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Love it!!!!!

Funnier than the two from earlier this week.

What's Vista? Is there anything else other than Mac OS X?

This is one of the funniest I've seen. I like it. However, like others I'm wondering if they are more of a feel good effort for current users like us as opposed to winning over the win-lemmings. Truth is, I don't see any of these on TV.

I see the Mac ads a lot on TV.

I saw this during American Idol last night. I did not like it as well as other ads.

@DavidF

One of the most important audiences for any advertising campaign is your current user base - it reinforces how they feel about their product choice.

The Windows users who find that the ad touches a nerve are precisely the sort of the people that are ready to switch. Apple aren't trying to reach everybody, nor should they.

I can't comment on media placement (I don't live in the States), but speaking as someone who's been in advertising for 20-odd years, this entire series is one of the best and most effective I've ever seen, in so many ways. I'd rate it as one of the major reasons (alongside the retail stores) for the exponentially increasing sales.

Is it just me, or are headlines overusing the word "slams" where it doesn't necessarily apply?

("You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.")

Funny ad though, and I think it does serve its purpose as underlining the reality of what's going on (people leaving Windows for Mac because of Vista).

May 14, 08 - 09:44 am Comment from: JadisOne

Hilarious!

My little one loves the cheerleader version. She's always going through the house cheering, "Macs Number 1! Macs Number 1!"

Too damned funny.

Apple is planting the seeds of growth with the younger generation. I can hear my daughter 15-20 years, "Dad, what's a PC?"

May 14, 08 - 09:48 am Comment from: Chuck U Farley

Good one!

The Cheerleader ad sucks as bad as Vista does.

I think if he had actually played the guitar it might have made the ad even better.

May 14, 08 - 10:01 am Comment from: MizuInOz

@botlar

V.I.S.T.A.

Viruses
Infections
Spyware
Trojan Horses
Adware

I am thinking of creating a wiki for it! What do you think?
Any other suggestions?

ok, chuckle....funny and true, I guess.

May 14, 08 - 10:03 am Comment from: Spark

Talk about "Snappy". Those PC cheerleaders are crisp!

I'm getting a little tired of them beating on Vista. Not that Vista doesn't suck, but I rather see them concentrating on why OS X is better. I think the Time Machine ad is the best one they put out recently.

Yeah, y'know hot cheerleaders suck...wait a sec, I'm getting aroused.

No question.

The younger user is the product of the Apple agenda. This is why it is pointless to "target" enterprise. The new employees will bring their mac-centric ethos with them to their new employers.

<snip>
Apple is planting the seeds of growth with the younger generation. I can hear my daughter 15-20 years, "Dad, what's a PC?"

May 14, 08 - 10:09 am Comment from: CYxodus

These commercials are funny and brilliant. I wouldn't change a thing.

May 14, 08 - 10:27 am Comment from: iWill

Unrelenting, non-stop, Hi-larity!
Gotta love the Vista/Dog association.
Keep em' comin'!

The new "Group" ad is the best yet!

May 14, 08 - 10:46 am Comment from: Cubert

Apple may not be touting the features of OS X, but they are going after Shitsa hardcore.

May 14, 08 - 10:56 am Comment from: DLMeyer

Bert is right. Ads are aimed at different audiences for different reasons. Some are simply intended to inform - like the iPhone ads - and others to compare. Then there are those intended to assure people who have already spent their money, or to make them insecure. The latest Mac ads have decidedly been placed to assure switchers, or make "sheep" feel insecure, as well as to let people know there has been a change in the Windows world and that change is not for the better. These ads are not just railing against "PC", but are targeting Vista in particular. And quite a few of those in the market for a new "PC" are not aware of why they should - or should NOT - get one with Vista on it.

"Yeah, y'know hot cheerleaders suck . . . "

Do you have phone numbers?

May 14, 08 - 11:10 am Comment from: dd

"Group" is my favorite, simply because I think it's the funniest of the new ones. I did enjoy them all, however.

May 14, 08 - 11:13 am Comment from: alansky

This is one of the funniest I've seen. I like it. However, like others I'm wondering if they are more of a feel good effort for current users like us as opposed to winning over the win-lemmings. Truth is, I don't see any of these on TV.

Apple ads are on tv quite regularly actually--for example, during American Idol, the number one show on network tv. I agree with you that the ads have a "feel good" component, but I think that feeling affects a large percentage of viewers, not just current Mac users. This series has been running for a very long time, and there's no doubt that Mac sales are zooming. I wouln't be so quick to discount the connection between the one and the other.

Vista Blues? Shouldn't it be Vista Blue Sreen of Death

I think this is mildly amusing. I had an internal giggle or two. I like these ads...keep em comin! I think it would be cool to see ol' Jobsy
pop up with a cameo in one or two of these.

May 14, 08 - 11:45 am Comment from: Predrag

My own anecdotal evidence points to the effectiveness of these adds. Many of my friends who are Windows sufferers have seen them and often quote their favourites (majority loves the 'Security Guy' one, interrupting normal conversation with 'Cancel or Allow', followed by laugh of everyone familiar with them). Rarely has any of the previous series (think different, switcher...) been as successful as capturing the public attention in such a positive and disruptive way. It is difficult to guess how influential have they been in the growth rate of the Mac, but it is clear that they have more than returned their investment.

OK, so let's have Jobsy in one - perhaps they persuade Ballmer to go on too..!

I said on this list, soon I am going to buy my first Mac after years of using PC's. While the commercials did not convince me, they did get me to look into the situation more and to finally come to the conclusion that I should switch. In a year I will hopefully buy a macbook and an iMac. Yes, I am sick of Windows.

@J

"Vista Blues? Shouldn't it be Vista Blue Sreen of Death"

Or Vista, why won't you let me record my TV show?

Latest MS f--- up:

"Handfuls of Windows Vista Media Center users found themselves blocked from making recordings of their favorite TV shows this week when a broadcast flag triggered the software's built-in copy protection measures."

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080514-nbc-vista-copy-protection-snafu-reminds-us-why-drm-stinks.html

Not yet another embarrassing story. One begins to wonder just how much more bad publicity the Borg can arrange for itself.

May 14, 08 - 12:52 pm Comment from: Mr. Peabody

If Apple wants to go after VISTA "hardcore", they need to stop the pooh poohing and start advertising why precisely the Mac is Productive, Fun, and Cool.

If I'm standing next to a steaming pile of fresh dung, I'm going to smell and look relatively good no matter what [I hope], but that type of contrasting won't lend any real perspective about what exactly is good about me - aside from the fact that I'm not a steaming pile of dung.

May 14, 08 - 01:04 pm Comment from: Spark

Didn't Vista eliminate the BSOD? I'm not saying it doesn't crash, but I don't think a crash in Vista resolves to a BSOD. That's a "feature" of pre-Vista Windows. I've witnessed my Boot Camp Vista crashing and got no BSOD.

@Spark

"A blue screen of death as seen in Windows XP and Vista."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Screen_of_Death

"In Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista, the blue screen of death occurs when the kernel or a driver running in kernel mode encounters an error from which it cannot recover. This is usually caused by an illegal operation being performed. The only safe action the operating system can take in this situation is to restart the computer. As a result, data may be lost, as users are not given an opportunity to save data that has not yet been saved to the hard drive."

Magic Word: window. Funny.

I still like this video best. Waay cool how it was constructed on a Mac... showing off the awesome OSX user interface.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kxDxLAjkO8

Be sure to watch the Windows XP version too... Hilarious!

@Spark
It was a joke, but BSoD does not disappear from Vista. Google "Vista bsod" and you get many hits on the subject. It is rarer now since MS has adopted a method to automatically reboot crashed systems under certain conditions since XP. Also, Vista actually has another crash mode: Red Screen of Death for boot loader errors.

May 14, 08 - 02:06 pm Comment from: iWill

@ surfcityusa,

Wow, what a rockin' video. Thanks for the hook up!

(Huntington Beach IS Surf City USA. We love the museum of surf.)

May 14, 08 - 02:32 pm Comment from: KingMel

If they make PC users think about Macs and the possibility of switching, then they are useful. If they also make PC users question why they are using Windows in the first place, then they are effective, as well.

Personally, I've found the website banner ads to be among the funniest. But, as long as the commercials remain humorous, and some will be better than others, they will be doing their job of expanding brand awareness.

As far as the latest trio of ads is concerned, I rate "Group" the best and Cheerleaders the lowest. Even though I don't think Sad Song is that great, in and of itself, I think it's just hysterical that it ran on American Idol. What perfect placement.

If only Apple would expand on that and create more spots that related to the shows they ran with.

Imagine a PC/Mac spot inspired by CSI.

PC and Mac are standing on each side and looking down at a body (that resembles PC) with a huge knife sticking out of his chest. (No blood here.)

PC: "Someone killed XP!"

Mac: "Who could have done such a terrible thing?"

PC: (Starts picking his nails, then looks off to the side, then up, then down, everywhere except making eye contact with Mac.) "Gee... I have no idea. There's no clues."

Mac: (bends down and examines knife handle) " What do you mean there's no clue? It says property of Microsoft."

Fade to iMac. PC voice over: "Someone... might consider that a clue."

May 14, 08 - 02:48 pm Comment from: scattershooting

Just Curious...

Why doesn't MSFT just shut down the MSFT Office 2008 Mac division?

Would this make any difference?

Would it hurt Apple?

By making a mockery of MSFT isn't Apple biting the hand that feeds it.

"Why doesn't MSFT just shut down the MSFT Office 2008 Mac division?"

Because the MS Mac BU brings MS a considerable amount of money.

"Would this make any difference?"

For Apple, no. Most Mac users would have no problem finding viable alternatives to Office. Many, myself included, already have. Despite what a lot of people think, Office is not necessary even for a business. I know. I've run my business for almost 20 years without help (ha) from MS applications.

"Would it hurt Apple?"

No. MS might huff and puff, but MS wants to sell software to Mac users. They aren't going to intentionally do anything to sabotage that income. Unintentionally is another matter.

"By making a mockery of MSFT isn't Apple biting the hand that feeds it."

Actually, it's the other way around. It's Apple that feeds MS. Apple doesn't make money from MS, it's MS that makes money from Apple. Who buys a Mac just to run MS Office?

May 14, 08 - 05:25 pm Comment from: theloniousMac

and yet,
and yet,
I like the PC guy so much better.
The Mac guy is a self important prick.

May 14, 08 - 05:26 pm Comment from: theloniousMac

Hmmm... now that I think about it... the Mac guy would be right at home commenting here in MDN feedback.

May 14, 08 - 06:33 pm Comment from: HazMatt

Awesome Youtube video, surfcityusa! It took me a bit to find, but here's the Windows XP version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOEKASLb4lM

May 14, 08 - 06:35 pm Comment from: Scott in Japan

I loved it ! John did a great job with the singing. . .

One of the best yet.

So, theloniousMac is Justin Long?

May 14, 08 - 06:58 pm Comment from: Tommyr

LOL! That was GREAT!

May 14, 08 - 07:13 pm Comment from: Olmecmystic

I cracked up laughing at this one and the cheerleaders; hell, I laughed out loud at all three of them.

But the dog howling at the end is priceless!

Peace.
Olmecmystic

May 14, 08 - 08:34 pm Comment from: Scott in Japan

@Olmecmystic

"But the dog howling at the end is priceless!"

No doubt !
I couldn't agree more !

@ theloniousMac

"I like the PC guy so much better.
The Mac guy is a self important prick."

That's just you unconsciously projecting your ego, it's funny that you dislike what you see.

"Hmmm... now that I think about it... the Mac guy would be right at home commenting here in MDN feedback."

Like you did ... you self important prick.

VISTA stands for ...


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