New Mac ads.... ???

Cafe Society
#1

There are two new “I’m a Mac… I’m a PC” ads out. One of them has John Hodgman (PC) sitting at a desk counting stacks of money… one huge pile and one tiny pile, one for advertising and one to “fix the problems in Vista.” The other has PC having a bake sale again to fix the problems in Vista. The general thrust of both ads is that Microsoft spent so much money on it’s new ad campaign that they can’t afford to fix the problems in Vista.

I see two major problems with this

  1. Apple advertises extensively, and as a matter of fact they are making this point in an ad.
  2. More importantly, Microsoft is one of the largest corporations in the world, worth untold billions upon billions of dollars. It would be a massive understatement to say that they have plenty of money.
    So, is this just a roundabout way to reiterate that Vista has problems? If so, why make that point in such an arbitrary and misguided manner?
#2

I agree with you completely. In fact, I have problems with almost all of the Mac vs. PC ads. I could drop a deuce through the holes in all these Mac vs. PC ads, and lest you think that implies the holes are inconsequentially small - my toilet clogs frequently.

If anything, those ads accomplish two things: 1)They make me want to hit something. 2)They make me less likely to ever buy a Mac in the future.

#3

I don’t think the point is that they can’t afford to fix the problems with Vista, I think the point is that they’re ignoring the problems with Vista. I haven’t seen the bake sale one, but that’s the impression I got from the accountant one.

It also fits with the “Bleep” commercial, where Windows has a “Taboo”-style buzzer and buzzes Mac every time he says “the V-word”. They’re ignoring the problems with Vista, renaming it to Windows 7 and spending a crapload of money on ads.

#4

When you start complaining that a competitor is spending too much on advertising, it suggests that they’ve hit a nerve. Not smart.

#5

I don’t get how this is so. It’s not even clear that these were made after the “I’m a PC” ads came out. They certainly come after the hiring of Seinfeld & Gates to do ads (as shown by the $10 million cupcake). Even if they are made after the new campaign, if Apple can continue to goad Microsoft into making ads about a competitor 1/20 their size (in the computer market, at least) it’s a pretty big win for them.

I do think these ads are pretty dumb. “Marketing” making decisions about the OS budget is so nonsensical, I wonder how Hodgman can make himself say it. Whether or not MS is fixing Vista anyway, it wouldn’t be in their commercials. It’s not remotely likely that Apple will come out with a commercial saying, “Okay, we’ll get to work on fixing the Finder. Happy, now?”

The “V word” one isn’t so bad, though. It at least isn’t obviously stupid.

#6

Plenty of ads don’t make sense when you stop and think about them. The hope is that they will work on a subconscious level.

In this case, the ads assert three things a) there are a lot of problems in Vista, b) Microsoft is spending a lot of money on their own ad campaign, and c) they are short-changing the development budget in favor of the marketing budget. (a) and (b) are factually true. The hope is that you will blindly assume that © must also be true.

Personally, I don’t like Apple’s campaign much. I don’t like the negative approach. I’m a long time Windows user that is pretty fed up with the whole experience. I would consider trying a Mac. But since I think of myself as a PC-person, the ads turn me off.

#7

I pointed out the irony in the MAC commercial to someone the other day. First, Microsoft is a software company, not a computer manufacturer. Second, Mac is the one doing all the advertising and now they’re putting out an ad accusing “PC” of spending money on advertising. Who is “PC”? No such animal. What exists is an open architecture that allows independent chip makers to undercut the price of a MAC system.

#8

I’d say they’re doing it because the Microsoft ads are working.

So their argument is “Microsoft’s ads are good, but Vista still sucks.”

And, really, the problems with Vista have been overhyped to begin with.

#9

MAC has lost any edge these ads had. As I have mentioned with our political candidates: Stop telling me why the other guy sucks - tell me why I would want you.

#10

I haven’t heard that there are problems in Vsta. I have heard people struggling at first with some of the irritating security settings, and the need for a high powered machine to even run it in the first place, but otherwise I thought it was running pretty smoothly.

#11

I’m a lifetime Microsoft guy, but even I have to disagree with this. As one example only; I cannot use Internet Explorer on my computer.Short of reinstalling the OS, it’s just the way it is. This isn’t a problem for the most part because I use Firefox for 99% of everything I need a browser for; but it still pisses me off just the same.

#12

Apparently,the ads are working.

#13

I’ve had the print spooler service inexplicably fail on two of the Vista boxes on the network I look after, and there doesn’t seem to be a solution outside of reinstalling the OS.

That is a problem.

#14

Even Microsoft has admitted there are major problems with the Vista rollout. I don’t have time to look up references this morning, but Microsoft has been completely up front about launching a major marketing campaign to improve Vista’s image. It’s not just the hundred million in ads, either. I believe they’re hiring people to staff best buys and push Vista, too.

Vista has been out for almost two years and they’re still shipping a significant portion of new PCs with XP on it. That’s a huge problem.

When a company has major problems with their flagship software and announces a huge marketing campaign to improve public perception, it’s just begging to be lampooned for trying to gloss over problems instead of fixing them. Pointing out they can afford to do both just seems out of touch. I mean, it’s a joke.

#15

I think it’s immediately obvious to anyone remotely computer savvy that technically what they mean is “I’m a Mac computer running OS X” and “I’m an open architecture running Windows Vista”. But that sounds stupid. And anyone who isn’t computer savvy knows intuitively that they mean “I’m a Mac computer running OS X” and “I’m an open architecture running Windows Vista”. There’s some problems with the Mac vs. PC ads, Hodgeman being way more likeable than the Mac, for one. But there’s no potential for confusion in what you pointed out.

#16

Obviously. And, more importantly, that Mac’s typically don’t. So the commercials are both entertaining and educational… for those people who care about their computers working or not. A lot of die hard Microsoft zombies have somehow rationalized that millions of viruses and malware and errors is somehow acceptable. Of course IT departments want businesses they work for (and consultants want clients they are hired by) to buy computers that fail often, so they have job security, but anyone buying a computer for actual use would probably want something dependable and cool from the same company that sells the iPhone and iPods that everyone loves.

#17

You’re one of the 90% of the population who doesn’t understand what “irony” means.

And it’s Mac, not MAC.

#18

And yet Microsoft’s major ad campaign right now is “I’m a PC”. Why do you suppose that is? [Pedantry : There’s no such thing as a “MAC” computer.]

I realized the OP was talking only about the dumb accounting & bake sale ads; not mentioning ‘Vista’ is a separate thing and right on the money (remember “Windows Mojave”?).

#19

I’d like to know where these millions of viruses and malware and errors are hiding at. I’ve had three in 20 years; one was entirely my fault for not paying attention where I clicked.

Running MS software is like sex: exercise caution and you’ll likely not catch anything.

#20

You’re being technically correct while ignoring reality. Stop some random people on the street and ask them some computer questions and you’ll find that the overwhelming majority of them think of “PC” and “Windows” as synonymous. And, as another poster already pointed out, even the Microsoft corporation clearly acknowledges that in their latest ads.