Intel's Latest PC vs. Mac Ad Involves a 'Social Experiment' With Apple Fans

[MacRumors]

Intel today shared a new ad titled Breaking the Spell: Social Experiment. In the four-minute video, Intel invites 12 supposed Apple fans to a focus group showcasing features of "upcoming devices" that were, in fact, PCs that are already on the market. The ad was spotted earlier by French website MacGeneration.

The video starts out by saying that many Apple fans only care about Apple products, and Intel attempts to change that viewpoint. The supposed Apple fans are ushered into a room that looks similar to an Apple Store, creating the impression that they are being shown new Apple products, but the devices are actually PCs powered by Intel processors.

According to Intel's Ryan Shrout, the ad features each participant's "real" reactions instead of scripted ones. "It's surprising to see how many people that utilize tech still don't know the capabilities of the PC," he said in a tweet.

The ad is part of Intel's #GoPC marketing campaign that it launched last year after Apple started transitioning to custom Apple Silicon chips in Macs. Intel even recruited former "I'm a Mac" actor Justin Long for some of the ads.

Article Link: Intel's Latest PC vs. Mac Ad Involves a 'Social Experiment' With Apple Fans

 

[keco185]

I guess Intel is the new Chevy

 

[aforty]

Can you smell the desperation?

 

[Will Co]

Intel makes chips. Apple makes an ecosystem and the devices to make it work. Does Intel really think they compare?

 

[bradman83]

They’re not wrong in that fanboy-ism will cause consumers, and especially a subset of Apple customers, to dismiss other brands out of sheer loyalty or perceived superiority of their ecosystem. But c’mon, Intel, this is a bad look for you.

 

[LukasValine]

This is how a company advertises when they can’t compete.

 

[Peter Wright]

Whatever they say, it's still a ****** PC running ****** windows.

 

[DeadM]

Are they kidding, 'what are you missing?' 'touchscreen' 'touchscreen' 'touchscreen'. Not a second that I thought about that.
Guess I'm oldschool.

 

[iamyash]

Give it a few months and you will want to move back to macOS. Terrible optimisations and inconsistent UI on Windows. OEMs are going one direction and Windows is going the other direction, there is no intersection. This is coming from a long time Windows user that moved to macOS and never looked back!

I will take an iPad and a MacBook any day than a 2-in-1 combo that is heavy, cumbersome and not able to justify its purpose. Neither an iPad and nor a MacBook. All over the place.

 

[VictorWhiskey]

I like this ad because it is a great reminder of what we should be able to do with such high priced devices and machines. I have a MacBook that feels severely handicapped and can only use it for browsing and coding. YouTube and twitch videos are causing my fans to go nuts while using big sur.

 

[mashdots]

this is very cringey. they play it off like people have never seen a PC before.

Whatever they say, it's still a ****** PC running ****** windows.

and this is the big one. there's one pretty new PC in my house and it's a pain to use because windows is hot garbage.

 

[nwcs]

Not that they would but Apple could do the exact same thing with probably those same people and get a totally different result. In the end most “experiments” like this are designed to get the result they are after.

 

[Moonlight]

Super realistic reactions. Not prompted at all. /s

 

[TheDailyApple]

Oh sure. The same people who want to change their RAM manually don’t know that 3-in-1 laptop/tablets exist. Like I’d believe that.

And if someone’s an avid gamer, they’re going to know very well what (and roughly how many) games are supported on PC, Mac, PS, Xbox, etc.

 

[Saturnine]

Hm. I see what Intel are doing here. The problem with this experiment is that they didn’t tell the subjects that the devices were not Macs and therefore wouldn’t run MacOS.

So yeah, Intel-powered laptops do have advantages over MacBooks which are highlighted in the video. The problem is that they also have drawbacks. Only half of these differences were pointed out in this video.

 

[TonnyM]

God, it’s so stupid, superficial and naive.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Out in the world, a lot of folks are like… wait, I didn’t know about this Apple company I saw in that Intel commercial. Must be a big deal because it’s not like they’d be competing against some small fry. Guess I’ll try Apple.com and see if that works…

There’s a MUCH greater likelihood that these commercials are introducing new folks to Apple than there is the likelihood that anyone buying Apple computers are being introduced to Intel. But, that’s always the risk when you include your competition’s name in your advertising. You have to make the calculation that informing non-Apple folks that Apple exists is worth the risk of mentioning them in the ad.

 

[now i see it]

99.5% of Apple customers couldn’t care less who’s CPU is inside their Mac. (and 50% probably don’t even know what a CPU is).
Sorry but intel has really lost the plot.

 

[thevofl]

This reminds me of the video where Gordon Ramsey makes scrabbled eggs. The onlookers are all interested as if they haven’t see scrambled eggs before. It’s just scrambled eggs, and it isn’t that appealing. This is just a windows on a PC, it isn’t that appealing either.

 

[Pakaku]

I guess the real social experiment is making a bad advertisement and seeing how many people talk about it

 

[Nordichund]

Intel belongs in its new home. A museum!

 

[Moonlight]

I guess Intel is the new Chevy

If this isn't made by the same creatives as that campaign, I would be shocked. Was stupid then, still is stupid now. "It's a Chevy!!!!"

 

[filchermcurr]

I got to the part where they were folding the laptop into a 'tablet' and it was 60 feet tall. Unwieldy!

Also that video was terrible in general. I always feel weird about blatantly manipulating people like this. (Assuming you believe this wasn't completely acted.) People should be given the facts and the freedom to make informed, reasoned decisions. Nobody likes to feel tricked or outsmarted. It seems like things like this only serve to create resentment toward a brand. That's how I'd feel, anyway.

 

[TheDailyApple]

Funny how the one thing intel contributes to these computers isn’t mentioned.

Every one of intel’s GoPC ads seems to say “PCs have a ton of advantages over Macs, none of which we had anything to do with.”

 

[fod_dzug]

They’re not wrong in that fanboy-ism will cause consumers, and especially a subset of Apple customers, to dismiss other brands out of sheer loyalty or perceived superiority of their ecosystem. But c’mon, Intel, this is a bad look for you.

To be fair, there is also anti-fanboy-ism as well. A lot of people would not touch apple products.