The Apple Ads - Love 'em or Hate 'em?

[kodiakthejuggler]

I know there's been lots of bad blood between the Mac/PC peoples regarding Apple's advertisements, so here's your chance to vent!

Do you love the ads, or hate them?


Tell us what you think! Do they accurately convey the message? Are they all hype? Or is Apple just throwing fuel on the fire?


Vote Now!!!

[Pak-Man]

Don't remember the debate being a really hot item since back in  these days:
http://www.mst3kinfo.com/ward_e/Bit304a.html

So let's bring it back. ;^)

Yeah Macs never crash and they're not as prone to catch viruses, but to me, a computer should be judged on what it can do, not how stable it is. I look at the PC section at my local EB, then I look at the Mac section, and my selection is made. :^)
Also, can anyone really put some credence on the claim that Macs are better for art? It doesn't seem like they can do anything art-wise that a well-built PC can't do.

[Teaflax]

The problem is that John Hodgman is awesome. His performance in the ads is good, but he's really taking off in his own right, and that undermines the message of squareness.

FWIW, I've had both Macs and PCs throghout the years and I do prefer Macs, even though I don't own one right now (I'm waiting for the Apple line of ultraportables which must be just around the corner). And even though OS X was a terrible downgrade in user-friendliness at first, it's kind of starting to catch up to the concistency and ease of workflow that made 9.5 wonderful.

XP does have some advantages, but they seem to be more happy accidents than thought-out interface ideas.

[kodiakthejuggler]

To me, the biggest advantage of Macs are ease of use.

I have worked with both Macs and PCs in my work environment(creative multimedia) and have been the most pleased with my Mac with OSX than I could ever be with Windows in any form. There are so many cool things OSX can do that only Vista can compete with, and we all know how long it'll be before that comes about!

I get great pleasure working with my Mac, and have learned to use all the keyboard shortcuts available. It's just so easy to do, and yet with Windows, it's not as easy, though you can do most of the same things. It's just better laid out on the keyboard. Plus, the interface is much nicer to me.

This is all very subjective. The point is not to say one is better than the other. The point is to say what works for you.

More to the point of the Mac ads, are they effective?


So far, Justin Long is not an asset to these ads. John Hodgman, however, is an essential part of the success of the ads. He's hilarious!!!

[Teaflax]

Also, can anyone really put some credence on the claim that Macs are better for art? It doesn't seem like they can do anything art-wise that a well-built PC can't do.

Macs are better if you spend a lot of your time using the desktop and bopping between different programs and want them to play well with each other. PCs may have more software and if you spend most of your time in one program at a time and/or don't handle masses of files, you won't be feeling much of what it is that drags XP down compared to OSX (like defaulting to the execrable list view in open/save dialogues).

I've been using Macs since 1985, and PCs since about 1995, so I've had plenty of time to compare both experiences, and to me, the Mac is just more customizable and adaptable to your style of doing things, especially now that OS X is beginning to make more sense than it did in the first two iterations.

I'm still severely peeved that OS X doesn't divorce physical location and naming of files in the computer's internal hierarchy from that of the files on the desktops. This was one of the most beautiful things about pre-X Macs; you could arrange your files in any way you saw fit, and an app wouldn't stop working just because you put it on the desktop or changed its name, for instance. The less of a techie you have to be to run your computer, the better, and Macs took a big step backward in that department when they went for Linux and decided not to make it invisible to the user experience. It's still better than XP in most of those departments, but still way too rigid.

[SmilinJackRoss]

I'm a mac guy, and I really like the ads.

I was forced to use a mac in college when I took a class where we had to design a webpage, and the professor would only use macs, because he had so many problems with PCs.  None of us in the class had really used macs before, and we were really resistant to using the new machine, but he insisted.  I ended up loving the mac I was using, and now it's what I use at home.  I still have to use a PC at work now, which is OK, cuz I am kinda "bi-lingual" now, computer-wise.

[PsypherPunk]

Given that I use Linux (which runs on standard PCs, Mac's old PPC-based systems and no doubt on the modern Intel-based models) the differences are really only in the hardware. The only question is whether I like Apple-branded hardware or not. Given its price and the facts its performance is at best comparable, I'll stick with my traditional PC.

Having said that, I don't really care about the ads. Never seen 'em.

When I was over in New York a couple of months ago I noticed that everyone using a laptop in Starbucks used a Mac. Take from that what you will.

[AmandaGal]

I think the ads make you feel sorry for the poor PC.  Maybe it is because I was always the "PC" in school to the cool kids "Mac."  After watching the commercials, I would never buy a mean, show off Mac.  He's like the cool kid in school who tries so hard to make everyone think he's superior than they are when he really knows deep down he has nothing to offer past his looks.  AT least PC is secure in what he is.

The latest one with the Christmas gifts, I just want to hug PC and give him his GUI C++ programming guide and tell him he's the greatest.  Mac is all "I'm the best" while giving photos of himself.  That so reminds me of the high school cheerleader.  That swearmy mac is always trying to show him up and he's trying his best, man! 

I've always loved the commercials though...and I run Linux and XP :-)  I've used Macs before and I have no problem with them.  I hate the whole "I'm better than you because I use a Mac" attitude that some macphiles have (way before the Mac commercials ever came out) so I've always taken up for PCs.  But, I really don't think one is that much superior.  Don't tell the people I've made fun of for mac-loving that though!

[PsypherPunk]

The latest one with the Christmas gifts, I just want to hug PC and give him his GUI C++ programming guide and tell him he's the greatest.  Mac is all "I'm the best" while giving photos of himself.  That so reminds me of the high school cheerleader.  That swearmy mac is always trying to show him up and he's trying his best, man! 

As I say, I haven't actually seen them but they sound increasingly like they're OSX vs. XP rather than Mac vs. PC...?

[Petey Wheatstraw]

I don't really care about them one way or another.

[AmandaGal]

When I was over in New York a couple of months ago I noticed that everyone using a laptop in Starbucks used a Mac. Take from that what you will.

For some reason, consumers see Macs as "sexier" than PCs and more upscale/high class.  This girl at school pulled out a Powerbook and everyone was all "Whoa."  I guess it's a styling issue. My little Dell is plain silver, doesn't light up (weighs about half as much) so it's just not as groovy as the Mac.

It's also a price issue.  My Dell was probably half the price of her Powerbook.  If you can afford a Powerbook or an iPod, it's like a status symbol.  Like kids who get generic shoes instead of Nikes, nobody wants a generic mp3. 

My neice last year threw a fit because I got her a mp3 player that wasn't an iPod.  "I only want an iPod." Why?  The one I got her was a lot better.  It's just the brand recognition. Apple knows people, that's for sure.

[AmandaGal]

As I say, I haven't actually seen them but they sound increasingly like they're OSX vs. XP rather than Mac vs. PC...?

I think really they are just to promote iLife (which I admit I don't know much about).  They basically say Macs are for fun, movies, photos, etc. and PCs are boring and can only do spreadsheets.

There was one about viruses too but the main concentration seems to be iLife.

[kodiakthejuggler]

For some reason, consumers see Macs as "sexier" than PCs and more upscale/high class.  This girl at school pulled out a Powerbook and everyone was all "Whoa."  I guess it's a styling issue. My little Dell is plain silver, doesn't light up (weighs about half as much, lol) so it's just not as groovy as the Mac.

It's also a price issue.  My Dell was probably half the price of her Powerbook.  If you can afford a Powerbook or an iPod, it's like a status symbol.  Like kids who get generic shoes instead of Nikes, lol. 

My neice last year threw a fit because I got her a mp3 player that wasn't an iPod.  "I only want an iPod." Why?  The one I got her was a lot better.  It's just the brand recognition. Apple knows people, that's for sure.

Add to that the fact that most TV shows/Movies like to sport Macs. Much of it has to do with style. They're just cool. When the public sees their favorite TV/Movie Star using a product, they gots to get their hands on one! Myself very much included.

As far as price goes, I like to use this little comparison: Mac vs. PC = Mercedes Benz vs. Honda    

[gammer]

Yeah they aight!!

[PsypherPunk]

In a vaguely related note, does anyone know the name of the Mac program that's basically a MST3K rip-off? Allows you to animate silhouetted characters, link over VOIP and watch films'n'stuff. Anyone?