Anti-Vista Marketing at Apple Stores

[jonharris200]

To be fair to Apple, when the competition is almost a monopoly, it's almost impossible to promote your strengths without a direct comparison to the only other major competitor, namely Microsoft.

However, like others on this thread, I am concerned that Apple's confidence doesn't become an arrogant swagger. There's a fine line that's not to be crossed and it's somewhere just about her...

 

[bigmc6000]

Not a new or strange idea...

Look at current advertising trends. This is how the little guy beats the big guy. Look at the Alltel commercials - it's exactly the same thing and guess what - IT WORKS! There's a company around here called MetroPCS that does the same thing (Pay by the Month - not the Minute). This is what the little guy has to do to convince the masses that are already hopelessly addicted to the "norm." It doesn't matter if we, the Mac faithful, get annoyed by these constant antics - the people these advertising campaigns are aimed at are people who don't know about all the previous MS bashing. And this isn't about "what you're doing now is stupid", it's about "not so fast with upgrading to Vista - we can get you Vista Plus right now and in 4 months we can get you the REAL Vista Extreme" And seriously - $129 for the next OS is really, really cheap compared to that Vista Extreme option - even the upgrade for that matter. So everybody just simmer down - this campaign isn't for us...

 

[EagerDragon]

I hate apples marketing, they are so full of themselves.
Im thinking about switching to ubuntu as soon as it's fully supported for my macbook.

Sorry you are stuck having to use OSX, Ubuntu should be ready for you very soon. If you are not happy, Ubuntu is not a bad choice.

 

[-R7-]

What's this -for us to win Microsoft doesn't have to lose- stuff i vaguely remember. What the hell, man?

 

[thugpoet22]

Let the mud slinging begin LOL. Well i guess this is normal. I agree, with most here, that apple makes great products. But Apple has to some how reach further into conscious of the majority. Preaching quality and ease of use isn't enough i assume. To beat the competition your first have to destroy their creditability. And with this new Windows OS being release in such a haphazard way, apple is grasping this prime opportunity to demean the use of windows vista. I think this in turn might cause more people to see the inferiority of the windows OS. But in a sense it shows who's on top because usually the company on top is the ones that's being attacked.

This is typical of any company that's trying to get ahead in America. There are a lot of people who buy computers based on hype or what they have heard or see on TV. Few people actually do research and look and computer specs. I truthfully just hoping that Apple doesn't loose its essence or its quality in this pursuit.

 

[dernhelm]

There are a lot of complaints against this ad campaign as being immature. In case you've forgotten, there were a lot of IBM compatible PC's in the day would refer to Apple machines as "toys" that no real computer aficionado would ever use. I attended many different conferences run by M$ executives that would bash Apple on a regular basis. Don't think this is the first time that a computer company would poke at its competition a little. Most of M$ FUD is a lot more immature than than anything I've seen from Apple.

The Vista ad that they produced raised guffaws from people where I work that would never even consider buying a mac. That ad was just plain funny because it was really true, and just drove directly to the heart of the stupidity that Microsoft cannot seemingly escape. And if Apple couldn't find some way to poke fun at that, I'd really be worried about their marketing department.

Apple has a unique opportunity to jump on a lot of market-share, and I for one applaud them for being as aggressive about it as possible. For a ton of people, upgrading Windows will mean either upgrading their hardware, or simply buying new hardware. Apple can now say, hey, you're buying new hardware anyway, maybe now is the time to consider upgrading to a mac instead. They have compelling software, no scary viruses (or at least none in the wild) and their hardware will work seamlessly with other hardware you already own (iPod). If slamming Vista around a little (justifiably in my opinion) helps people to see the light, they should be doing it.

 

[lamadude]

I hate apples marketing, they are so full of themselves.
Im thinking about switching to ubuntu as soon as it's fully supported for my macbook.

Then why did you

1) Buy a MacBook at all?
2) Join this site 3 weeks ago?

1)I bought a Macbook because I like the design and I wanted to try mac os x out. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great OS, (don't like the finder, but the rest is great)
It just annoys me the way apple portrays windows, I used it for years and it never crashed or did anything those apple ads make you believe it does.
I just really really hate the ads, that's all.
Like when people here complain about Vista touting features as "new" when they already existed in Mac Os X, so what? They didn't exist in windows. I don't see anyone complaining that when apple is marketing "spaces" for leopard it presents it as a brand new feature as well.

2)I only registered 3 weeks ago because I only got my macbook 3 weeks ago, I've been reading the site for years though, I just never felt like posting anything, since I didn't have a mac yet

I just really really don't like the ads, so much that it even makes me want to switch OS again, I know that it is ridiculous. I probably won't completely switch to ubuntu, but dual booting would be nice (waiting for the final release of Feisty Fawn)

 

[Rocketman]

In marketing you have to engender a level of discomfort to enforce a switch. But you not only have to pry the rock loose, you have to roll it down the hill.

So far Apple is relying on "mindshare and buzz" for the rolling portion and advertising for the pry loose portion.

I would strongly suggest they make maybe 20 youtube videos of feature comparisons and refer to a link to those videos in an apple ad showing, say, the relative experience with viruses and spam.

Computer prospects love youtube.

Rocketman

 

[nagromme]

Don't forget that "gently mocking Vista as little more than a washed-up attempt" is some unknown person re-filtered through AI--it does not reflect the actual specifics of what Apple is planning. The article's actual specifics that follow that loaded language don't support the negative assumptions many have about this store campaign.

Although I'm no Microsoft fan, I've never been a fan of smear campaigns. It just makes Apple look bad (and like just another big typical corporation, which they have unfortunately become).

Thus resurface the snarky jabs that made me stay away from the Macintosh for over a decaded.

Yeah, I've always felt the best way to switch a non-Mac user is to show them what's so nice about using a Mac, not belittle their current choice of operating system.

All this bickering and name calling is getting really old. A good product should be able to stand up on its own and pointing fingers and making snarky comments is simply asking for trouble IMHO.

This sort of behaviour disappoints me and does nothing to help the perceived smugness of mac users. I was detered from the Mac by what I considered their superiority complex and it was only when I eventually tried the product that I changed my mind.

I think this is a bad move for Apple. The 'get a mac' ads were already getting a bit too annoying and now the cronies at the retail stores are going to start telling people how much Vista sucks. I think they were doing just fine already. Window's inferiority was already apparent with Windows 2000 and ME. Why beat a dead horse.

I hate apples marketing, they are so full of themselves.
Im thinking about switching to ubuntu as soon as it's fully supported for my macbook.

Did people read something in that article that I missed? The only specific mentioned was "Go Beyond Vista"--and general mention of discussion many Mac positives, like iLife.

Where is Apple telling people that "Vista sucks?" (which would of course be a legitimate sales message--if phrased more constructively, such as with humor and an emphasis on what Macs do better).

Or are people commenting about the TV ads and not about this article at all? (Oddly enough, the first Get a Mac TV ad that did NOT intensely annoy me was this last security-agent one. I actually found it humorous for once--and humor is a GREAT way to point out flaws in a competitor that so many people assume is the ONLY choice until their view is finally shaken up.)

Apple may be readying store employees to deliver a "snarky smear campaign," but I don't see the evidence yet to assume that.

Maybe we should wait until the actual campaign gets underway before we rush to judgement !!!

Madness!

 

[JGowan]

All good products come with some comparing marketing. Bud vs Miller, Cable vs Satellite, Pringles, vs Lays, etc. Apple is simplying setting people up to rethink their OS purchase and come check out a Mac.

I agree, Jon. Most of the time, companies will say "We're better than the competition." In the case of OS (a few stragglers aside), Apple's competition is MS.

I don't even think that Apple ever says WINDOWS or XP or VISTA or MICROSOFT but it's known what they mean because of the generic "PC" moniker and everyone knows that MS's software runs on the ever vast majority of PCs.

About the gentle ribbing of upgrading to Vista, it's true. It's ridiculous.

In order to upgrade to Vista, you...

• Have to buy a completely new computer in many cases, or...
• Upgrade videocards, ram, etc.
• Choose between a ton of different versions
• The versions are all designed to cripple "the Vista Experience" unless you pony up a lot of dough.

With Leopard, in most case, you pay a very reasonable $129 for the complete experience on a single version of the OS and most computers bought in the last few years should be able to handle it.

 

[EagerDragon]

This sort of behaviour disappoints me and does nothing to help the perceived smugness of mac users. I was detered from the Mac by what I considered their superiority complex and it was only when I eventually tried the product that I changed my mind.

Maybe some of us feel superior. I don't. I know that Apple products and OS are superior and I made the right decision to buy a Mac (more like several).

 

[Cepe Indicum]

I have to agree with the majority of posts on this thread, that this is bad marketing from Apple (although I will reserve judgment until I see what they do).

As a fairly recent (very happy) switcher, I remember going along with people who said, "Macs aren't 'serious' computers." I now know that this was wrong of course, but when potential switchers still think this, a negative - dare I say it, almost petty - ad campaign against Windows is not going to encourage those people that Apple want to win over the most.

Seriously, Leopard better be really, really good and come out really, really soon, if this ad campaign is going to have any positive effects

 

[Analog Kid]

Every election cycle I cringe at the negative campaigning, and every election cycle the negative campaigning works.

I find it terribly hard to feel bad about seeing the bully get taunted and MS is one of the most ruthless, "do what it takes", companies out there.

Does anyone here think MS is any different? Anybody remember direct statements from Gates that OS X gets rooted daily? Surely "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC" is much more clever and tasteful than outright lying...

 

[ITR 81]

Our store sells mostly Windows products and most folks aren't upgrading to Vista...most are waiting for SP1 or SP2 before buying.
Most need a hardware upgrade before upgrading to Vista.

Vista for me is a hard sell...atleast for another 12 months.

 

[kodiak]

agreed, hugely childish idea... and i thought apple wanted to be taken seriously (how are they going to square this with corporate clients)

... didnt they notice, they when they did this at the WWDC, alot of people were cringing.

didnt we also all learn at school (5 years?), that calling names just escalates very unproductively (we can already see m$ taking little pokes back)

hope it stops, otherwise though i will continue to use apple products - i wont be so keen to tell so many people.

 

[Gasu E.]

Well this explains this photo

http://www.life2point0.com/images/billsteve_1.jpg

Perfect. The Steve is bragging about how big his is, while Bill is about to try to strangle the competition.

 

[Tadros]

Wow.

Apple, is so lame. Like, the PC vs Mac ads are funny as hell, but now it's like a kiddy fight. "No I'm better then you are!" "Na uh! Mommy!!" They should just start actually showing ads for Leopard and announce a release date instead of hitting below the belt and angering a sleeping giant. MS is way more popular, which sucks, but it's true. I just hope Apple doesn't go back into the phase that they once were in and start dying all over again.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Which is a load of ****. Vista may be many things. Unintuitive, buggy, lacking driver support, and downright hostile towards some software packages. What Vista is not is washed up. There are definitely features in Vista that I would kill in OS X.
I've said it before and I will say it again. Vista is Microsoft's 10.0. When Apple first launched OS X, calling it unpolished was downright complimentary. The last 3 revisions of OS X is where Apple really started to shine in X. I fully expect the same to happen in Vista. It going to take a year or two plus a couple service packs but it will happen. The foundation of Vista is solid. They simply need to fill in the gaping cracks. Now ease of use is another matter altogether....My brain still explodes when I try and deal with network settings in Vista. BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD design.

 

[gkarris]

Dinner at Andre's...

What happend to the Steve/Bill pic?

It was fun going through the posts, and then seeing the pic with a caption -sort of like an on-going dinner conversation...

 

[grahamtearne]

Holiday is not a proper noun. It appears in no dictionary. It is an invention of cultural marxists who don't like acknowledging the existence of Christmas

What dictionaries are your reading? Holiday is a proper noun and does appear in dictionaries. Check your dashboard dictionary widget if you don't believe me. Although holiday may be a word used for christmas, it is the Brits version of 'vacation'. A word has more than one meaning. Please get your facts straight before posting stuff like this, and using wiki as your refernces isnt the greatest idea. Ok wikipedia is a great source, but it isnt all true, anyone can edit it, for example someone could read your post and edit wikipedia to say it isnt a proper noun as it doesnt exist in dictionaries, someone else reads it and tells someone else. More research than wiki alone is needed

 

[Superdrive]

All good products come with some comparing marketing. Bud vs Miller, Cable vs Satellite, Pringles, vs Lays, etc. Apple is simplying setting people up to rethink their OS purchase and come check out a Mac. Apple knows that Mac OS X is that good that all it takes is to get someone to use it and it's safe to say Microsoft has lost a customer for life. If Apple doesn't compete and exploit flaws in their competitor then only current Mac users will continue to use Macs.

As much as you people think Apple is full of themselves and lying, they aren't. I see customers every day who love these commercials and fully agree and relate to every one of them. These are also the same people who are ECSTATIC about taking home a new Mac.

Bring on the Vista campaign, if Microsoft has such a good product than they shouldn't have to worry.

jon

This is exactly right. There is no other way around it.

It bothers me how many people are calling for Leopard's immediate release to 'counter' Vista. Apple's current Tiger already is a worthy competitor to an underwhelming Vista (relative to old Longhorn). I would rather see Apple spend every day they need ensuring that Leopard blows the doors off everything, including Tiger. Why rush a product out that isn't ready for prime time?

 

[BlackMax]

I personally own three Macs and have owned Apple computers since the Apple IIc, but I make my living in the PC/Microsoft world. I find the Apple commercials amusing, good spirited and clear and concise in their message. Not at all the Microsoft bashing that many see.

To me Jobs is simply pointing out some of the differences between the OS X based Mac and the MS Windows based PC. As others have noted this is no different than Coke and Pepsi or any other advertising rivalry. Not to mention, when you only have 5% or less of the market share you've got to do something different and creative to get your message across.

I can also say from first-hand experience qualifying Vista for my business, Vista's Access Control feature will drive you mad until you can figure out how to disable it.

The Apple "Get A Mac” Security advertisement is spot on in its depiction of this Vista feature. Linked below for everyone's viewing pleasure
http://images.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac/apple-getamac-security_480x376.mov

 

[kuebby]

I think this is probably a good idea. Now that MS has copied visually copied Apple so much with Vista the comparisons become more simple for a mass audience. Why do you think politicians use negative advertising? Because it works. So will this, by saying, and explaining, how Apple has the features they love, for the same price, plus it's easier to use, and "just works" thats what gets a company a mass market.

 

[photomaniac]

Like most people, I agree that the bashing is getting a little old... I little bit here and there to poke fun at once in a while is good for business if you can show contrasting points of view... even the latest Get a Mac ad regarding Vista is funny as hell (probably the best one yet!)... but a continuance of bashing can be perceived as inferior/insecure (even though we all know that is not the case)

...my thoughts on this matter

 

[volvoben]

BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD Marketing idea!

Never directly confront a competitor that is so much larger than you head-on. All Apple has to do is keep releasing hardware and OS's that are strong enough to speak for themselves.

Lets anger MS some more, maybe they will pull the plug on Office then, as they did with IE and Windoze Media. (which although I dont really like any of those products, they are necessary evils. If MS ever dropped Office, alot of us would be forced to become "switch-back-ers"

Eh, criticizing the 800 pound gorilla is par for the course. Smaller competitors can't just ignore said 800 pound gorilla, because everyone noticed them already. If you just start talking about your product without comparing it to your competitors once in a while, your customers will assume you're avoiding that gorilla because you don't have a product that can compete.

Microsoft, however, should NOT mention its competition (you'll notice they never do in marketing media). When on top, organizations should never direct their marketing at anything except the fantasticness of their own products. Doing so not only gives publicity to your competition, but also shows some insecurity about your position at the top.

Apple isn't trashing Vista. Vista has flaws and Apple is poking fun at them. It's a perfect setup for Apple's soon-to-be competing product, Leopard.

Truthfully Vista isn't terrible as far as windows releases go. One company I do some work for upgraded right away so I've used their computers. In fact I'm on a Dell Latitude c600 right now. 1.0ghz, 768mb ram, probably 4 years old, Vista business. It's darn slow, they should have left XP on these old things, but the only problem they've had so far is that they got x64 for the executives C2D laptops, and the driver support is AWFUL. most execs are back on XP, some on 32bit vista. Apple is really on the ball with the integrated seamless 64bit support in Leopard, so much better thought out. Selling 64 and 32 bit versions of Vista...classic Microsoft.