else). Vista would be in a whole heap of trouble if there were.
I've known so many people who were seriously considering switching, but were completely turned off by the arrogance and false claims of these ads. I guess they're reaching a different demographic,
They sure are, if "people who aren't so uptight so as to not purchase something based on a television ad for that product" counts as a different demographic. Anyone who makes an actual, measured decision to purchase a product and then gets offended by a satirical commercial (where people play computers, for crying out loud) has some bass-ackwards priorities.

I'm not a terribly huge fan of the commercials (I find some of them mildly amusing), but I'd choose them any day over whiny tightwads or the spec-sheet infomercials some people seem to want.

[Vertig0]

While the flashback ad was kind of puzzling, the security ad is absolutely hilarious if you've ever used Vista.

[akadmon]

Why is ths from page new on MR?:eek: Why, this isn't even news.

C'mon.

[antdfsc]

Good stuff, but making fun of odd error messages, what about the multi language screen of death aka Kernal Panic? Those are always fun...

[gregorsamsa]

They sure are, if "people who aren't so uptight so as to not purchase something based on a television ad for that product" counts as a different demographic. Anyone who makes an actual, measured decision to purchase a product and then gets offended by a satirical commercial (where people play computers, for crying out loud) has some bass-ackwards priorities.

I'm not a terribly huge fan of the commercials (I find some of them mildly amusing), but I'd choose them any day over whiny tightwads or the spec-sheet infomercials some people seem to want.

I'll echo that. If people who were "seriously considering switching" are being put off by these ads, you wonder to what degree these people are being disproportionately influenced by the shallow world of advertising, et al, generally. So, if you're in that camp, please don't buy a Mac unless you want all your family & friends to go around saying: "Well, he really must be a smug son-of-a-bitch!"

FWIW, I don't like these ads, but I'd like to see the PC guy become the Mac guy (a switcher), yet allowing him to keep his suit in some ads & wear casual clothing in others. - On 2nd thoughts, this idea would probably just play around with some people's minds to no good purpose at all!

[Nicolasdec]

Hehe, Loved the ad's.

[iconboy]

wow thats harsh, especially the security one- but very very true. I know the first thing i did when i got vista was turn off that annoying security thing. i love the sick pcs on a cart analogy- i was wondering when they would make fun of DLL errors! lol! Are they allowed to use "Vista" in their commercials?

[appleboi4evr]

heres a link to a youtube version:apple:
flashback (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQj6RqzNlcw)
Computer Cart (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCAFLdnjvOo)
post on frontpage please.:D

[BenRoethig]

These two ads do nothing but once again portray Mac users as arrogant teenagers. This ad series has just about reached its end.

[Mgkwho]

These two ads do nothing but once again portray Mac users as arrogant teenagers. This ad series has just about reached its end.

But I am an arrogant teenager. :p

I don't think the ad series has reached its end at all. Not one bit.

-=|Mgkwho

[Claytoniss]

What I think is great is that these ads hit two market areas. Creative peeps and tecs.

So I would say I enjoy the flash back. It hits me more on what a mac is to myself and my interests. Plus that is my sense of humor in a nutshell. It seems they know who their true cult following is still, and that makes me happy.

Personally I don't want anyone else to switch, I don't want apple to become the "metalica" of the computer world. It makes me feel like people are conforming to the non-conformists and therefor mac users are not as different as everyone else. *shivers*

[amac4me]

These are great!!! Both got a good laugh out of me :)

[Claytoniss]

These two ads do nothing but once again portray Mac users as arrogant teenagers. This ad series has just about reached its end.

Seriously? Steve was only 21 when help start apple. That is still young! Children are our future and sad to say arrogant teenagers are as well. Who is to say there are not arrogant 45yr old people? Isn't that what the PC guy is portrayed as?

[Rocketman]

These two ads do nothing but once again portray Mac users as arrogant teenagers.

Based on my visit to an Apple store about a week ago, one visit in an evening and one the following morning to meet with my personal geek squad, the store was swarmed with teens, pre-teens and even some barely legals. High percentage female too. Lots of tats and piercings.

The demographic Apple is appealing to seems to be teens and twenty-somethings.

Old folks like us just buy what we need when we need it, and probably buy higher end items too.

Rocketman

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

Just a subtle observation - when you click the link to Apple's website to view the videos, the text says "every Mac comes with iLife" - didn't old ads say that every Mac came with "iLife '06"???

[gregorsamsa]

Based on my visit to an Apple store about a week ago, one visit in an evening and one the following morning to meet with my personal geek squad, the store was swarmed with teens, pre-teens and even some barely legals. High percentage female too. Lots of tats and piercings.

The demographic Apple is appealing to seems to be teens and twenty-somethings.

But most of them are only there for the candy-coloured iPods, not Macs. They certainly aren't your average, fairly moneyed, Mac buyers.

[Counter]

This Mac/PC ads are getting boring, really rehashing the same thing over and over again. Move on Apple, think of something else. :D

And I am not sure those ads actually send the intended message. Seems that only thing Macs are good for is "artsy" stuff and PC people spend all day working on spreadsheets. :confused:

I agree entirely.

And it just says that for Apple to gain market share they have to mock PC's.

Anybody can tell jokes either way.

[granex]

The point of flashback is the bundled apps question. I think that it is indeed probably too subtle, but you need to think about the flashback side of things.

To wit: what were Macs & PCs like when they were young? On the Mac, the killer app to play with was MacPaint. It was totally revolutionary and a ton of fun. Sections hand coded in assembly by Bill Atkinson for speed. The funny thing is that most MacPaint pictures actually ended up looking like the picture that young Mac shows young PC (i.e., they were lame because of the bitmap limitations of the program -- the Lisa had Illustrator object-center drawing several years before the Mac even existed).

On the PC side, of course, there was nothing at all for a while, but the emphasis here is that the bundled apps don't get any better than calculator (no mention of the fact that Windows Solitaire probably reduced the GDP of the US by 0.5% the year that Windows 3.1 came out).

Now, what do we have? On the Mac side we have all of the iLife stuff that does completely cool stuff akin to the revolutionary MacPaint. On the PC side, we still have the same sucky calculator. Things haven't changed, except that the Mac is even more qualitatively ahead of the PC.

That's my take at any rate.

[Jacksteruk309]

(this question may have been posted before but...)

I know errors are *generally* less common on OS X but I wouldn't go as far to say that when they do get error's they are not cryptic, especially in iTunes, what the hell am I supposed to do with 'iPod could not be synced: an unkown error occurred (-48)'!?

EDIT: woops, it seems they have (finally) posted a fix to this on the support site... still you can't say it's not cryptic

[Hai]

Why does the Mac guy have such an awful haircut?

[elppa]

I loved the “He's a goner” line.

Very funny!

[gkarris]

Yeah these are getting old.
Stop the bashing and release some new software and Macs, DAMN IT.:mad:
The ads were funny at the beginning, and they do still bring out a smile on me, but come on; the whole thing is getting kinda childish.

True. The best marketing is to not bash the competition, but sell on the merits of your own...

Maybe it's time Apple come up with something new (with a widescreen iPod!)...

[Object-X]

The little kid PC is very funny. Perfect. I also had to laugh at the subtle dig on wmp.dll Windows Media Player. What is it he asks. What is it indeed.

[clevin]

seriously, how many % windows xp or vista user see fetal error message, compare to kernal panic of OSX?

I seriously don't know, coz i didn't see it on my xp and vista, nor did I see it on my OSX.

I sure hope apple stop doing this series, its like a crying baby, taking advantages of being a kid, challenging an adult see if he dare to respond to the supper exaggerated claims. I would rather apple taking a position more like an communication between two adults. of course, personal opinion.

[scttwtkns]

The calculator one just does not make sense to non apple consumers.

I think some non-apple consumers could make a correlation between the "PC" character & themselves. If they don't like that correlation (geek, not creative, miser) the more attractive character is "MAC". This might translates into MAC sales.

[BenRoethig]

I think some non-apple consumers could make a correlation between the "PC" character & themselves. If they don't like that correlation (geek, not creative, miser) the more attractive character is "MAC". This might translates into MAC sales.

Or it might translate to despising the Mac. When someone perceives something as an attack on themselves, mores time than not they're going to lash out at the perceived attacker than join them.

[mrweirdo]

From my own personal experience related to cryptic error messages I can say that yes windows does have error messages. However on the mac instead of an error message popping up the computer shuts off with a kernel panic. I've had my macbook in three different times for random shutdowns related to kernel panics so far. Also there are still error messages in os x but they are just located under the logs which you can access through the console or terminal.

[dernhelm]

I dunno. I'm mixed. I'm beginning to feel that these have run their course. Calculator is just plain odd. The computer cart one is OK - but they needed more creative names than "fatal error". And besides, OS/X can still barf up some pretty creative messages from time to time. It isn't like this is only a windows problem.

[Rod Rod]

The first time I saw the computer cart spot, I thought I heard "WMD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_Mass_Destruction) dot DLL."

That would have been funny.

[Shunnabunich]

I absolutely agree that Apple needs to move on and do some new ads that actually tout Macs' strengths instead of trying to undermine sales, but I suspect they wouldn't launch a new ad campaign until (perhaps) October when they release Leopard. Running brand-new ads about Tiger, which came out just about two years ago (in another 16 days, actually), would be rightly percieved as kinda pointless since most Mac users and many prospective switchers (thanks to our warning them) know that Leopard is "just around the corner" as Apple has said.

Perhaps making parallels to real life would be a good way to advertise OS X's features. I've already talked about one for Spotlight — the supermarket scenario — elsewhere. For Spaces, even though it's been a long-standing feature of Linux...

A man in his early thirties sits at his desk in an office, doing work on an iMac. A knock sounds at the door, and a delivery person pokes her head in.

"Hey, your magazine subscription came in!"

"Oh cool!" The man gets up to take the magazine. "I'll just put this away for later; thanks a lot."

As the delivery person smiles and closes the door, the entire room zooms to the left while the man is stationary, replaced by his living room at home, complete with a different view out the window (and perhaps an Apple TV, hehe). He sets the magazine down on his coffee table and the room zooms back to the right; he's back in the office, and sits down at his desk.

Cut to a view of the screen of the iMac, which shows him zipping from a Space holding a podcast on iTunes to one with the report he was working on in Pages and a message in Mail, and perhaps zooming out to rearrange a couple of windows. A voice-over says, "Organize your life with Spaces" — animate a transition to a Leopard product shot or iconic "X" logo — "...just one of the many innovative new features in Mac OS X." Cut to :apple: and it's time for the next commercial.

And I'm sure there are many much better ideas than that. All of them are probably better than the majority of the current "Get A Mac" ads. :D (Ooh, someone think of one for Time Machine!)

[Mr. DG]

right after looking at the new ads, this bad boy pops up on my screen and i have to restart....

[weg]

s its like a crying baby, taking advantages of being a kid, challenging an adult see if he dare to respond to the supper exaggerated claims

Actually, Bill Gates already stated in an interview that he doesn't comment that advertisement. So, the adult obviously ignores the crying kid ;)

[weg]

but they needed more creative names than "fatal error"

Like Colonel Error and Major Protection Fault? ;-)

[Master Atrus]

There is a new Get a Mac Ad posted called, "stuffed". It's pretty funny too and is so true about Windows machines! :D

[mjstew33]

Yeah, i really like the new ad too.

[lu0s3r322]

wow that brings the total to 24 if my math is right?

it seems like much less

[k2k koos]

right after looking at the new ads, this bad boy pops up on my screen and i have to restart....

yep..... however, this message is largely written in plain english, and has an error code within brackets for the IT tech who may need to repair / check the problem, but at least it tells you a little more than just a pop up with all kinds of seemingly garble', which looks a lot more 'serious' than a simple and plain written message that OS X uses.

:apple:

[Rocketman]

This might be a stretch, but in Flashback, PC whips a calculator out of his pocket. I wonder if a future variant of that ad will have Mac whipping out an iPhone?

:)

[WhiteShadow]

The think about the average user is that they do not precieve the attacks on the windows computer as an attack on them, they don't care. The attack is felt by the nerd/geek group and they are not going to switch either way. The attacks on windows are how the average user feels, trust me I hated using windows but before I was enlighted I did not know of another way. Thank-you apple for showing me a better life.

[ernie-100]

Not "cryptic messages" :mad:

:D

:apple:

Hi everybody!

I have a brand new MAC MINI with MAC OS 10.4.9 and the latest firmware. I connected a SVGA color monitor to it. Everything works fine except that the APPLE COMMERCIALS looks green!!!...
The PC and the MAC guys in those commercials have their faces in green and all the colors are inverted (white is purple and so on)... In fact all the QUICK TIME videos look color inverted. The color pictures of those guys in the website are correct (the skin is "flesh" color). Any ideas how to correct this?. Thanks in advance.
BTW: I did tried with different monitors, also with different resolutions and same problem: All the desktop colors are correct but sometimes some pictures will look "color reversed", like in the negative of a color picture... All the quicktime videos will look reversed too... However YOUTUBE videos look great!... Any ideas?

[66217]

Hi everybody!

I have a brand new MAC MINI with MAC OS 10.4.9 and the latest firmware. I connected a SVGA color monitor to it. Everything works fine except that the APPLE COMMERCIALS looks green!!!...
The PC and the MAC guys in those commercials have their faces in green and all the colors are inverted (white is purple and so on)... In fact all the QUICK TIME videos look color inverted. The color pictures of those guys in the website are correct (the skin is "flesh" color). Any ideas how to correct this?. Thanks in advance.
BTW: I did tried with different monitors, also with different resolutions and same problem: All the desktop colors are correct but sometimes some pictures will look "color reversed", like in the negative of a color picture... All the quicktime videos will look reversed too... However YOUTUBE videos look great!... Any ideas?

And why in the name of god do you post this here?

About your problem, it sound very strange. I don't find a reason of why some things will look that way and some no.

Try reseting the A/V Controls. They are in the Window menu.

[bembol]

LOL

That "Fatal Error" scared my sister. She just got this Gateway PC at Costco message and after I spent Hours setting it up, LOL that message appeared after a few days.

I was just new to Mac back then too with the G4 Mini but I was able to convince her to pick up a 20" Intel Core DUO iMac.