Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The "Get a Mac" ads are a bit overblown..... If i were MS I would have asked for a tone down or told Apple they risked losing Office.

How will Apple lose Office. I doubt very much Steve Jobs asked Microsoft to make Office for Mac. As you can run Windows via Bootcamp you can still use Office.

So Office will always be on a mac.

Scientology = Cult

They're the biggest bunch of crackpots...just look at some of the members...

  • Tom Cruise = Weirdo
  • John Travolta = Weirdo #2
  • Issac Hayes = RIP Weirdo

Brainwashing screwballs...

How do you explain Michael Jackson then?
:p:p:p
 
Scientology = Cult

They're the biggest bunch of crackpots...just look at some of the members...

  • Tom Cruise = Weirdo
  • John Travolta = Weirdo #2
  • Issac Hayes = RIP Weirdo

Brainwashing screwballs...

Hahaha, thanks for the laugh. I'm now remembering the South Park episode when they killed off Chef as child molester.
 
Fact is this.

EVERYONE knows Vista sucks. I have really tried to use it myself and just give up because its so bad. I still order PCs with XP. We only use XP at our offices. Vista is an utter failure. They need to take all the money they are putting into ad campaigns and put it into Windows 7. This is just an utter waste of time and money.

Oh and Seinfeld is an idiot. Not funny anymore. The real genius was Larry David anyhow. Seinfeld was and is a jerk.
 
http://www.youtube.com/v/vNDEwsIGJKI&hl=en&fs=1 (seinfeld in apple ad)

I have an instinctive dislike for Jerry Seinfeld. I think it was when I heard him criticizing the person suing his wife on Letterman in a very uncomfortable way. Then I was annoyed that he was so smug with Oprah. Then I was annoyed that he had these really annoying promos for the bee movie during each commercial break of the office one week. And then I've heard him be quite an apologist for scientology. And he's into cars, which is always a turn off to me.

You can add to that the fact that the famous TV series bearing his family name is, despite some funny moments, one of the most contemptuous and discriminatory ever against "unfavored" groups or communities that don't have the same amount of influence that he enjoys in the showbiz. A really disgusting display of racism that few people seem to realize anyway.
 
Exactly what I was thinking. With Seinfeld and Gates on camera. It's like it Apple made an ad that went "Hi, I'm a PC, And I'm a PC too.."
... What has Microsoft to gain even of a quarter the Linux and Mac users switched to Windows, Microsoft would gain only less than 2%.
The numbers work in Apple's favor because Apple only needs a 2 percent of Microsoft's user base to switch and Apple sales go up by 50%. Microsoft simply can't increase sales any more no matter how good the ad.

Except that your numbers are significantly outdated, your point is quite valid. A 2% boost in overall market share for Apple in the US would only equate to about a 25% growth. Interestingly, however, is that Apple is seeing over 40% growth while the other machines are only looking at about 5% each, meaning that Apple should break the 10% market barrier before the end of the year.
 
Yeah Seinfeld is exactly who they need to rid themselves of that stodgy, old image. Or maybe they need to unbloat their OS. Nah, that couldn't be it!
 
Oh and by the way Bill Gates himself said that Vista was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his history at microsoft. Right there in an interview when he was leaving. HOW is he going to battle that?
 
This is cool news. most of you guys are apple fanboys. If Apple hired Seinfeld for something, you would say this is the greatest thing ever!!

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Apple already had a tv ad that incorporated Jerry Seinfeld in their "Think Different" ad campaign. :rolleyes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNDEwsIGJKI

But it would be interesting to see this play out...

Jerry and Bill Gates go into a 'soup' restaurant and "The Soup Nazi" instead of saying, "No soup for you!", says 'No working OS for you!' :cool:
 
Maybe Apple should hire Larry David to counter them.

He could call Windows users "Shmohawks" or tell everyone why Leopard is "Pretty, Pretty, Pretty, pretty Good"
:)

I love Seinfeld but I think most of us know that LD was the brains behind that show.

should be fun to watch this campaign tank....
 
We'll have to wait and see...

I will withhold my judgment until I see the ads. If done properly I could see the ads being effective. Up to this point MS has had almost no response at all to the Apple vs PC ads. People understand Seinfeld's humor. It could work if done well. We'll see.
 
How will Apple lose Office. I doubt very much Steve Jobs asked Microsoft to make Office for Mac. As you can run Windows via Bootcamp you can still use Office.

So Office will always be on a mac.

Plus, as we've seen now, Apple is big on having a Plan B. I suspect Bootcamp is the tip of the iceberg for a current Plan B which would be full-blown Windows virtualization within OS X (a la Parallels or VMWare--only built right in.) I also suspect there may be a Plan B version of iWork locked away that has plenty of extra features to make it a suitable MS Office replacement.

Still, I think the threat of Office going away is vastly overblown for many reasons. First, Microsoft would once again be in the position of explaining how such a move is not illegally monopolistic, something I doubt they want to deal with again. Second, last time there were rumors of MS selling off their Mac division, there was no shortage of potential buyers (meaning, it's clearly a profitable venture for them.) Third, Apple has shown that they can compete with Microsoft and not be destroyed in the process. Remember all that doom-and-gloom that came along when Apple unveiled Safari and IE for Mac was discontinued? That wasn't the end of the world. In fact, I'd say we're all better off for it.
 
I love "Seinfeld"...THE SHOW. I have all the seasons on DVD. But "Seinfeld" was really a "period" sitcom -- very 1990's. When I see episodes, there are a LOT of lines that simply aren't relevant in the 21st century, and some that border on offensive in the post-9/11 world. For example, in one episode he jokes about firemen, "Yeah those first responders who risk their lives really have it made", dripping with sarcasm. Or all the innuendo about sex, like "The Contest"; sitcoms today regularly say masturbate. I could go on. Additionally, I daresay people watched "Seinfeld" to see Jerry the character, not Jerry the stand-up comic. The show certainly never made me want to see Jerry doing stand-up, even on TV. People will initially tune to the commericals expecting to see Jerry the character, or a "Seinfeld" (the show) styled commerical, and will be disappointed to see Jerry the (mediocre) comedian. Finally, "Seinfeld" was successful because of the sum of its other parts -- Larry David, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards, and Julia Louise-Dreyfus.

Much as I still love "Seinfeld", Jerry himself is not really a relevant or hip celebrity. Apple did the same thing once, when they used Alan Alda to promote Macs. Once sitcoms end, they usually pass from the public's mind very quickly, with some exceptions. (It might be funnier if someone used George and Weezy Jefferson.) If Microsoft really wanted to appeal to a younger base, they should have used "Family Guy" or "The Simpsons", or John Stewart. (Or hire Wayne Knight (Newman) to appear with Jerry...then it might be interesting to watch!)

But in the end, does it really matter who the spokesperson is? I mean really...has anyone really gone out and bought a PC because HP has Gwen Stefani or Jay-Z in its commercials? I would doubt it.
 
This is a bit ironic since Seinfeld proudly displayed his latest Mac in practically every episode of his sitcom. I guess "B-Movie" didn't bring in the paycheck the way he wanted.

You hit the nail square on the head. So, with that in mind, Gilbert Gottfried does a devastating impersonation of Seinfeld. I say, let's up the ante. Let's see a Get a Mac commercial with Gottfried pointing out that Seinfeld had a current-model Mac during the entire run of the show. Hear Gottfried's voice: "But I guess ten million dollars could make you forget a little thing like that." [Goes into mumbly mock-Seinfeld voice] "Mac? What's a Mac? I don't know what a Mac is. I don't know what Vista is, either. But I know what ten million dollars is. What's the deal, with that?"
 
Microsofts problem is Vista. Not a noisy competitor...
You can always look around and blame others. But Vista is not even close to what everyone wanted/expected it to be. And those Ad campaigns like Mojave experiment are pathetic.
 
you forgot about ALF

And what about the red-haired guy from Family Ties???

Never mind, that was Micheal J Fox...

What was the name of the show with they 1985 hyped-red-haired guy again? Damn memory...

[edit]Okay, I was refering to Kirk Cameron in Growing Pains, thanks to Wikipedia![/edit]
 
Hahaha, thanks for the laugh. I'm now remembering the South Park episode when they killed off Chef as child molester.

That was classic. "He's not dead yet. Dude, he's dead...No, when you die you crap yourself......ppppphhhhrraaappppp....Now he's dead"...LOL
 
Oh, this should be creative...

Last time I checked, it is Apple who specializes in creativity, keeping ideas flowing and integrating your entire life. Right? So what, is Bill Gates going to be PC, and Seinfeld the Mac? Ha, I know which one is cooler already! Couldn't Microsoft get Will Ferrell? At least Apple knows they're doing serious damage to the fumbling giant.
 
I still love the fact that MS blames the low opinion of Vista on the 'Get a Mac' campaign, and not on Vista, itself.

And it's crazy that HP can get Jay-Z, Pharrell, Gwen Stefani, and even Mark Cuban to do an ad for them, but Microsoft decides to go with him.

HP also got Jerry Seinfeld.
8117_1195506892.jpg HPJerryStill2.jpg 5519375.jpg

He almost ruined one of my favorite TV shows, when he showed up on 30 Rock.

I think 30 Rock was taking a shot at how Seinfeld is no longer culturally contemporary, but executives keep tapping him, in an attempt to be hip.

Microsoft should have hired Larry David, the real talent behind Seinfeld.

Somehow, using a pitchman most recently associated with a show entitled Curb Your Enthusiasm is the best way to turn around negative product perceptions.

I've known a few old-school Mac fans that, for one reason or another, HATE OS X - maybe Seinfeld is one of them?...

Or, maybe he just wants the money.

I doubt it's anything personal -- it's all about the money and media exposure.

The "Get a Mac" ads are a bit overblown... If i were MS I would have asked for a tone down or told Apple they risked losing Office.

The 'Get a Mac' ads work -- just stand near the front of an Apple Store for a few minutes and listen to the comments prospective 'switchers' make -- they're not overblown.

If M$ attempted to so blatantly strong-arm its competition, the FTC/SEC/US Attorneys would be all over Balmer like white on rice, faster than you can say, "Goodbye 'Ma Software'"
 
The Office threat

Still, I think the threat of Office going away is vastly overblown for many reasons.

I also think that, with Macs holding a MUCH greater share of the market these days, if Office were discontinued it makes business sense for someone to create an MS Office-like product that reads and writes files that open as MS Office files on a PC. I know there are already many products out there that do this to a certain degree. This would simply be 100% compatible.

Aside from that - MS just wants to sell products. If they can sell Office to Mac users, they will. I don't see them trying to stop the Mac's inroads into the PC market by ceasing production of Office. They know a competitor would step in, and they also know they cannot stop the increasing switching that's going on. The whole thing with hiring Seinfeld is, in the best Ballmer tradition, all about APPEARING to confront the problem by spending some dough and putting on a show.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.