Mac Ads and Vista Advertising
I'm sure many of you have seen the recent Mac ads continuing to poke fun at PCs and Vista. The latest ones are just too ironic for me not to comment on, though. Since Microsoft launched their very successful "I'm a PC" campaign a while back, the latest Mac ads are accusing Microsoft of devoting money to advertising rather than toward improving their products. While I enjoy the humor of the Mac ads (seriously - I stop TiVo for them every time I see a new one), this is certainly a case of Pot/Kettle/Black since I've literally seen these new Mac ads (2 or 3 variations on the vista/advertising theme) at least 10 times in the last couple of weeks, yet I haven't seen a single Vista/Microsoft/PC ad in that same time period. In fact, watching television recently it's been quite obvious which company is spending loads of money on advertising and which one is not (hint: it's not Microsoft).
Comments
Russ said on 03 Nov 2008 at 1:45 PM
They're harder to recognize on TiVo when you're speeding past commercials. The Apple ads are instantly recognizable (another great thing about that ad campaign). The "I'm a PC" ads aren't, so it's possible you went right by them!
By the way, how do you know the new "I'm a PC" ads are "very successful"? Did Windows market share rise last quarter?
ssmith said on 03 Nov 2008 at 2:33 PM
Good point, but I've seen the I'm a PC ads enough to recognize them readily enough (and I'm not forwarding *that* fast with Tivo). And I say they're successful because I know a ton of people who've seen them and are (or, were) talking about them, as well as a huge number of "I'm a PC" stickers and shirts and such at PDC, etc. Admittedly it's not mainstream or anything (yet), but you have to admit it worked better than the seinfeld ads did...
Jeff Putz said on 03 Nov 2008 at 2:46 PM
The Microsoft ads were successful? By what measure? PDC is hardly representative of the public at large.
Apple has to advertise heavily, especially going into this time of year. Remember, they're a hardware company above everything else, because that's where the margins are. They need to keep up on the expanding user base heading into the holidays.
ssmith said on 03 Nov 2008 at 3:18 PM
I already noted why I feel they were successful and mentioned that PDC is hardly mainstream. Not caring to repeat myself...
Harish Mathanan said on 11 Nov 2008 at 1:36 AM
Would not have a clue about the ad-wars over there, but here in Australia, Apple have gone through great lengths to make themselves noticeable.
Absolutely hate the Seinfeld sage, hate it! A once upon a time two-bit comedian should never have been allowed anywhere near the new generation of MS products.
KewlBigDan said on 21 Nov 2008 at 10:38 AM
You miss the point when you compare which Company is spending more on advertising. The ad's point is Microsoft is spending more money on Advertising than fixing it's problem ridden Vista. While Apple can spend money on advertising because its OS is already near perfect. Its the old adage, when you've done your work, you can go play. Microsoft is doing its playing without finishing its work. tsk tsk