New Mac Ads: V Word and Bean Counter

[iReality85]

Exactly! People already know that Macs can point and click. They need to know they solve the frustration problems.

I fail to see this logic. Anyone with half a brain should know how to use a computer, whether it be a PC or a Mac. I for one have never had any of these supposed "frustration problems" that fanbois always deploy as their talking point against Windows/PCs (I use both a Windows tower PC and a Macbook). I'm willing to wager that those who have no issues with Windows/PCs actually know how to use and maintain a computer.

 

[digitalbiker]

"Negative campaigning. If I were an investor, I would be asking serious questions as to why they're not advertising the benefits of OSX, instead of continuous pathetic jibes at Microsoft.

The problem is that tech ads describing the pluses of an operating system are pathetically boring to the general public. No one wants to hear about CoreAnimation, XCode, Cocoa, GUI guidelines, etc. etc.

It is much easier to create an entertaining and brief ad poking fun at MS than it is to describe the reasons that you are better.

Besides that, it is working well. People like the ads and they are getting under MSs skin. Mac sales are increasing faster than PC sales and one of the primary reasons is OSX vs. Vista. The funny part about that is that the other reason is the switch to intel and compatibility with windows through Bootcamp or a VM application.

 

[AlexisV]

But that's the whole point. It does work. It's not great - but it does work. 85% of the people watching those adverts are already using a Microsoft OS. They don't need to be told why it's bad or what's wrong with it - they experience it every. single. day.

What they need is to be shown why the alternative is better.

Yes - Apple market share is increasing, but I don't believe this adverts have much, if anything, to do with it. They turn me OFF the Apple brand, and clearly, I'm not alone.

Advertising has many methods though, and showing the product and its features in an infomercial sense is only one way. How many car ads show you new features? Most of them are aspirational pieces. Likewise, Apple machines are quite aspirational. If you want one, sure, look at all the specs on the website. But what's going to pull you there in the first place?

Maybe the product you're using right now isn't that good? Maybe you should start to think about another solution? That's one of the angles behind these so called 'negative' ads.

Remember these are only jokey internet ads, which occasionally feature in cinemas anyway. They're not that important!

 

[macaco74]

This is a funny and entertaining battle.

 

[mccldwll]

I'm willing to wager that those who have no issues with Windows/PCs actually know how to use and maintain a computer.

So how much do you want to wager there, bucko? I'm sure there are a few million more than willing to take that bet. And BTW, with technophobes all over the planet, suggesting that only those who know how to use and maintain a computer don't have problems with windoz clearly demonstrates that you've already lost the overall argument.

 

[Bitmap Frog]

Then don't be a cheapass and buy a Macbook Pro. The Macbook isn't for you.

Wow. I guess some people NEVER grow up and out of groupthink.

Dude, not everything production related moves around top-of-the-line pana genesis tied to codex units and massive renderfarms style of production.

There's many people out there making a living outta low-budget filmmaking/documentary and to these people (which mind you, are still legitimate professionals) saving every penny counts. Most of these guys are using HDV (HD100's, Z1E's, you know) gear and you know what that does mean interface wise.

Heck even to professionals upper in the ladder things are stopping to make sense as well - people shooting with XDCAM EX are picking up el cheapo dell's to dump the cards on set - it's silly dumping that much dollar on a MBP just because it's the only model with a expresscard slot.

Nevermind the fact that why do consumers have to be punished with sluggish file transfers? In today's "digital-life" world apple so much likes to tout gigabytes worth of photographs, music, movies (hopefully ripped from legally adquired DVD's lol), home movies, etc... are not uncommon for the average user. There's a reason external HDD's have become a commodity as of late and until last week apple consumer line had a faster interface than usb. Now it doesn't anymore.

Frankly, I'm new to this community and I find appalling the way some people insist on defending what are fully objectionable decisions by apple. And you old timers better start getting used to it, now Apple is selling outside the Apple faithful and that means whatever crappy decisions Apple makes they'll be echoed in a way they never were.

 

[itickings]

Surprisingly, I actually liked this one in contrast to many of the previous.

Some have been very questionable in my opinion, but on the other hand I really don't believe I'm part of the ads' target group since I already bought much of the stuff anyway...

 

[Obi-Wan Kubrick]

Very funny but move on to something else

I love these adds and they are funny but they are beating a dead horse with Vista.

 

[powers74]

I fail to see this logic. Anyone with half a brain should know how to use a computer, whether it be a PC or a Mac. I for one have never had any of these supposed "frustration problems" that fanbois always deploy as their talking point against Windows/PCs (I use both a Windows tower PC and a Macbook). I'm willing to wager that those who have no issues with Windows/PCs actually know how to use and maintain a computer.

Hmmm. I don't really know what you mean by maintaining a computer. I just turn my 10yo mac on and it works great.

 

[Powerbooky]

Apple doesn't produce notebook locks, either, so why not remove the Kensington lock slot from the Macbook?

Indeed... in fact those locks barely prevent laptops being stolen. Most of them can be opened with a piece of paper or will be simply cut off in a second.

 

[alphaod]

This is turning into what looks like political campaigns; attacking the other party.

 

[markm49uk]

I dunno. Does it look like a professional or a CONSUMER device to you?

If you have nothing constructive to say why say anything at all ?

 

[mccldwll]

There's many people out there making a living outta low-budget filmmaking/documentary and to these people (which mind you, are still legitimate professionals) saving every penny counts...................................

. In today's "digital-life" world apple so much likes to tout gigabytes worth of photographs, music, movies (hopefully ripped from legally adquired DVD's lol), home movies, etc... are not uncommon for the average user. There's a reason external HDD's have become a commodity as of late and until last week apple consumer line had a faster interface than usb. Now it doesn't anymore.

So you should be happy. Save $300 and get the still-in-the-consumer-line white macbook, which has FW. Just no aluminum.

 

[Bitmap Frog]

So you should be happy. Save $300 and get the still-in-the-consumer-line white macbook, which has FW. Just no aluminum.

I'm not in the market for a laptop right now =)

Indeed that's the only option left but who knows for how long will it be offered. It is sort of sad tho resorting to previous hardware because the newer models are limited by design.

 

[Mitch1984]

I love the adverts but I'm not sure they work, PC Users tend to get defensive and amongst other things call us smug, instead of agreeing with the adverts.

 

[137489]

I fail to see this logic. Anyone with half a brain should know how to use a computer, whether it be a PC or a Mac. I for one have never had any of these supposed "frustration problems" that fanbois always deploy as their talking point against Windows/PCs (I use both a Windows tower PC and a Macbook). I'm willing to wager that those who have no issues with Windows/PCs actually know how to use and maintain a computer.

That's the whole point. I spend 75% of my day maintaining my and client's Windows computers/servers (cleaning spyware, running virus checks, defraging, cleaning out IE caches and cookies, rebooting, making sure my virus and spyware engines have the latest dat files, implementing latest security checks and updates, backing out updates that broke certain apps, making sure my backup ran correctly, fixing broken or crashed software, figuring why SQL runs one day and not the next, dealing with IE issues when opening large files, dealing with system resource issues, etc).

Why do i want to spend 75% of my day maintaining my computer, so that I have no problems - when I can spend 100% of my day actually using my mac and not have to worry about all the problems. and I am using XP, too many people I personally know still complain about Vista stability; even with SP 1. and these are I/T people or power users, not some mom or pop who just got a PC.

that's the whole point of mac, and end-to-end solution. 6 months + on a mac and I have yet to have to reload my hard-drive, have problems, etc. windows, every 3-6 months I have to cleanly format the harddrive and reload windows just to deal with OS problems.

so yes, there are reasons why I became a fanboy. I work with windows (Xp, servers, SQL, etc) every day.

But thanks to MS and their mess, I have a job and pleanty of work - frustrating and long hours, but I have work; although I would much rather spend my time developing something useful.....

*Edit - oh and 2007 /2008 have got to be the worst year for MS apps in regards to usefullness and stability - Hmmm, guess Balmer can't handle it. Not only Vista, but updates, office, VPC, etc have their problems and we have to resort to older versions.

 

[Wolfpup]

Is it wrong of me that I *LOVE* Apple's Mac/PC ads even though I like Windows?

They are SOOOOO funny IMO, and personally they do give me warm feelings about Apple

 

[iReality85]

So how much do you want to wager there, bucko? I'm sure there are a few million more than willing to take that bet. And BTW, with technophobes all over the planet, suggesting that only those who know how to use and maintain a computer don't have problems with windoz clearly demonstrates that you've already lost the overall argument.

Clearly not. And your typical fanboi haughtiness amuses me! I'll use myself as an example. Built my own PC tower without monetary limit, installed XP because its stable and proven, and have not had any sort of problem/grief/annoyance/failure in regards to hardware or software performance and compatability. None. Zippo. Runs like a top. It is, for all intensive purposes, a very high-end gamer's PC. Oh and btw, I wasn't speaking on behalf of the "technophobe" masses, just those who (I'll repeat it for your convenience) know how to use and maintain a system. Given that, you shouldn't have problems, whatever OS is your flavor. Apple's "just works" is, I find, completely objective. Everything I've installed and operated on my PC "just works" the same as it "just works" on my Macbook. Which gets to the heart of Apple's jousting at Microsoft. Anyone who knows anything about a PC shrugs at Apple's claims (including the legions of gamers). My god, you would (and of course you would) think that everyone who uses a Windows PC has an absolute, horrific, downright miserable experience. I can only laugh at this belief.


I'll now be taking that money, and you can buy me a new macbook

 

[apearlman]

MS spends on advertising! I'm appalled.

How ironic... an advertisement that criticizes a competitor for doing too much advertising.

Seriously, how much money has Apple spent implanting these two characters in our minds? This ad is an amazing display of hubris and hypocrisy.

 

[Adjei]

That was funny as heck, Apple knocked out those copycats at Redmond with a knockout punch.

 

[Adjei]

As an avid Mac user and geek I find them all hilarious. On the other hand, as an investor who wants that market share to grow more, I would like to see Apple focus more on the "Off the air" kind of ads, the ones that focus on why to switch.

These ads are perfect, they capture the attention of the viewer and makes them laugh, showing everything OSX capable of is too long and boring and would not capture the interest of the viewers.

 

[nd.]

Apple Fanboy?

um...if what you do doesn't use the 3d part of the graphics card, there was almost no difference between the MB and the MBP. Slightly (barely) faster version of the same processor and a larger screen.

And more weight.

Some people want a SMALLER screen and LESS weight. Imagine that...Apple users wanting things smaller and lighter...and Apple refusing to provide what they want. The AIR is a failure with so many compromises it isn't worth bringing up, so don't bring it up. The AIR is a concept album that sticks steadfast to the concept, but forgets to be a decent listen in the process.

The new macbooks have a smaller screen than the MBP, no unnecessary graphics chip(you have to log out to change graphics cards?!?!?!?!?), the same unibody aluminum case, better battery life, and less weight, all with a slight processor de-clock and not much else in the way of handicaps. And then they arbitrarily cut off the FW port. If Apple is "moving away from Firewire" then why did they put one on the MBP? Seems like a contradiction to me...No, they just realized that most people would want the regular MB, even "pros" because the most asked for thing by pros is for a new 12" MBP...Apple knows what people want, but they can't get the margin they would like. How to keep people from leaving the MBP on the shelves in droves? Kill the FW port, that's how.

I disagree. Yes, smaller and lighter is handy, but if you're like me and you do any kind of creative work (be it video/audio or whatever) you'll appreciate the extra power of the MacBook Pro. Why do you think it's called the "Macbook PRO"? because it's aimed at pro's maybe? I don't know why Apple pulled the firewire from the MacBook, and whether or not I agree with that isn't the point. I use firewire all the time, and I already own a MacBook Pro... when I go to upgrade I will get another pro.

Also, the MacBook Air is not a failure at all. It's aimed at people who are constantly on the go and who do not need the processing power of a higher end laptop. I personally would love to have one for when I travel.

Before you write me off as another biased "Apple Fanboy" you should know I had used Windows software (I configured my own hardware) for 15 years before I switched to Mac. The Mac hardware is fantastic, and the OS is more advanced than anything else in it's category. While I don't always agree with everything they do, obviously they know what they're doing... *look at their sales increase over the last year alone*

 

[Adjei]

pretty funny but apple probably spends more money on advertising than MS does (but what do I know?). I have never seen an MS ad on TV but I've seen plenty of Mac ads.

If apple spent less $ on advertising maybe they could use the money they saved to put a DVD burner in the Mac mini...lol.

Bull Microsoft spends way more on advertising than Apple.

 

[Adjei]

Why take the time to explain features and bore viewers when you can communicate the idea that Mac is better in a more entertaining and effective way. Apple's stores and web pages do a much better job of explaining feature benefits to an already interested customer.

I'm not sure that showing Mac features is the point of the campaign any more than dancing silhouettes showed off new iPod features. Neither of the campaigns are obscure - they are well know to be Apple commercials.

It's often more difficult to sell a feature than it is to sell an idea. The "Get a Mac" ads continue to present the idea in a very clear and clever way. You see the ad and you think Mac and many people get the idea that Apple thinks the Mac is better.

It's hard to say they're wrong with such an effective campaign.

Couldn't have put it better.

 

[iReality85]

That's the whole point. I spend 75% of my day maintaining my and client's Windows computers/servers (cleaning spyware, running virus checks, defraging, cleaning out IE caches and cookies, rebooting, making sure my virus and spyware engines have the latest dat files, implementing latest security checks and updates, backing out updates that broke certain apps, making sure my backup ran correctly, fixing broken or crashed software, figuring why SQL runs one day and not the next, dealing with IE issues when opening large files, dealing with system resource issues, etc).

Why do i want to spend 75% of my day maintaining my computer, so that I have no problems - when I can spend 100% of my day actually using my mac and not have to worry about all the problems. and I am using XP, too many people I personally know still complain about Vista stability; even with SP 1. and these are I/T people or power users, not some mom or pop who just got a PC.

that's the whole point of mac, and end-to-end solution. 6 months + on a mac and I have yet to have to reload my hard-drive, have problems, etc. windows, every 3-6 months I have to cleanly format the harddrive and reload windows just to deal with OS problems.

so yes, there are reasons why I became a fanboy. I work with windows (Xp, servers, SQL, etc) every day.

But thanks to MS and their mess, I have a job and pleanty of work - frustrating and long hours, but I have work; although I would much rather spend my time developing something useful.....

*Edit - oh and 2007 /2008 have got to be the worst year for MS apps in regards to usefullness and stability - Hmmm, guess Balmer can't handle it. Not only Vista, but updates, office, VPC, etc have their problems and we have to resort to older versions.

I understand your point, but your (disappointing) PC experiences aren't super imposed onto every other PC user out there, which is what the Apple fanboi view is. I'm sure I've never spent 75% of my day cleaning my PC (let alone ever), because there are appropriate safe guards and auto updates in place to prevent that, and I know this, because everything works fine. I do believe MS went wrong with Vista, and it will probably be regarded along the same lines as Windows ME, a neglected and half-asses OS version which was supplanted by 2000 and then XP. Guess we'll see with Win7 down the road...