New Mac Ads

[DavidLeblond]

I think 99.9% of the problems people have with Digital Cameras on Windows are caused by the stupid software they install that comes with the Camera, which is usually broken, crap or simply unsuitable for the job.

The nice thing about Macs is that they come with a central app for photo handling, that works no matter what camera you have, and is very good.

Definately. When I use to use a PC at home, I always used XP's "import folder" action because I never wanted to install the crap software it came with. It took me a bit to trust iPhoto, but I'm happy to use it now!

 

[al3000]

I have just watched the ad's...love them.

I hope Apple has plans to show them in the UK, that would be great.

 

[m-dogg]

I think the ads are hilarious.

Theres just one thing I don't get, and that is the network ad. I hear all these stories about nightmares with digital cameras and PC's. I have never actually seen it happen. My older brother plugs in a camera, and it shows up as a device, and he can open it up, and take pictures off of it. What's the big deal?

What am I missing?

See my post 417 above...

 

[macpastor]

I love the networking one. I expect that one to resonate well with my parents. It certainly did with me.

For Christmas 2004, I got them a Kodak digital camera. Getting this thing to work with their PC was an absolute nightmare. I don't think we were actually able to transfer pics over until April '05. And even then it was a hit-or-miss, cross-your-fingers process whenever they wanted to transfer pictures off their memory card. They actually waited for me to come home and visit so I could troubleshoot problems as needed.

By the time Christmas 2005 was approaching, they finally decided maybe it's time to get a new computer. Despite my strong recommednations to get a Mac, they were going to just get a $500 Dell. Fearing the nonstop maintenance this would create for me, I offered them my 11 month old iMac G5 for the money they were planning to spend on a Dell. They agreed, so I gave them my Rev. A and put the $500 towards a new Rev. C for myself.

When I set up the iMac at their house, I said "Remember how many problems we had with the camera on your old computer? Well this is how it's suppused to work!" And iPhoto open automatically when the camera was connected and did it's thing. And they sat there amazed and asked how I did that if I hadn't even set anything up for it...

That would actually make a great commercial...

Parents sitting at the computer, PC of course... Christmas 06'

They are attempting to hook the camera up, calendar rolls, it's Christmas 07''

They keep trying, hair gets gray... Christmas 2020...

You come up, show them the Mac, it hooks up immediatley, and all the gray hair disappears...

They smile, and say, wow, we had the most horrible nightmare about hooking up this new digital camera you gave us for Christmas on our PC... Good thing you got us a Mac to go with it!

 

[Keebler]

those are funny

i didn't see those 2. i saw one where 2 guys, a mac and a pc, were standing side by side and were chatting about awards they received...very funny.

they could make a really funny one involving expose. not sure exactly how they would show the expose. maybe by having multiple clothing items fly off the mac person and switch with other ones which are hanging in the air beside him and then have the pc guy say something like, "wow...how do you do that?
mac, with very confused and stunned face,"um..that's the expose feature...you..um...dont' even have that yet????"

not sure if you folks will find it funny, but i can envision it expose is one of the greatest features of a mac imho.

 

[jouster]

Looks like apple retains its long-held position as the only hardware manufacturer to never include an image of the actual hardware in its commercials. Those have all of the same annoying smugness of the switcher ads imho. I think they suck.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

Why do Apple insist on ramming down peoples throats the fact that Macs are better than PCs? They are I agree but I think people will soon get fed up of it and think of Apple as being arrogant.

I posted earlier in another thread about my ideas for a series of TV ads that are much more subtle about the PC issue and show OSX working in a day to day environment which to me is much more appealing than someone saying "PCs are ****, buy a Mac".

Literally showing someone coming in from work, as their Mac auto starts, then grabbing their Mac remote and choosing some music as they take off their shoes and grab a beer from the fridge is frickin dinamite in my view. It shows how easy the mac is to use, how cool it looks on screen, how it fits into your daily routine and how it is part of your digital life. All in subtle way.

I have loads of other ideas but I'll keep them to myself

 

[DavidLeblond]

Looks like apple retains its long-held position as the only hardware manufacturer to never include an image of the actual hardware in its commercials. Those have all of the same annoying smugness of the switcher ads imho. I think they suck.

Thats one thing I noticed as well.... other than the brief view of the iMac at the end. Although to say they've never done it is unfair, they use to do it all the time (before the switch ads.)

One thing I've noticed about all software companies that run ads on TV, is they never show the software! Even the video game companies only show a little 5 second clip at the end of the commercial. Microsoft is just as bad, I've never seen their software in their commercials either (nowadays its that vague BASF-like ad campaign where the unseen hand draws pictures over people doing mundane things)

It doesn't matter to me though, I have a DVR... never watch the things!

 

[MacBoobsPro]

Looks like apple retains its long-held position as the only hardware manufacturer to never include an image of the actual hardware in its commercials. Those have all of the same annoying smugness of the switcher ads imho. I think they suck.

The G5 ads that got pulled for 'false advertising' showed the G5 and cinema display.

The iPod video and iPod nano all made appearances too, as well as the original iMac, oh and the iMac G4. Oh and the iMac at the end of the new ads

 

[Willis]

Ive just watched the Ad's on Apple's site.... They have to be the BEST things ive seen. These must be what Jobs said were coming out. Its a similar setup to the one last year (which ive recently read about) but still cool as.

STILL NO MACBOOK! ah well, more reason for me to not buy one till January.

 

[dejo]

Looks like apple retains its long-held position as the only hardware manufacturer to never include an image of the actual hardware in its commercials.

Um, hello?

 

[dr_lha]

Um, hello?

Amazing isn't it? I've heard this comment over and over, including for the Jack Bauer Intel switch commercial (which also featured an iMac at the end).

I guess iMacs are so anonymous that people don't even notice them surrounding the Mac logo.

 

[jaxstate]

I can see PC makers striking back with something like, "If your computer is so much better, then why is it that you only have a 3% marketshare."

Why do Apple insist on ramming down peoples throats the fact that Macs are better than PCs? They are I agree but I think people will soon get fed up of it and think of Apple as being arrogant.

I posted earlier in another thread about my ideas for a series of TV ads that are much more subtle about the PC issue and show OSX working in a day to day environment which to me is much more appealing than someone saying "PCs are ****, buy a Mac".

Literally showing someone coming in from work, as their Mac auto starts, then grabbing their Mac remote and choosing some music as they take off their shoes and grab a beer from the fridge is frickin dinamite in my view. It shows how easy the mac is to use, how cool it looks on screen, how it fits into your daily routine and how it is part of your digital life. All in subtle way.

I have loads of other ideas but I'll keep them to myself

 

[winmacguy]

My windows doesnt crash every minute or is infected with a virus or BSOD. In fact since i build my pc a year ago it hasnt ever crash, and as for MBP, programs lockup too or 'crash' so..

Your PC might not be infected with a virus or crash every minute but are you able to run it and use the web without any antivirus and not get one?

 

[Doctor Q]

they could make a really funny one involving expose. not sure exactly how they would show the expose. maybe by having multiple clothing items fly off the mac person and switch with other ones which are hanging in the air beside him and then have the pc guy say something like, "wow...how do you do that?
mac, with very confused and stunned face,"um..that's the expose feature...you..um...dont' even have that yet????"

not sure if you folks will find it funny, but i can envision it

The way to do it would be to have the Mac person change hats or gear (they'd float around him and switch positions so he's wearing/using one set at a time). He could have a director's cap, megaphone, and clipboard for iMovie, camera equipment and a stack of photo albums for iPhoto, and so on.

expose is one of the greatest features of a mac imho.

It's still the single best user-interface feature ever added in a Mac OS X update.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

I can see PC makers striking back with something like, "If your computer is so much better, then why is it that you only have a 3% marketshare."

My reply to PC makers would be "Coz dumbasses like you keep shovelling **** to people who dont have a clue"

 

[dejo]

I can see PC makers striking back with something like, "If your computer is so much better, then why is it that you only have a 3% marketshare."

Because "the average consumer is an idiot"™ (brought to you by DEJO's Axioms™)

 

[alexprice]

OMG in the networking advert the lady appears to pull a picture from her ass!

I LOVE the adverts, wonder if they will air in the UK.

 

[mkjellman]

anyone find it a little over the top to post this right on the homepage of apple.com??

 

[Project]

Great article by Joe Wilcox on Microsoft Monitor...

Apple launched a new ad campaign overnight. I caught one of the new TV commercials on "24." Maybe the producers will watch the commercials and go back to using Macs, as the show did during season one--or in "24" parlance, Day One. (I'm kidding. Mostly.)

Colleague Michael Gartenberg praises the new Apple ads, and he's right to. The appeal is the metaphor: People, one person a Mac and another a PC (presumably running Windows). Through their exchange, the two characters communicate the important presumed PC and Mac differences (crashes, viruses) and similarities (networking, Microsoft Office) in straightforward fashion. There is no complicated computer jargon, and the ads use the experiential to make concepts clear and meaningful. The approach is brilliant.

My favorite ad is "Network." In this TV spot, a third person, a woman, joins the Mac and PC characters. She's supposed to be the newest digital camera from Japan, and, guess what, the Mac speaks her language. They banter on in Japanese while the PC looks on perplexed and says, "Bonjorno. Hello."

No doubt, big husky Microsoft must tire of listening to the barking of that scrappy dog Apple. After all, there's a huge marketshare gulf between Windows PCs and Macs. And Microsoft does develop one very important Mac product, Office. But there's some bite to that bark, too. In looking over JupiterResearch household surveys, Mac OS does appear to be eking upward. Caveat--and it's a big one: Any possible gains are still fairly small and well within margin of error. But some trends are other evidence, such as the number of multi-computer households with Mac OS compared to Windows XP. I presume that Macs are snatching up second or third computer purchases that might otherwise have gone to Windows. High proportion of Mac OS households with notebooks compared to Windows counterparts is another fascinating snippet.

Apple has setup the "Get a Mac" Website with information for would-be switchers and the six TV commercials. Microsoft could learn a whole lot about Apple's marketing approach, particularly for the eventual release of Windows Vista. Other high-tech vendors should take notes, too. Communicating products' value is not easy--otherwise why would high-tech companies spend millions hiring advertising agencies? Apple has taken one of the most recognizable metaphors--interaction between two people--and communicated something very big in a small way. The approach is compelling, to say the least.

 

[alexprice]

anyone find it a little over the top to post this right on the homepage of apple.com??

I think Apple must be very excited about the adverts and want everyone to see them.

 

[Wellander]

Hi,
Is it just me or does it seem like amany compinies including Apple are going for a youunger and younger population these days?
Or am I wrong?

 

[alexprice]

Hi,
Is it just me or does it seem like amany compinies including Apple are going for a youunger and younger population these days?
Or am I wrong?

Give us an example?

 

[milo]

FYI, the guy who plays the PC is John Hodgman, he's been on the daily show and is currently featured on http://www.tmbg.com (they might be giants website) as the Deranged Millionaire. Also featured on NPR radio show This American Life, INCREDIBLE show.

http://www.areasofmyexpertise.com/bio.html

Like the ads, I'm sure some PC users will whine that the ads just try to make the mac look cool, but I'd expect them to miss the point. They're funny, and it's nice to see Apple actually giving reasons the mac is better than the pc (even though some of the ads stretch the truth, come on, macs crash and hang just like PC's do).

 

[obiwan]

Advert in the UK?

For all the people hoping the advert will appear in the UK - I think you'll be waiting a long time...

Anyone remember the smug advert that appeared when the original Bondi Blue iMac first came out? - Comparing the wiring at the back of a beige PC to the clean, uncluttered iMac? - Well this was banned in the UK, 'cos it's against UK advertising laws. - Apparantly you can only advertise your own product, and not rubbish someone else's product, if I recall the reason correctly.

These aren't much different in this respect. - I think they'll have to be 'toned down' for UK audiences. (I personally like them by the way - I just know from past experience that we usually get naff toned down versions!).