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Microsoft Dropping Seinfeld, Directly Targeting 'Get a Mac' Ads

bobertoq said:
YES! Another thing people need to take into consideration is that Apple has a $600 starters Mac that works perfectly fine and will work with your previous monitor, mouse, and keyboard. So basically if you get a Mini your getting a new medium performance machine, for only $600 and if you don't like OS X :)confused:) you can just install Windows.
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You realize the mini comes with a 3-year old GPU, outdated processor, 80GB Hard drive, and only 1 GM Ram right? It hasn't been updated in so long, people think its DEAD.
 
Syrus28 said:
Damage? I hardly doubt the "Get a Mac" commercials changed the mind of anyone who wasn't already heavily considering a Mac. (which is therefore, not their target audience.)
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It should be. Regular people don't care about the OS their computer is running. Therefore they wouldn't see any point in switching to OS X. If they targeted their ads towards people who haven't thought about switching... well that's a different story.
 
Well, good for Seinfeld if he fleeced MS for 10 mil on those lame ads - he can buy a couple of his beloved collectible porsches with that cash.

Personally, I feel like the Mac vs PC ads aren't that great either; the Mac character comes off as a smug arrogant prick, while the PC character is funny and engaging.

<shrugs> either way, I don't see any of these commercials really influencing sales.
 
Syrus28 said:
You realize the mini comes with a 3-year old GPU, outdated processor, 80GB Hard drive, and only 1 GM Ram right? It hasn't been updated in so long, people think its DEAD.
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So true. Even the Air in its tiny case can deliver much more punch than a Mini -- maybe even with all the upgrades allowed.

I never had a Mini, but I love its form factor. The problem is that it's always lagging so much after the 'books and iMacs...
 
Glad to hear it

Good.

I don't know where the campaign's going, but revitalizing Windows with a series of ads that shows all it can do still won't dispel what Apple's stirred up. Sure, they can say how many people use Windows, how much infrastructure is built on it, and how cool things are made with it, but they'll need to show the superiority of their user experience and/or attack Apple's faults. They're gonna need to respond without seeming vindictive, for one. It seems that people like the Apple ads because they jibe in a mostly pleasant way. They'll also need to somehow fight Apple's cult status and not come off like a bully. People tend to form emotional attachments to the underdog -- the exciting alternative -- and not to the mainstream platform most use out of compliance and complacency.

I hope this attack only winds up making Apple (and their marketing and advertising people) smarter.
 
Syrus28 said:
Yes, and they all ran out and bought it after seeing the latest "Get a Mac" ad?
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I personally know several who have or are contemplating doing so. So, yes, the ads are working. They have created brand awareness and that is the goal. You have to live in a cave in the US to not know of the "I'm a Mac" ads. Sounds like a successful ad campaign, if you ask me.
 
ssj2goha said:
it's the Microsoft checklist....

1. try something new
2. Fail Miserably
3. Look at Apple
4. Steal the idea from them
5. Call it "original"
6. Still fail to match apple's product


the redmond photocopier is still working i see.....
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I can't believe it took midway through page 2 to find a post mentioning this. I remember staving off those claims (like a now-professed idiot) before my conversion. I mean when Apple creates "widgets" for Mac OS and then MS creates something oh-so-similar called "gadgets," just give me a break.

I think Jerry Seinfeld is hilarious, but those commercials were painfully stupid. They served even less of a point than most beer commercials, which are at least entertaining even though they make vague points at best (tastes great! less filling!).

Microsoft: You are effin' rich. Find some people who know how to make ads and then KEEP OUT OF IT. If you want successful commercials, you've got to *invent* something. Sorry to be punny, but think different!
 
Syrus28 said:
You realize the mini comes with a 3-year old GPU, outdated processor, 80GB Hard drive, and only 1 GM Ram right? It hasn't been updated in so long, people think its DEAD.
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Exactly. That's would be like saying chevy still offers a mid performance vehicle since they still sell the 1972 model Chevy Nova (which they obviously don't really). Just because it was at one time a mid-level machine does not mean it still is today. Just because Apple offers no actual mid level machine does not mean that the mini remains a real mid level machine.
 
i'm not sure what their goals were with using seinfeld, but i'm glad they "worked".

this kinda reminds me of political marketing, where apple launched heavy salvos with the get a mac ads, shaping and defining M$ and now M$ has to try to redefine itself, which is harder to do
 
karlfranz said:
I personally know several who have or are contemplating doing so. So, yes, the ads are working. They have created brand awareness and that is the goal. You have to live in a cave in the US to not know of the "I'm a Mac" ads. Sounds like a successful ad campaign, if you ask me.
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I don't know anybody, but it took a little explaining by a salesman for me to totally ditch the platform I had known for more than a decade. I HATED Macs during the OS 9 and previous eras because the OS just didn't like me and I didn't like it. I heard OS X was supposed to be a big step up, and I know at first that I at least thought it looked better. A couple of crappy HP laptops and a bazillion annoyances with Norton Anti-Virus later, I got a Mac.

I'm still in the Windows world a bit since my mom won't switch, but the pains I have with NAV and other little things just keep me confident in my decision. Microsoft has made a few improvements, but they look like crappy versions of built-in software from Mac OS. Windows Mail, Windows Photo Center, and Windows Media Player are just completely crapped-out versions of Mail, iPhoto, and iTunes. It really is a shame considering you know there have to be a lot of smart people at Microsoft.
 
karlfranz said:
I personally know several who have or are contemplating doing so. So, yes, the ads are working. They have created brand awareness and that is the goal. You have to live in a cave in the US to not know of the "I'm a Mac" ads. Sounds like a successful ad campaign, if you ask me.
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That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that watching PC describe the type of "herbal tea" he needs to keep functioning, or the normal shenanigans going on in the commercials hardly "damages" Microsoft's image or be the deciding factor in purchasing a Mac. The commercials are entertainment, that that's what people know them for.
 
Full of Win said:
I have never understood why Microsoft does not target the weakest link in the Apple methodology - the lack of hardware choice. Apple offers 6 computers (MacPro, iMac, MacMini, MacBook Pro, Macbook and MacBook Air) and its a huge weakness.
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The main problem with this is that Apple offers far more hardware options than MS does. Dell, Sony, Toshiba etc. offer lots more choices, but MS doesn't sell PC hardware at all.
 
So in one ad campaign, Microsoft is going to do their own version of the "PC and Mac" as well as "Switcher" ads? In two weeks they'll give up again and we'll have silhouette ads of people dancing with their PCs.
 
karlfranz said:
In case you haven't noticed, in this horrible economy, Apple is the only computer maker that is thriving. Why can't you just concede that maybe Apple seems to know what's best for running Apple right now? Or that they have a plan that seems to be working for them just fine.
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Amen!

Although, don't look at their stock price.
 
zelmo said:
The main problem with this is that Apple offers far more hardware options than MS does. Dell, Sony, Toshiba etc. offer lots more choices, but MS doesn't sell PC hardware at all.
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Microsoft's platform (which is what they are advertising) offers more hardware options than Macs do. Not that hard to understand. :D
 
ProwlingTiger said:
At least by stealing Apple's commercial idea we know that Microsoft is still Microsoft, stealing ideas and whatnot. For awhile there I thought it was having an identity crisis.
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Once again Apple innovation molds Microsoft "creativity." :rolleyes:
 
zelmo said:
The main problem with this is that Apple offers far more hardware options than MS does. Dell, Sony, Toshiba etc. offer lots more choices, but MS doesn't sell PC hardware at all.
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But that's irrelevant. In fact in Apple's own ads they don't call the other guy Windows, they call him PC.
 
cohibadad said:
I'm going to miss seeing Bill Gates adjust his shorts and doing the robot.
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If Seinfield walks in front of the camera and says "I'm a Mac" and Gates appears and says "I'm am PC" I'd ROTFL. :D

The problem then would be where the script goes from there.
 
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