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journal: mac
Apple’s Mac ads deconstructed
“Switch” is back, sort of. The timing was right, with Apple’s strong hardware offering and the large mind share gained thanks to the iPod. But is the message right?
Apple’s advertising has long been criticized for being largely ineffective, and some feel that their advertising is just plain smug and insulting. Does Apple strike the right chord with its “Get a Mac” campaign? Submitted for your approval, a quick deconstruction of some of the core messages of the campaign.
Macs are cool.
A hip twenty-something versus a middle-aged man in a suit. It doesn’t get much more stereotypical than that. This does a couple things: it gives the viewer the idea that Windows is for work, the Mac is for home. Also, it seems to show that Apple is going after the younger crowd, which is probably not a bad idea considering that Apple’s higher education share is quite a bit higher than their overall market share.
PCs do some things well, and so do Macs.
This ad reflects this message strongly. The PC is a great choice for some things, but the Mac is also a great choice as well. In the ad, this is reflected by spreadsheets and “life stuff” as examples. Acknowledging the strengths of Windows, at least in my mind, helps strengthen the legitimacy of Apple’s claims.
The Mac is more secure than Windows.
Well, anyone who’s into technology knows no OS is completely bulletproof, but they do realize that the Mac, as of now at least, is far less prone to viruses than Windows for a number of reasons. These ads highlight that fact for general users. But on the flip side, will it entice hax0rz to start attacking OS X? Only time will tell, but even if it does happen, I think it’ll be safe to say that the Mac still wouldn’t see a major virus problem,
The Mac plays nice with the rest of the world.
This is a huge selling point, and it’s about damn time Apple pounded this point home. Apple finally decided to say, “It’s OK. The Mac works well with the Windows world. We have Office. We do Windows. You won’t be stuck on an island.” Good choice, Apple.
The Mac is stable.
It’s a bit exaggerated; I find XP to be very stable in my experience. But there is a long-standing stigma surrounding the Mac regarding stability, dating back to the days when Type 11 errors were part of life for Mac users. I remember a reader comment from an old issue of MacAddict magazine along the lines of “I keep typing 11 but nothing happens!”
Is the campaign smug? At times, but not as bad as some of Apple’s ads. Does it say what makes the Mac great? Generally yes. And it’s not a simple exercise in Windows-bashing, which is good (although there is some of that; the point being that it goes beyond simple “OMG Windoze sux0rz LOL” rhetoric). You don’t want to alienate the customers you want to attract, after all. With a little luck, it’ll be more successful than the Switch campaign. We’ll find out for certain in a few months.
Watch the ads; decide for yourself.
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| Nick | comments | views |
thinkback
yeah, they used the same tactic everyone else does: quote the total number of known viruses. What that factor doesn’t take into account is how many of those exploited vulnerabilities that were patched only days after or even before the virus was released.
| May. 01, 2006 | |
| Liam | 10:47 pm |
Ironically, only seconds after I posted my erlier comment, iTunes crashed.
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| May. 01, 2006 | |
| Liam | 10:50 pm |
Ironically, only seconds after I posted my erlier comment, iTunes crashed.
It’s on Windows—go figure. 
| May. 02, 2006 | ||
| 9:21 am |
I think the ads are crap, personally. I’m really disappointed.
I don’t have a problem with the “Pepsi Challenge” advertising. It’s the smug, artsy fartsy style that I think needs to be taken out back and shot in the head.
You just show the product, show it doing MS Office, have the voice over talk about great security, talk about stability, talk about how it just works. Show a Mac mini and show the price on the screen (and include the damn keyboard and mouse, for crying out loud).
The whole “boring White guy in a suit” is a PC and “young slob without a job” is a Mac really is stupid. It’s juvenile. It’s what I’d expect from a 15-year old with a video blog and a camcorder.
So I guess Apple thinks young slobs without jobs are the ones who go out and spend $2,700 for a Mac Book Pro and not affluent guys in suits? Is it not obvious how retarded this is?
And what’s even more retarded is the fact that even though they are disparaging “business folk”, they want to make sure we all know MS Office is on the Mac. No, MS Office is for boring PC users. They are shooting themselves in the foot on that.
Ugh.
Steve Jobs is brilliant.
Steve Jobs is an idiot.
| May. 02, 2006 | ||
| 9:30 am |
That Mac guy reminds me of someone:
http://www.tvacres.com/images/dell_dude3a.jpg
| May. 02, 2006 | ||
| 9:33 am |
Becuase it’s never Apple’s fault.
But you said “ironically”. That’s not irony that an application on Windows crashes. It’s what you would expect, in regards to Apple’s ad.
| May. 02, 2006 | ||
| 9:53 am |
uh, Mac Fan… I dress a lot like the “Mac” person in the comercials… and I have a job - I’m an IT Admin, Computer Tech, and Graphics / Web Designer…
And I have the new 20” iMac… funny… it’s like they hired someone - just like me to be “Mac”. Totally relate to him.
The way one dresses says NOTHING about having a job or being a bum.
| May. 02, 2006 | |
| SogniX | 11:20 am |
Yes, I’m very much aware of that. That has nothing to do with common perception and demographics.
Some women drink beer, yet Budweiser puts hot women in their ads to sell beer to their demographic.
Some blue-haired women like hip hop, yet we don’t see Apple putting a blue-haired woman dancing with an iPod on, do we?
Advertising is all about demographics and stereotypes, because the vast majority of an audience stereotypes. You want your audience to relate to your ad.
The message a young, unshaven White guy in sweats and a T-shirt communicates to most people, IMHO, is “unemployed” and/or “student”. Yes, it’s a generalization. Yes, it’s a stereotype.
Who is Apple advertising to? Current Mac users, or the 9.4 million who bought a Dell last quarter? Did Dell sell 9.4 million PCs to graphics designers, Sognix?
This is why it is shooting yourself in the foot having a personality be a representation of your product, because most people won’t relate or won’t empathize.
| May. 02, 2006 | ||
| 11:51 am |
Mac Fan-
Why would Apple want to deviate from what has gotten them so far? They cast the looks of tha ctors perfectly to represent the stereotypes. If they had made the commercial your way, it would be like any other PC ad. Whether you like it or not, Apple has always been about being different. That’s always been part of the reason I’ve identified with the brand.
Why would Apple want to deviate from what has gotten them so far?
To expand their base. To sell more than 4-5 million per year.
If they are happy with the status quo, they should continue with these ads.
Looking at Apple’s sales during and after the Switch Campaign, it was a huge failure. I liked those ads because I’m a Mac user and I was like, “Yeah, stick it to the man!” But they shouldn’t advertise to me.
I think these ads are improved, as mentioned by others, in regards to communicating why someone should buy a Mac over a Windows PC and that Microsoft Office is on the Mac and compatible. However, I don’t like how they are communicating that.
| May. 02, 2006 | ||
| 12:46 pm |
Apple is deeply committed to smug and superior advertising campaigns. The Switcher ads were a failure, and 1984 was a singular exception, so they’re never going to change. It’s embarrassing.
I do love the “Get a Mac” section on Apple’s Web site, though. I hope they reflect this stuff in their magazine ads.
| May. 02, 2006 | ||
| 1:16 pm |
It’s irony because Apple stated in one of the ads that everything works like iTunes.
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| May. 02, 2006 | |
| Liam | 5:01 pm |
Apple is deeply committed to smug and superior advertising campaigns. The Switcher ads were a failure, and 1984 was a singular exception, so they’re never going to change. It’s embarrassing.
Just like those smug and superior iTunes/iPod ads. THey would never sell anything.
You are mistaken. He is not a boring white guy in a suit. He is a boring chestertown buff guy in a suit with a pimp’s demeanor.
He’s warm, not too gold, not too taupe and not too bold.
It’s irony because Apple stated in one of the ads that everything works like iTunes.
Fair enough.
How can you have an entire song about irony with no examples of irony? Rain on your wedding day is just bad luck. It’s not ironic. Neither is a free ride when you’ve already paid. I’m still upset about that song.
| May. 02, 2006 | ||
| 10:28 pm |
The whole “boring White guy in a suit� is a PC and “young slob without a job� is a Mac really is stupid. It’s juvenile. It’s what I’d expect from a 15-year old with a video blog and a camcorder.
These young wipper snappers these days. They’re all snobs without jobs. Maybe that’s why I dress kinda the same as him yet I was able to afford a new 17” iMac. It pretty much sums it up in that the Mac guy is cool, the PC guy is, well… not.
Out of all the ads I think the “Better” one is kinda funny, just for the fact that the guy is in a beige suit 
| May. 03, 2006 | |
| 1:10 am |
I thought it was funny. Didn’t know PC guys looked like that.
Looked like a professor and a student having a chat.
They’re all snobs without jobs. Maybe that’s why I dress kinda the same as him yet I was able to afford a new 17� iMac.
What do you do for a living again?
| May. 03, 2006 | ||
| 8:08 am |
like those smug and superior iTunes/iPod ads. THey would never sell anything.
The iPod ads didn’t mention the competition and they showed people using the product. What a concept!
| May. 03, 2006 | ||
| 8:10 am |
What do you do for a living again?
Student/Software Developer
The iPod ads didn’t mention the competition and they showed people using the product. What a concept!
Lol, so you think that Mac ads would be better if you had someone dancing around while typing on their MacBook Pro?
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| May. 03, 2006 | |
| 10:07 am |
1.
I think they’re all great but I’m a little worried about the virus one. These are the exact sort of ads that mac users have been hoping for for ages