Actor Justin Long reveals why Steve Jobs rejected over 200 'I'm a Mac' ads
Just 66 "I'm a Mac" ads aired out of 323 that were filmed. Star Justin Long says Steve Jobs always rejected the ones that had too much humor.
Justin Long, who co-starred in all of Apple's famous "I'm a Mac" ads with John Hodgman, has revealed that Steve Jobs rejected ones that were too funny. While Long filmed 323 of them, he says there was a pattern to which ones failed to be used.
"I noticed that some of the funniest ones would never air," Long told Entertainment Weekly. "One in particular, I remember, Zach Galifianakis played, like, a drunken Santa Claus. I was dying to see that one [but] they said, basically, that Steve Jobs preferred when they weren't super funny."
The ads, which ran from 2006 to 2009, all promoted Macs by pointing out that Windows PCs were significantly flawed. Steve Jobs reportedly wanted that to always be the message that viewers took away. "He thought [being too funny] would detract from the point of the commerical," continued Long. "He thought if people were too focused on the humor in it, they would lose sight of the product."
"Virus" was the first "I'm a Mac" ad to be written
Previously, Long, co-star John Hodgman and makers of the campaign from TBWA\Chiat\Day including creative director Jason Sperling, have spoken about the ads and Jobs's detailed focus on them.
"Steve demanded perfection," Sperling said. "Just looking at a reflection on a screen at the 17-second mark, he'd tell the team, 'Stop, why didn't you do better with your lighting?' He was quite punishing if you didn't do it right."
Alongside his film career, Long has also now starred in an ad campaign for Huawei.
Justin Long, who co-starred in all of Apple's famous "I'm a Mac" ads with John Hodgman, has revealed that Steve Jobs rejected ones that were too funny. While Long filmed 323 of them, he says there was a pattern to which ones failed to be used.
"I noticed that some of the funniest ones would never air," Long told Entertainment Weekly. "One in particular, I remember, Zach Galifianakis played, like, a drunken Santa Claus. I was dying to see that one [but] they said, basically, that Steve Jobs preferred when they weren't super funny."
The ads, which ran from 2006 to 2009, all promoted Macs by pointing out that Windows PCs were significantly flawed. Steve Jobs reportedly wanted that to always be the message that viewers took away. "He thought [being too funny] would detract from the point of the commerical," continued Long. "He thought if people were too focused on the humor in it, they would lose sight of the product."
"Virus" was the first "I'm a Mac" ad to be written
Previously, Long, co-star John Hodgman and makers of the campaign from TBWA\Chiat\Day including creative director Jason Sperling, have spoken about the ads and Jobs's detailed focus on them.
"Steve demanded perfection," Sperling said. "Just looking at a reflection on a screen at the 17-second mark, he'd tell the team, 'Stop, why didn't you do better with your lighting?' He was quite punishing if you didn't do it right."
Alongside his film career, Long has also now starred in an ad campaign for Huawei.
Comments
I'd like to see the other 257 spots but would settle for a DVD of the 66 that aired. I have some saved but they're low res.
Yes, Apple is now a trillion dollar company and in a different stage of life, but it’s simply not the cool iconoclast that it was. The main thing going for it currently is that the others haven’t quite caught up with it, yet. No one still competes across the whole ecosystem.
Looking back, it is really quite mind-boggling how much Jobs and Apple shook things up.
But, one thing hasn't changed: Apple doesn't do funny. They take their products seriously.
I also notice that Apple very rarely ever mentions competitors in its ads. Apple's ads are about what you can do with their product, or a result of using their product, not a comparison ad that not only looks cheesy, but also advertises the competitors product for free. I cannot stand comparison ads...can you hear me Chevrolet!!!
PC: ...sigh... Allow.
I truly miss MagSafe. I forgot that they had three or four Mac v. PC segments just on that one feature...
When they originally aired, I saw them mostly as browser ads. I hadn't seen quite a lot of them.
About a couple of years back, I watched all the (aired) ads collated into one single YouTube video. I think it ran for about 39 minutes or so for all of them.
They were hilarious.