So, you’ve seen the latest Mac ads, right? Where all these people are saying that their PC is the worst thing to ever happen to them, and how they are so happy that they switched. Well, one of these ads in particular bugs me to no end – it’s Liza Richardson’s speech on why she left her PC behind.
“See, I wanted to buy a computer, and my parents said they would help me. I wanted a Mac, and they made me buy a PC. It was NOT very attractive. It was unweildy and I couldn’t keep track of where everything was or how things were filed. I got rid of that thing and I bought my own iBook. I mean, I just thought it was cooler. It never crashed, nothing. It was great. Holds a special place in my heart…”
1. Liza, grow up. You look as old as I am, if not older. Why on earth were your parents helping you out with buying the computer? If you had the money to just buy your own iBook, why the heck didn’t you do it in the first place?
2. Liza, why are you buying a computer based on whether or not it is attractive? Yes, portability is key to me, and the iBooks I have seen make me swoon with envy. They are small, lightweight, and easy to carry anywhere. I wouldn’t buy one though just because it’s “attractive.” I guess my reasons for buying something are based more on the quality of the product, not on the looks alone.
3. Liza, you have serious issues if you couldn’t keep track of how things are filed on your PC. I used a Mac before I used a PC running DOS. That was confusing. Once I started to use Windows 95, the first thing I thought was “this is just like the Mac!” From what I’ve heard, things haven’t changed that much. So why can you handle the files on the Mac, but get confused about them on the PC?
I’m not an anti-Mac PC User. By no means. If someone offered me a Mac tomorrow, I would use it. But this whole ad campaign that Apple is running right now just annoys me. And to top it all off, the David Carey guy is just creepy. Is it just me, or do they bug you too?
18 replies on “Oh, Grow Up!”
Sorry Christine, but it’s just you.:)
Actually, though I can see your point, I do respond to things because they’re beautiful – I actually almost had to leave the store after seeing the new IMac because it was so lovely I couldn’t stand not taking it home right there. Aesthetics are a huge plus with any product, and occasionally practicality takes a backseat. (hello, MINI Cooper).
Regarding usage, I do have to say that I find file management easier on the Mac, slightly – the PC is not quite as click-and-drag as my G3. But anyone who disses one format over another isn’t being realistic – you should at least know how to navigate through both OS’s.
I respond well to beautiful things too. The iBooks had me drooling – they are beautiful. As far as the click-and-drag? I *lost* files that way before! I never drag-and-drop now, I hate losing stuff!
Christine,
Baby, thanks for saving my BOOTY from the perils of evil hosting companies. Send me your addy and I would be delighted to send a small gift of thanks… 🙂
Felicia
Haven’t seen the ads, this side of the border, but can agree with the stupidity of such a marketing campaign which sounds like it alienates potential customers and PC users from switching.
I have both a PC and an iMac and find no problem switching from one to the other, they’re tools I use to get work done and, occassionally, to have fun with, like blogging.
I like my PC (running Windows 2k) and I like the Macs I’ve used. I also like my linux box. Why oh why can’t I just use them all? 🙂
I have to agree that those commercials are really ridiculous. I can’t stand that particular commercial either. I’m not a pc hater or mac hater. Actually, I love my powerbook. I use it all the time. But I use my pc just as much. There are just some things that are easier on the pc, and some things that are better on the mac. 🙂 I use em all. 🙂 As if dissing pc’s isn’t bad enough. have you heard about the “dotMac” thing? hmm…sounds a lot like .NET by MS. 🙂
Can you say bumbling idiot who can’t seem to get a sentence out, nor think for herself?
I don’t think it was just you. I like pretty things too, but I’m not buying a computer for it’s attractiveness.
I’m with you, I don’t like these new iMac commercials much. The ones I’ve seen make the spokesperson come off as just too stupid to deal with PCs so they went with Macs. Wrong approach, IMO.
As for buying something because it looks good, I’ve done that before. But it wasn’t purely for looks…if it had no substance behind it, I wouldn’t have purchased it.
Having only seen these ads on the web I’m not best placed to comment, but from what you say.. GET A GRIP!!!
It speaks volumes that she ‘didn’t know where things were filed’. She is obviously too stupid to use a PC, give her a Mac (which nicely flies in the face of a recent Mac User report about Mac users being smarter than PC users hehehe)
Ohh and I’ll take a Mac if anyone is offering… anyone?? anyone at all?
The web ads are the same as the ones on TV – they aren’t shorter or anything else. So you’ve got it in it’s full glory! That said, I think they are almost insulting to Mac users – like “we’re clueless, we can’t use a PC … but give us a Mac and we are SET!”
Silly marketing people. Mac users are smart! Mac users are beautiful! Cater to their higher powers!
The one with Will Ferrell is freakin’ hysterical though — seen it?
Will Ferrell? OMG I must see this. 🙂
I just blogged the link — you can download it here (must have QuickTime 6).
Exactly! I get totally offended because I like Macs (though I don’t use one now other than as a big original blue iMac paperweight) and these kind of commercials completely ignore the usefulness of a mac.
It’s not just a pretty little toy, it’s a powerful computing machine if you use it correctly.
The only thing that is easier about files is software installation. You can just move an entire software folder without worrying about it breaking any registry keys or messing anything up. In fact, that’s how most mac software is installed, just copy from the software CD and poof, it works.
Macs were always much easier to support for me on an installation (hardware or software) level, but harder from the user point of view because most (stupid) Mac users get carried away with the moving and organizing things the way they want. And they would literally freak out if a change I made effected anything aesthetic about their desktop or machine itself. (Hello, if it’s so easy fix it yourself after I leave!)
All the PC users cared about was if it worked faster and better.
Hate the ads. It’s like they’re saying “Hey, I’m dumb and even I can use it… so this is the computer for dumb people”.
I’m sure that’s JUST the image they want.
I’ll start out by saying that I’ve never touched a Mac, but I don’t have an aversion to them, I just don’t have access.
That said, these commercials make me slightly angry. I haven’t heard one of them mention anything that a mac offers that a pc doesn’t. They just prey on the ignorance of new computer users. It’s sad because, I’m sure that, for a new user, a Mac is just as hard to learn to use as a pc.
And to Ellen Feiss, everyone with half a brain knows that you don’t try to write a whole term paper without saving often. I’m sure that applies to any computer.
Those ads bug me too. Some of the comparisons they make bewteen Mac’s and PC’s are downright misleading, if not blatant lies.
Mutimedia bundles on PC’s have been available for a while now and you can get software for PC’s that do all the cool things the Mac does, and what they don’t tell you is the Mac costs twice as much money as the equivalent PC.
Want to play cool games on a Mac? It has CHESS!