Here’s a good article written by Seth Stevenson about the Mac vs. PC Ads appearing around the old Tel-o-vision landscape.
After reading it, I have to admit I really agree with Seth’s take on the campaign. Well, except for his comment about Justin Long. He’s a pretty decent young actor. Any actor who gets the thumbs up from Vince Vaughn and the Frat Pack gets my respect too. Plus did you see him in Herbie Fully Loaded? His chemistry with Lindsay Lohan was … Alright, I’m on a tangent. A Tangent! a Tangent!! Anyways, I agree with his take on the commercials; they are aesthetically pleasing, nicely done, do a great job of simply conveying their message, but they come off extremely irritating. As Stevenson notes:
If you’re a first-time buyer, the idea that a Mac will make your life immeasurably easier sure does sound appealing. But if you’re a PC user, these ads are more likely to irritate you than convert you.
Since I’m not a Mac-evangelist these commercials have been really annoying me. For some reason, even though they are intended to be light hearted and enjoyable, they come off smug and somewhat arrogant. And this is from someone who wants to make the big switch to a Mac. But after these commercials I’m less inclined to make the jump. I sort feel insulted by them.
I think there is a weird kind of reasoning or defensiveness that is triggered by these commercial. It is sort of like when a 50 year old smoker, who should know better, refuses to quit when confronted by his all-knowing 15 year old niece. Or in the same light, how many MacDonald’s lovers a couple of years ago reacted when that skinny vegetarian art-school-filmmaker began ‘proving’ that Big Macs were horrible for you. Pretty much every one knows McDonald’s is bad for you; but at the same time having a smug little twerp rub it in your face, makes you far less inclined to fold up the defenses and convert.
Don’t get me Wrong. When Super Size Me came out I couldn’t believe people who had saw it a) didn’t like it and b) kept on eating at McDonald’s. But now I understand. People are somewhat stubborn and when forcefully told something in a manner which kind of degrades their personal preference, they’ll tend to resist and become more resilient to the product. It’s why people generally don’t like tree-huggers. So, I think that’s why I find these commercials so annoying. Every one knows Mac’s are far simpler and more efficient machines, but I find it tough to break a routine. Plus I’m sort of a luddite and I enjoy my quirky machines. But that’s just my opinion and I’m sure that there is a Mac-evangelist ready to berate me with a series of emails.
Wednesday June 21, 2006
