Apple removes 'Get a Mac' ads from site, finalizing end of campaign
Apple has ended its long-running and highly successful "Get a Mac" ad campaign, and this week the company finally pulled the series of commercials from its website.
Actor Justin Long first revealed in April that the ads, which began with his trademark "Hello, I'm a Mac" tagline, were finished. Long's "Mac" character was the straight man in the routine, flanked by comedian John Hodgman's portrayal of the bumbling "PC" character.
"It was so much fun to go do that job, because there's not a lot to it for me," Long told The Onion's A.V. Club last month. "A lot of it is just keeping myself entertained between takes, and there's no one I'd rather do it with than John (Hodgman)."
On Friday, MacRumors first discovered that Apple had removed the "Get a Mac" commercials from its website. The last three ads were released in October 2009 to counteract Microsoft's release of Windows 7.
Apple replaced the ads with a new campaign, with the theme "Why you'll love a Mac," featured at apple.com/why-mac/. The site touts buying a Mac as making the "ultimate upgrade."
The successful "Get a Mac" campaign, which began with six commercials in May 2006, portrayed Windows PCs as machines that are prone to issues that frustrate consumers, and lack the simplicity and ease of use of the Mac. Many of the commercials attacked Windows for being susceptible to viruses and system crashes.
The commercials proved to be extremely successful, and aired during a period of tremendous growth for the Mac platform. Last year, Adweek named the "Get a Mac" campaign the best ad campaign of the decade.
Last year, Microsoft stepped up its own advertising campaign and made an effort to reclaim the "I'm a PC" tagline from Apple. Television spots for Windows 7 have featured customers taking credit for the improvements in the new operating system, with the slogan "I'm a PC, and Windows 7 was my idea."
Actor Justin Long first revealed in April that the ads, which began with his trademark "Hello, I'm a Mac" tagline, were finished. Long's "Mac" character was the straight man in the routine, flanked by comedian John Hodgman's portrayal of the bumbling "PC" character.
"It was so much fun to go do that job, because there's not a lot to it for me," Long told The Onion's A.V. Club last month. "A lot of it is just keeping myself entertained between takes, and there's no one I'd rather do it with than John (Hodgman)."
On Friday, MacRumors first discovered that Apple had removed the "Get a Mac" commercials from its website. The last three ads were released in October 2009 to counteract Microsoft's release of Windows 7.
Apple replaced the ads with a new campaign, with the theme "Why you'll love a Mac," featured at apple.com/why-mac/. The site touts buying a Mac as making the "ultimate upgrade."
The successful "Get a Mac" campaign, which began with six commercials in May 2006, portrayed Windows PCs as machines that are prone to issues that frustrate consumers, and lack the simplicity and ease of use of the Mac. Many of the commercials attacked Windows for being susceptible to viruses and system crashes.
The commercials proved to be extremely successful, and aired during a period of tremendous growth for the Mac platform. Last year, Adweek named the "Get a Mac" campaign the best ad campaign of the decade.
Last year, Microsoft stepped up its own advertising campaign and made an effort to reclaim the "I'm a PC" tagline from Apple. Television spots for Windows 7 have featured customers taking credit for the improvements in the new operating system, with the slogan "I'm a PC, and Windows 7 was my idea."
Comments
Farewell Justin and John...
It was the ads explaining how Apple computers were easy to use that got me to start researching them on the web. I regularly went back to the Apple site to watch the latest ads because they were so funny. Once I had experience with Windows I really understood the jokes better.
I took the plunge and ordered my first Apple computer. I really found my Mac Book to be nearly trouble free in the software department. The top case on the Mac Book has failed and I'm very disappointed in that from a one and a half year old product that was almost always used with a remote keyboard and mouse, thus the keyboard and trackpad had no real wear.
If Apple continues to make Macs then they should continue to make these ads. They're too funny and informative to discontinue.
Funny how they end a little after Windows 7 is released. I guess they had nothing negative to really complain about since it's a solid OS and isn't crushed in reviews like Vista was. I know I'll get flack for that last comment, but who cares. I recommend it to anyone who doesn't want a Mac.
Yes. Windows 7 released on October 22, 2009 and Apple ads removed on May 21, 2010.
That is not even seven months later. The causality is clear.
Funny how they end a little after Windows 7 is released. I guess they had nothing negative to really complain about since it's a solid OS and isn't crushed in reviews like Vista was. I know I'll get flack for that last comment, but who cares. I recommend it to anyone who doesn't want a Mac.
I haven't tried the Windows 7 OS yet. Since Apple uses the same suppliers and hardware as other manufacturers for the internal parts it really comes down to software quality. I didn't love the Apple Mac Book hardware. I loved the Leopard OS because it was so functional without too many bugs.
My next computer purchase will be an iPad and my next desktop will be home made running Linux. Now that Linux is easier to use I'll go with that. Maybe one day when the frustration of using Windows has worn off I'll try another Microsoft product (maybe).
Justin Long: "No, you're a PC."
Hodgman: "No, I'm a Mac. I switched. Now I just need to get the nerve up to tell my parents."
and so on...
Funny how they end a little after Windows 7 is released. I guess they had nothing negative to really complain about since it's a solid OS and isn't crushed in reviews like Vista was. I know I'll get flack for that last comment, but who cares. I recommend it to anyone who doesn't want a Mac.
Personally, I think the focus at Apple has turned towards Google, similar to Sauron's eye.
I wish they'd done one last ad to say goodbye to those great characters. I always thought it should end with the PC (John Hodgman) saying, "I'm a Mac"...
Justin Long: "No, you're a PC."
Hodgman: "No, I'm a Mac. I switched. Now I just need to get the nerve up to tell my parents."
I wish they'd done one last ad to say goodbye to those great characters. I always thought it should end with the PC (John Hodgman) saying, "I'm a Mac"...
Justin Long: "No, you're a PC."
Hodgman: "No, I'm a Mac. I switched. Now I just need to get the nerve up to tell my parents."
and so on...
beautiful
This in itself is not a bad thing, hell, I drive a Honda. What irks me is when these drivers try to say their knock-off is actually better than the real thing. Or they post on car blogs about how they "used to have one of those crap BMWs, but traded it in for a Kia that they find is so much better."
Time to call out Android for being a low-balling poseur. I am sure Chiat Day can come up with some pretty ripe slogans that make potential buyers of these wannabe iPhones think twice. "For another $20 bucks your mom coulda got you a real iPhone." And many other angles on this.
The removal of this highly successful Mac TV ad campaign is step one in Steve Jobs' efforts to kill the personal computer.
The "Campaign of the Decade" was also called by a Madison Avenue publication a "cultural phenomenon."
There was no data-oriented or logical reason to discontinue this campaign. It worked EXTREMELY WELL and had plenty of head room for more and more ads. Viewers would watch the ads to see if the ad was a new one, and they wanted to find out because they were usually both funny and compelling.
There was NO logical reason to end this highly-successful, praised and award winning TV ad campaign.
Make no mistake, Steve Jobs has declared the personal computer era over. It's 100% iPhone OS from now on. He resents the Mac and the PC and wishes they would "go away" -- yesterday.
But he has to answer to his management team, Board of Directors, large institutional investors, large customers, the press and The Street.
So as much as he'd like to -- today -- give the order to all Mac product management teams to cease all development of the Mac, he can't (yet).
He will accomplish it more gradually. By pulling marketing of the Mac resulting in a continuous decline in Mac sales, he can eventually go to his Board of Directors and say, "See? The Mac isn't selling." Or, "See? The Mac is now losing money for the company."
Then he'll have the ammunition to deep-six the Mac.
Jobs is too black-and-white. I love the iPod, iPhone and iPad, but see them as ADJUNCTS to my Mac Pro, whose power I depend on to make a living.
But now the Mac only serves as an annoyance to Steve Jobs. Watch as it gets the microfloppy and Adobe Flash treatment.
Mark my words. It will be killed.
You watch.
The removal of this highly successful Mac TV ad campaign is step one in Steve Jobs' efforts to kill the personal computer.
The "Campaign of the Decade" was also called by a Madison Avenue publication a "cultural phenomenon."
There was no data-oriented or logical reason to discontinue this campaign. It worked EXTREMELY WELL and had plenty of head room for more and more ads. Viewers would watch the ads to see if the ad was a new one, and they wanted to find out because they were usually both funny and compelling.
There was NO logical reason to end this highly-successful, praised and award winning TV ad campaign.
Make no mistake, Steve Jobs has declared the personal computer era over. It's 100% iPhone OS from now on. He resents the Mac and the PC and wishes they would "go away" -- yesterday.
But he has to answer to his management team, Board of Directors, large institutional investors, large customers, the press and The Street.
So as much as he'd like to -- today -- give the order to all Mac product management teams to cease all development of the Mac, he can't (yet).
He will accomplish it more gradually. By pulling marketing of the Mac resulting in a continuous decline in Mac sales, he can eventually go to his Board of Directors and say, "See? The Mac isn't selling." Or, "See? The Mac is now losing money for the company."
Then he'll have the ammunition to deep-six the Mac.
Jobs is too black-and-white. I love the iPod, iPhone and iPad, but see them as ADJUNCTS to my Mac Pro, whose power I depend on to make a living.
But now the Mac only serves as an annoyance to Steve Jobs. Watch as it gets the microfloppy and Adobe Flash treatment.
Mark my words. It will be killed.
I bet you're typing this on an Apple IIgs, aren't you. Some grudges never die.
Also, I'm sure Apple wants to focus their marketing effort on the iPhone and iPad for now. To a great extent, the halo effect from those two product lines (plus the iPod), combined with the retail stores, is pretty strong marketing for the Mac anyway.
I bet you're typing this on an Apple IIgs, aren't you. Some grudges never die.
Untrue: I typed it on a dual-chip, eight-core (total), 16 logical core 2.93GHz Mac Pro.
In my line of work as a creative pro, I will ALWAYS need the most powerful Mac model available, and if Steve deep-sixes the Mac, I will be left with no choice but to use a Windows PC (Ug!) which I've NEVER done in 22 years. (I'd rather chew glass.)
The Mac is undergoing a slow death at the hands of Steve Jobs, who loves the iPad and iPhone OS and resents the Mac. Look at his history; he'll suddenly turn on a product he once loved and treat it and its product management team like s***. This is typical behavior for the man. Read some books.
The Mac will eventually be killed. The process is already underway.
Wonder what the next ad will look like
There will be no more Mac TV ads.
In my line of work as a creative pro, I will ALWAYS need the most powerful Mac model available, and if Steve deep-sixes the Mac, I will be left with no choice but to use a Windows PC (Ug!) which I've NEVER done in 22 years. (I'd rather chew glass.)
Now you know how Amiga users, especially the ones into desktop video production, felt with Commodore went under and they had to choose between Mac OS and Windows