Former 'I'm a Mac' Actor Justin Long Throws Shade at M1 Apple Silicon in New Intel Ad Campaign

[MowgliWolf]

Well, he is a fairly small time actor, it’s fair enough that he’ll take the gigs as they come, no problem with that.
What’s sad is the crap coming out of Intel’s marketing department, most ads lately that said.
Instead of showcasing the virtues of their product they cast shade at competitors, it’s a really sad state of affairs in modern marketing

 

[MacCheetah3]

Sadly I bought a Thinkpad Yoga (similar to the one in the video) as my daughter's first computer. Have always been a Mac user. She was raised a Mac user, but she wanted a computer and tablet in one because she loves Affinity Designer. The Thinkpad Yoga is one hell of a solution. I wish Tim would use one for a week or two. BTW, we spent quite a lot so this was NOT a price-driven decision (the X1 we got was pretty expensive, but nicely loaded). BTW2: Thanks Affinity for such a great product, and porting to Windows.

He probably has. 😉 Have you used it like a tablet?

I purchased an HP Envy x360 for college courses, computer programming. It's a bit bigger and heavier than the Thinkpad X1 Yoga, although, that's expected with a 15.6" vs 14" computer. As another comparison, the MBP 16" is ~0.18 pounds lighter and ~0.1 inches thinner than but otherwise similar to the x360.

I didn't buy the x360 for the 2-in-1 capability, the computer happened to be the best option for my requirements. Nevertheless, during class -- while we were in classrooms -- I did use the Envy in tablet mode a few times for note taking and some Web searches while participating in group work. Compared to an actual tablet, a 2-in-1 is very cumbersome to handle, much heavier and bulkier. Again, put another way, that Yoga is more than twice as heavy and more than 2.5x as thick as the latest 12.9" iPad Pro.

Plus this:

it's super clunky to hold it as a tablet with that keyboard behind the screen. It just feels weird and squishy, and it can't be good for the keyboard.

One more thing...

I couldn't possibly roll my eyes any further. Not a single comment on performance.

There's a reason. The Envy I mentioned above uses an ultra-low power, quad-core, 8th generation Core I7. It's actually not a bad performer. However, despite the CPU's low TDP, 15 watts, doing any task(s) that are even somewhat processor intensive sends the computer's fan into full-speed and you can feel the aluminum body as well as keyboard get warm. Granted, this could be HP having a poor cooling system design. Nevertheless, to be even considered usable in a tablet-type fashion, these computers need to be as thin as possible. So, I doubt any 2-in-1 can push great performance.

 

[Abazigal]

Well, he is a fairly small time actor, it’s fair enough that he’ll take the gigs as they come, no problem with that.
What’s sad is the crap coming out of Intel’s marketing department, most ads lately that said.
Instead of showcasing the virtues of their product they cast shade at competitors, it’s a really sad state of affairs in modern marketing

It's hard to showcase something you don't have. Even if Intel were to change course now, it's going to be years before we see any improvement on their end. Which means the only thing Intel can do now is to continue taking pot shots at Apple, even as Apple goes on to release additional M1 Macs that completely and utterly trounce Intel PCs in terms of performance.

 

[MacCheetah3]

The only reason Intel is still in the game, with their mostly 14nm CPU's is that AMD can't supply all of the demand for computers. If they could Intel would be loosing market share even faster.

I think, for gamers, the popular of Intel is because of higher default clock speeds. However, AMD — I think — is doing very well with multitasking (i.e., productivity market) needs. And AMD CPUs have always been the better overall value even if not always the king of performance.

From what I’ve also read on forums — again, primarily from game enthusiasts -- the biggest demand for the 11th gen Intel CPUs is PCI-E 4.0 support.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I don't blame Mac guy whats-his-name. No one really knows who he is anymore. The "I'm a Mac" ads are about as fresh as "Stadium Arcadium".

Isn't the year these came out the same year the Crocodile Hunter died? I mean if you were barely old enough to remember these ads, you're old enough to buy a beer now.

I mean, he WAS in a 2018 episode of "The Conners" so I suppose it's not out of the question to call him a star .

This is kinda like Joe Namath pitching the latest Plymouth sedan or something....

😯
I like Justin’s quirky humor, but even he can’t save Intel’s weak stabs at Apple. And the “I’m a Mac” campaign was fine and all, though here are a couple of my favorite, memorable Apple commercials:

 

[tubomac]

Nah.

Justin is only relevant and familiar to an OLDER GENERATION of Mac and PC users. If you ask any Millennial (or younger) today, they were young kids back when Justin was doing Mac-PC commercials, and they can't relate to him and don't cede him any celebrity status.

The only people that Justin is irritating are.... the older tech geeks here on MacRumors. Who are old enough to remember (and maybe participated) in the Mac-PC Wars of the 1990s and early 2000s.

Thus, the "reach" of his Intel ads is very small.

Beside the fact I think you are right, indeed I was worrying a little bit only about Apple itself and what this company should have be done to avoid this guy to switch to Intel side, I was not worrying at all about older tech geeks that, in case they feel irritaded for so little, I believe they are ***** idiots.

 

[cosmichobo]

Is it kind of funny, that the "I'm a PC" guy is still happy to do Mac ads... but the "I'm a Mac" guy - isn't...

 

[Makosuke]

This ad campaign only says two things to me:

1) Literally every point they make in favor of Intel has nothing to do with Intel, the technical value of Intel products, or anything Intel offers that Apple does not.

They are entirely either Windows or, to a much lesser extent, 3rd party hardware companies who also use Intel processors. Apple has exclusively used Intel chips for nearly 15 years, and 80% of Apple's products still use Intel chips, so clearly none of the "advantages" they're describing have anything to do with the CPU architecture. Further, literally any of the advantages described you can get using an AMD processor, which is likely faster.

2) This entire advertising campaign, as far as I can tell, is really only saying one thing: "Please don't switch to a Mac." They're not trying to pull Mac users away from the platform, they're trying to keep Windows users where they are.

That's fine, it's better than not, but it reeks of desperation.

I'm not saying Intel doesn't have a future, but boy is this a bad look. And really, shouldn't they be more afraid of AMD in the short run? You can get all of the advantages Intel is touting from a competitor's product, except it's both cheaper and faster than what Intel is offering.

 

[ani4ani]

Well they took the existing design, removed the fan, put the M1 in, and resolved all the throttling issues while almost tripling the processor power.

Yes of course they have, however before the M1 when they knew exactly the thermal needs of Intel CPU, they still crammed it in to a completely unsuitable form factor

 

[SlCKB0Y]

While talking about doing commercials for both Coke and Pepsi, Chappelle said, “If you wanna know the truth, I can’t even taste the difference. Surprise! All I know is Pepsi paid me most recently, so it tastes better.”

 

[mbt90]

LOL........ 🤣

meanwhile Intel is getting spanked by both Apple, and AMD in terms of performance.

give it up Intel, your days are done. Just sell your chip business to Apple.

also, there’s a reason Apple never made a touch screen Mac and they will never will to protect Steve Job’s legacy:

God I miss Jobs...

 

[Salaryman Ryan]

I doubt these type of commercials will appeal even to your typical PC user.

 

[ian87w]

Hey Tim, maybe you just need to send Justin a new iPhone 12.

 

[ian87w]

I definitely agree with one part of this video... Apple's lack of options to sell over priced dongles is hard to chew. There is no reason whatsoever why Apple couldnt make a laptop/tablet and add more PRO features. Especially on the MacBook PRO line.... I mean it's named PRO for gods sake, not Macbook + give me another $1000

The dongles are not exclusive to Apple. Most Windows ultrabooks will need dongles as well. My Lenovo only has a single USB-A port and a mini-HDMI (yeah that one needs an adapter or cable). Even Surface laptops need dongles.

The bias is that OEMs like Acer, Asus, HP, will include a basic dongle with the laptop purchase. Eg. an HP envy laptop comes with a USB-C to HDMI dongle. They still need a dongle in the end. You cannot go thin without dongles.

 

[ian87w]

In four years we will be asking what Intel is. It will be the Blackberry effect. The countdown starts after Apple replaces every processor they use with M1X.

That countdown will start once Microsoft managed to put near-perfect x64 emulation on Windows ARM for enterprise. When that happens, most OEMs won't hesitate to look at Qualcomm for more power efficient laptops. Then intel can count its days.

 

[vladi]

This ad campaign only says two things to me:

1) Literally every point they make in favor of Intel has nothing to do with Intel, the technical value of Intel products, or anything Intel offers that Apple does not.

It has everything to do with Intel. Intel makes CPU and Chipsets synergy that, as Mac die hard would say, creates the ecosystem and it simply just works. Unlike AMD and M1 chipsets that might not work if they don't feel like.

 

[ruka.snow]

I think, for gamers, the popular of Intel is because of higher default clock speeds. However, AMD — I think — is doing very well with multitasking (i.e., productivity market) needs. And AMD CPUs have always been the better overall value even if not always the king of performance.

From what I’ve also read on forums — again, primarily from game enthusiasts -- the biggest demand for the 11th gen Intel CPUs is PCI-E 4.0 support.

AMD processors are outperforming Intel in games. Intel is behind AMD in every single metric just now, yet they are ignoring AMD and fighting M1 instead.

 

[keyboardnut]

They must be desperate to post this!!

 

[asiga]

I might be wrong, but I tend to believe that the only game that it's being played here is what's going to happen with the Windows versions of the apps from big software companies (Autodesk, Adobe, etc). I mean, if all software vendors start releasing ARM versions of their Windows software, then Intel has a lot to worry about. On the other hand, if they keep releasing their Windows apps Intel-only, then Intel will be safe (yeah, they'd lose the Mac market, but not the Windows market, so in the end, it's not that bad).

I really believe that's the only game Intel is trying to fight here.

 

[maflynn]

I just saw the videos, and while intel is certainly desperate, all of the videos posted were dead on. You want to game, well a PC does it better. Want multiple monitors, PC. Want a wide selection of designs, and choice? PC again.

I'm not knocking the Mac, but just pointing out that there is pros and cons to both and Intel did a good job pointing out the PC's positives. Unlike their prior attempt using benchmarks which was down right embarrassing.

 

[brgjoe]

Yeah, I think the M1 processors are pretty awesome in themselves. But most of my work is still using PC/Windows. And most of my legacy games are as well.

And while I can see myself getting an M1 Macbook in the future, I am still using PC's in my foreseeable future.

 

[Dented]

I think the problem for intel is that while this tactic seems clever on paper, it really just breaks the illusion that the central character in the ad means anything that he says, thereby corrupting the message. While we all know that Justin Long is just an actor reading from a script for money, it was possible to suspend your disbelief and buy into the message Mac vs PC, whereas the cynical nature of these ads immediately removes that unconscious trust.

 

[dwaite]

To everyone saying this is a desperation play and underhanded - this is EXACTLY what Apple did with the "I'm a Mac" commercials.

Apple was trying to convince people to switch over; Intel is trying to convince them not to leave.

 

[5232152]

It’s just capitalism. I can only recommend to not get too emotionally involved people!

 

[tubomac]

I just saw the videos, and while intel is certainly desperate, all of the videos posted were dead on. You want to game, well a PC does it better. Want multiple monitors, PC. Want a wide selection of designs, and choice? PC again.

I'm not knocking the Mac, but just pointing out that there is pros and cons to both and Intel did a good job pointing out the PC's positives. Unlike their prior attempt using benchmarks which was down right embarrassing.

I agree. Fake benchmarks is a stupid way to get credibility back, instead those new commercials show nothing fake. Personally I believe that competition is good for consumers, after all Apple too improved a lot thanks to latest wintel PCs.