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Apple's 'Get a Mac' Commercials Discontinued?

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Apr 12, 2001
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In an interview with The A.V. Club (via MacDailyNews), actor Justin Long reveals that Apple may have discontinued its series of "Get a Mac" ads featuring Long and John Hodgman in their respective roles as "Mac" and "PC".
AVC: what's the status on those Apple commercials?

JL: You know, I think they might be done. In fact, I heard from John, I think they're going to move on. I can't say definitively, which is sad, because not only am I going to miss doing them, but also working with John. I've become very close with him, and he's one of my dearest, greatest friends. It was so much fun to go do that job, because there's not a lot to it for me. A lot of it is just keeping myself entertained between takes, and there's no one I'd rather do it with than John.
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The news may not be a tremendous surprise, as Apple has not released any new commercials featuring Long and Hodgman since a series of three ads targeting the launch of Windows 7 debuted last October. Long's comments suggest, however, that that series may have come to an end rather than simply being on hiatus. Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign launched in 2006 and has received a number of awards, including AdweekMedia's Campaign of the Decade.

Article Link: Apple's 'Get a Mac' Commercials Discontinued?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/08/apples-get-a-mac-commercials-discontinued/
A shame, but good also. They were funny but getting old and didn't always make sense to the average Joe.

Ads showing off functionality and sexy design like the iPhone etc would be good.
 
In a way that's sad, but I believe 4 years of the same style of commercial is more than enough. Time for something new! Perhaps these two actors will simply continue appearing in those new commercials but in different roles. "Mac" has especially become iconic, but it may be odd if they moved away from a conflict set-up and brought "PC" into a "Mac" identity too... that may confuse a lot of viewers who are already used to the traditional roles.
 
A lot of them were pretty funny, but I'll be happy if it's over. I think it was starting to get old. Actually, I think it started getting old in 2008.
 
I think they were the perfect ads for that point in time. Most people still didn't think of a Mac as an option then. They thought being a Mac person was like being Vegan...either you totally were one or you weren't.

Those ads + the intel switch + Boot Camp and Parallels all came together to show people that you can have a PC and a Macbook at the same time. Or you can use a PC at work but an iMac at home.

It was a huge shift in public opinion over those 2 or 3 years. And those ads were a critical piece of that. Now we have iPhones and iPads and Apple stores everywhere...people don't have those same fears anymore.

So I think that bridge has been crossed and the public is no longer afraid of Macs so these ads just aren't needed any more. It is a good time to shut them down and move on.
 
I'll miss them, but I do think it's time to move on to something new.
 
I hope this isn't more confirmation that Apple is becoming less and less serious about (or focused on) its computer business.

But anyway, given that no one in their right mind would purchase the current Macs now, cutting the commercials probably makes sense, at least until the updates...whenever the hell that happens...
 
I like and use Macs everyday... These commercials worked when comparing OSX to windows XP and Vista... Windows 7 on the other hand is a solid OS and these commercials claims are no longer valid... It is a good time to end them and start a new campaign that simply speaks to the positives of OSX...
 
Of this you can be sure...

Whatever comes next won't involve Jerry Seinfeld eating a churro and bumping into Steve Jobs trying on shoes at the local mall :D
 
A great campaign (one of the best in any industry I feel) that has come to the end where it should really. A bit like anything truly great, it's pulled when it peaks and becomes a great reference point (unlike a lot of US TV series IMO :))..

I think from here the iPhone OS platform devices are the trojan horse that keeps up switching momentum...
 
It's to be expected, I suppose. Windows 7 really is a big step up from vista, and after a recent iMac failure I'm using it as my primary operating system on a custom-built PC. I have to say, I'm enjoying it so far. I'll miss these ads, but other than security and stability issues still present in Windows 7(which have been driven into the ground as far as these commercials go), Apple doesn't have a lot of ground to stand on of late.

Nothing can compare to the OSX user experience, but at least windows 7 is decent. I am curious to see what Apple has in store for it's ad campaign next. These ads, when they began, were unique and effective.
 
Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.50 (Nintendo DSi; Opera/507; U; en-US))

A shame. Now I am going to apple.com and making a backup of all my favorites.

They didn't have to stop them. Just add something new.

Hi, I'm an iPhone” and “Hi, I'm Windows Mobile” or something like that. And maybe for two commercials or so they could add, “Hello, my name is Google Android”.
 
I'll miss the ads.

Maybe we can get a new series with the iPad and HP Slate. :D
 
Very good marketing, that went on for way way too long, in the end they were getting lame.

So given Apple does not really do computers anymore ;) looking forward to new ads hammering Android or anyone else threatening the Mobile empire...
 
Michael73 said:
Of this you can be sure...

Whatever comes next won't involve Jerry Seinfeld eating a churro and bumping into Steve Jobs trying on shoes at the local mall :D
Click to expand...


You didn't find those things hilarious? Granted, they didn't do anything for Microsoft, but they were quite entertaining. I mean, come on! Jerry Seinfeld asks Bill Gates to create a computer with a creamy nuggat center. It doesn't get much better than that, as far as weird, CEO+comedian extended commercials go.
 
I'm actually really glad they are gone.. Those ads were annoying, and pretty untrue, at least from my PC experience.. I'm a PC Enthusiast, I have never experienced a blue screen of death, or crashes for that matter on Windows.. I switched to mac.. but I've still found those ads annoying because Apple takes shots at Microsoft, and Microsoft doesn't really do anything about it.. Although Microsoft did make some Windows 7 ads a while back showing how affordable PC's are..
 
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