TheAppleBlog

There are some new “Get A Mac” ads, but they’re not on television. They’re not even on Apple’s “Get A Mac” site. So what am I talking about? Apple has several flash ads which feature the standard “Get A Mac” premise. Mac and PC introduce themselves and then they chit-chat a bit. These ads are easy to miss because they look the same as the ones that run on television. However, these are different.

There is one which is site-specific on PCMag.com. Here’s a breakdown of the ad: There’s the standard “Hello, I’m a Mac and I’m a PC.” That is followed by PC being very proud, even blowing kisses as he is on his home turf. PC thinks Mac must feel out of place, however, Mac feels just at home since PCMag has given Macs great reviews in the past. It ends with a picture of the iMac with the text “Still the most advanced OS. See all the reasons you’ll love a Mac.” to the right. I found this one quite amusing as John Hodgeman (PC) is quite funny and Mac doesn’t actually sound as snarky as he does in other ads.

There is another ad which I caught on buy.com while searching for CompactFlash cards. The ad takes advantage of its dimensions, a 160×600 pixel skyscraper ad. The Mac is featured in the center of the ad and when the PC introduces himself, he pops up from the left side of the ad. He is hiding because he is paranoid about viruses and spyware on the internet saying “this place is seedier than a truck stop bathroom.” The end of the ad features the standard picture of the iMac with “114,000 viruses? Not on a Mac. See all the reasons why you’ll love a Mac.” below the image. This appears to be a variation on an ad that already aired on television with PC in disguise. I did notice that Mac doesn’t say there are no viruses for the Mac. The copy even says “114,000 viruses? Not on a Mac.” Maybe Apple knows that one day, they might have a virus or two, but never as much as the oft-hacked Windows platform.

A third ad has the PC trying to break free of the ad in an effort to get new drivers for his devices since he has upgraded to Vista. He eventually breaks the left barrier only to find himself on the right of the Mac kind of like Pac-Man. The PC is bewildered by this development as you can see to the left.

This particular ad is one of the worst ads, since while Vista does have its share of problems, Windows has gotten quite good at plug and play. One of the devices PC tries to get drivers for is his scanner. Personally, I’ve had limited success with scanners and my Mac and nothing but a good deal of success with scanners without any drivers on my PCs.

The ad ends with the text “No upgrade nightmares.” I don’t know where to begin with that tag line. No upgrade nightmares? Isn’t Apple the company that draws lines in the sand and says, “We’re not going to support this stuff any more. You liked being able to run Classic on your OS X machine? Forget that. It’s Intel now. No official support for you guys.”

For you obsessive types, I’ve put together transcripts of the ads.

On PCMag.com

Mac: Hello, I’m a Mac
PC: and I’m a PC and welcome to my turf, PCMag.com. Hello, Hello, (blows kisses). Nice to see you. (To Mac) You must feel a little out of place here, sorry.
Mac: No, actually. No they’ve said some really great things about Macs, like it’s intuitive, smooth, and doesn’t crash. So, i feel right home, this is great.
PC: Hey could one of you guys get this guy? I think he’s going to be a problem.

160 x 600 Wide Skyscraper Ad

Mac: Hello, I’m a Mac. PC? (PC pops out of left border of ad) PC?
PC: (Whispers) Hi.
Mac: Why are you hiding?
PC: (Whispering) Viruses and spyware. This place is seedier than a truckstop bathroom. You think you’re surfing the net, but it turns out viruses and spyware are sneaking on to your hard drive and following you home. In fact, I better go run a scan right now. I’ll see you later.
Mac: (Whispers) Yeah, okay.

At the end of ad a picture of the iMac with the following text below: “114,000 viruses? Not on a Mac. See all the reasons why you’ll love a Mac.”

Also on PCMag.com

Mac: Hello, I’m a Mac. (PC is slamming himself up against the left side of the ad).
PC: I’ve got to get out of here. I upgraded to Vista and now I need new drivers, my printer, my scanner, I’ve got to search for them.
Mac: Just calm down, we’ll figure something out you don’t need to keep doing that. it’s going to be okay.
(PC makes one huge effort, he jumps and breaks the left barrier, he is no longer in the shot, then lands to the right of the Mac)
Mac: Weird.

At the end of ad a picture of the iMac with the following text to the right: “No upgrade nightmares. See all the reasons you’ll love a Mac.”

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