Posts Tagged: mac vs. pc

observatory — 1 Comment
25
Apr 11

Our top story today: Mac vs. PC?

One of mankind’s more lovable traits is its need to analyze things to death. We not only like to know things, we like to come up with new ways to know the things we already know.

This point was driven home for me Friday afternoon, when I noticed that the top story on CNN’s front page was an analysis of Mac vs. PC personalities.

The “news” here is a survey in HunchBlog. 388,000 people who identified themselves as Mac or PC went on to answer a series of questions about their preferences for various things in life, and the results are presented in easily digested tidbits.

Of course, the takeaway is something we not only know now, we’ve known it for over 25 years: there is a difference between those who prefer Macs and those who prefer PCs.

Every product on earth attracts an audience that shares a certain set of beliefs and preferences. Yet we have this never-ending passion for analyzing Mac vs. PC when nobody seems to give a hoot about NASCAR vs. baseball. Or Ford vs. Mercedes. Or Willie Nelson vs. Lady Gaga.

Let’s just leave it at “people are different.” Preferring one thing over another doesn’t make you evil, laughable or an object deserving of pity. It just makes you a little easier to describe — and a little less able to hide from advertisers eager to have a word with you.

But getting back to the HunchBlog findings: the results of this survey are interesting and laughable all at once. Remember, these tidbits come from Mac and PC users describing themselves, not being psychoanalyzed by others.

If you enjoy being the kind of elitist, arrogant Mac user resented by so many PC users, there’s some good fodder here. You’re younger, more educated, more metropolitan, more individual and more vegetarian.

If you care to pound your chest as a red-blooded American PC user, you can find good backup here as well. You’re not hung up on fashion, you’re more into Harleys and you’re bigger fans of Rachel Maddow.

And if you’re the “can’t we all get along” type, you can rejoice in the fact that both sides really enjoy The Office.

As a Mac person, I find myself deeply disturbed by the fact that certain of my preferences are actually more aligned with the PC crowd.

I’m sorry, but I like tuna sandwiches more than hummus. Even worse, I’ve eaten tuna while watching Rachel Maddow. Can the urge to buy a Dell be far behind?

microsoft / strategy / technology — 7 Comments
12
Aug 10

Microsoft goes Mac-sniping

After playing the part of punching bag in the Apple’s long-running Mac vs. PC campaign, then fighting back with a peashooter in its own I’m a PC campaign, Microsoft is on the warpath. With a new section in their website entitled PC versus Mac, they’re turning the volume all the way up to 7.

Before we pause to read, let us enjoy the accoutrements. While most web pages display a window title, Microsoft actually crams a mini-ad into that tiny space — complete with a double-dose of “more.” You can almost hear the marketing chief exhorting his troops, “Make every pixel on this page sell!”

As you can see above, the navigation area atop the main image does a perfect job of differentiating PC from Mac. It’s a mess. We get two navigation bars (awkwardly spaced), four tabs, a “Were you looking for?” pop-up and an ill-placed, barely noticeable “PC versus Mac” title. Appropriately, the woman’s face seems to be saying, “No, really, I’m glad to see you — I just didn’t have a chance to clean up.”

Well it’s August, maybe the web designers are on holiday. Let’s just skip directly to the content. Like Apple’s Why you’ll love a Mac pages, Microsoft breaks its story down into bite-size chunks. Do they pass or fail?

1. Macs might spoil your fun.
Microsoft makes a point that in the universe of PCs, you can find models that have Blu-ray, TV tuners, 3G wireless, and the ability to connect to Xbox and TV. Can’t do that on a Mac. Fair enough. Pass.

2. Macs can take time to learn.
This section boldly states, “The computer that’s easiest to use is typically the one you already know. While some may say Macs are easy, the reality is that they can come with a learning curve.” It’s been a while since I’ve seen logic as lame. This is like telling the stick-shift owner that automatic transmissions are easier, but they come with a learning curve. Of course they do. Everything in life has a learning curve. Once you learn, it might just make what’s left of your life more pleasant. Fail.

3. Macs don’t work as well at work or at school.
This isn’t just a scare tactic, it’s at odds with Microsoft’s own business. Here we are warned that it can be difficult to share files with PC users if you use Apple’s productivity suite. No mention that if you use Microsoft’s own fabulous Office for Mac, you get seamless compatibility guaranteed by Microsoft itself. Ugly fail.

4. Macs don’t like to share.
 I never knew it was hard to share on a Mac until I read this. I share things instantly and effortlessly all day. Whatever setup was required was so insignificant I don’t remember it. Fail.

5. Macs might not like your PC stuff.
Here, we discover that files from Apple’s productivity suite won’t open on a PC. Hey wait a second. Didn’t they just say that? Oh, and if there is a Mac version of the software you want, you’ll have to buy it again and relearn it. Uh… buy it again, yes. Relearn it, no. Double fail for redundancy.

6. Macs don’t let you choose.
This section starts by saying “PCs give you a lot more choice and capabilities for your money.” Interestingly, they never mention the money part again, even though it’s probably their strongest argument. Instead, it’s all about Blu-ray, TV tuner (didn’t we already discuss this already too?) and all the colors you can choose from besides Apple’s white or silver (watch it pal, that’s aluminum!). Fail.

The beauty of Apple’s famous-but-now-defunct Mac vs. PC campaign was its tone of voice. With humor, it delivered a very aggressive message without making Apple sound nasty. On Apple’s website — then and now — the comparisons to PCs are presented positively (“It’s designed to be a better computer,” “It’s compatible with your stuff,” etc.). Microsoft’s tone is far less appealing — you might even say whiny and threatening.

I don’t knock Microsoft for creating these pages. They have a business, and they need to stop the growing number of defectors in their tracks. However, I will say that some artful writing would have helped. A lot.

They might have waited till the designers got back from vacation, too.

advertising / creative / strategy — 2 Comments
9
Apr 10

No campaign lives forever

There’s a sad story circulating about Apple’s Mac vs. PC campaign. In an interview, Justin I’m-a-Mac Long says he “thinks they might be done.”

Who knows how true that is. But just in case, let’s pause for a moment of appreciation. Apple has had some amazing single advertising moments, but as a complete campaign, this is the granddaddy of them all. It started in 2006 and Apple/Chiat has been churning them out ever since. The list of Mac vs. PC spots on Wikipedia was so long, I didn’t want to hurt myself counting.

Obviously it wasn’t about quantity. This campaign succeeded on multiple levels. In the past, Apple had often searched for the right way to slam Windows (anyone remember “the hard way vs. the easy way”?), but traction was tough to come by.

Mac and PC had exactly the right personalities. Although the deeply anti-Mac crowd sees Apple arrogance in every message, the characters were charmingly human. This campaign has allowed Apple to pummel their competition brutally, but do it with the sweetest smile.

It has also been supremely effective. It made the differences between Mac and PC part of our public conversation. That was the modest goal at the start, and it succeeded beyond Apple’s dreams.

Few campaigns can last four years without going terribly wrong, becoming completely irrelevant or just losing the public’s interest. Mac vs. PC remained fresh. When a new commercial comes out, it still gets talked about.

Readers of this blog know that I have criticized the iPhone campaign for its three-year run. Yet I’m sitting here lavishing love on a campaign that’s run even longer. What’s with that? Easy to explain. First, I’m a bad person. Second, this has to do with a campaign’s depth, not its longevity.

Mac vs. PC has continuously evolved in interesting ways — every commercial makes a different point. There’s tension. Costumes change, we see new props, guest characters, etc. Even with your TV muted, you can tell you’re seeing a new spot. The campaign also thrives in the digital world. The Mac vs. PC web banners are far more entertaining than the pages they live on, always finding ways to surprise us.

Contrast that with the iPhone commercials, which basically use the same template every time out. They’re pleasant, informative, very Apple — and they deserve to die.

That’s because “good enough” has never, ever been good enough for Apple. The company has no problem killing off a successful product to replace it with something better. That’s been its attitude about advertising as well.

The iPhone campaign totally works. Sales are through the roof. But there is a huge difference between “it works” and “holy cow.” Apple has never believed in coasting with its ads, it has always evolved in unexpected ways. It’s part of their DNA.

iPhone ads just don’t distinguish themselves anymore. It’s become difficult to tell one from the next. Considering the huge role iPhone has in Apple’s future plans, and the narrowing gap between iPhone and its competitors, it’s actually surprising that iPhone advertising remains so formulaic.

So a tip of the hat to Mac vs. PC and its creators at Chiat/Day. If the campaign really is soon to end, I hope they have one hell of a send-off party. Maybe this will give them added incentive to start casting for the “I’m an iPhone, I’m a Droid” campaign.

advertising / creative / strategy — 17 Comments
4
Jan 10

When good jokes go bad

3mic

Anyone can have a joke fall flat at a party. It takes some real effort to flop on a global scale.

Yet for every campaign that has just the right kind of humor to succeed (like Apple’s Mac vs. PC), there seem to be a dozen dismal flops (like Microsoft’s Bill & Jerry).

You can analyze that to death — and some clients do — but what it boils down to is this: humor is just so damn subjective. Your brilliant bit of comedy may not seem quite so brilliant to the client, the focus group or even the director you fought so valiantly to sign. There’s also a far more horrifying possibility: your idea may not be as brilliant as you think. Hey, it happens. It’s not like the greatest creatives in our business haven’t made some colossal misjudgments.

Whatever. I was only thinking about this because I was struck by a series of videos that came my way before the holiday break. They make an interesting point about scoring with humor — regardless of the size of the budget. Some PC fanboy created his own satire of the Mac vs. PC spots, making PC the hero. Here’s an example:

Yes, it’s a total rip-off of the Apple spots. But you know what? This actually makes a better anti-Apple case than anything I’ve seen Microsoft do in the last year. With humor, it points out the fallacy of Apple’s argument (at least the fallacy from PC’s point of view). It amplifies some things people are already willing to believe about Apple. And, as Apple demonstrates daily, the intelligent use of humor makes it possible to deliver a brutally competitive message while remaining perfectly lovable.

I don’t suggest that Microsoft just rip off their competitor’s campaign. (Although they already directly acknowledge Apple’s campaign in their marketing, with little elegance.) My point is that humor, based on insight and intelligence, is an incredibly effective tool. It’s just that humor, insight and intelligence don’t often travel together.

(If you’re interested you can see a couple more of these PC-centric YouTube satires here and here.)