I'm a PC: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
rm good faith edits by anon - this sort of large-scale editing would be better served via discussion and consensus in the article discussion. |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{POV|date=October 2008}} |
{{POV|date=October 2008}} |
||
[[Image:I'm.a.PC.stereotype.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Sean Siler, an actual Microsoft employee featured in the ad campaign]] |
[[Image:I'm.a.PC.stereotype.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Sean Siler, an actual Microsoft employee featured in the ad campaign]] |
||
"'''I'm a PC'''" is the title for a television [[advertising campaign]] created for [[Microsoft]] by ad agency [[Crispin Porter + Bogusky]] (CPB) |
"'''I'm a PC'''" is the title for a television [[advertising campaign]] created for [[Microsoft]] by ad agency [[Crispin Porter + Bogusky]] (CPB). The series first began to appear in September, 2008.<ref>{{cite web |
||
| last = Carlson |
| last = Carlson |
||
| first = Nicholas |
| first = Nicholas |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
| date = 19 Sept. 2008 |
| date = 19 Sept. 2008 |
||
| url = http://valleywag.com/5052167/microsofts-new-im-a-pc-commercials-want-you-to-think-different |
| url = http://valleywag.com/5052167/microsofts-new-im-a-pc-commercials-want-you-to-think-different |
||
| accessdate = 2008-09-30}}</ref><ref name="computerworld.com1">[http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9115120 Microsoft's 'I'm a PC' ad images made on Macs], By Gregg Keizer, [[Computerworld]] ([http://www.pcworld.com/article/151315/macs_produced_part_of_microsofts_im_a_pc_ads.html Republished] on [[PC World (magazine)|PC World]], Spetember 20, 2008)</ref> The new series of commercials replace those that featured the pairing of [[Jerry Seinfeld]] and [[Bill Gates]] |
| accessdate = 2008-09-30}}</ref><ref name="computerworld.com1">[http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9115120 Microsoft's 'I'm a PC' ad images made on Macs], By Gregg Keizer, [[Computerworld]] ([http://www.pcworld.com/article/151315/macs_produced_part_of_microsofts_im_a_pc_ads.html Republished] on [[PC World (magazine)|PC World]], Spetember 20, 2008)</ref> The new series of commercials replace those that featured the pairing of [[Jerry Seinfeld]] and [[Bill Gates]]. |
||
The $300 million dollar advertising campaign was designed to challenge what critics call [[Apple Computer|Apple's]] "elitist Mac user vibe" "[[Get a Mac|Mac Vs. PC]]" campaign by showing everyday PC users, such as scientists and teachers, noting the virtues of their platform of choice.<ref name="smh.com1" |
The $300 million dollar advertising campaign was designed to challenge what critics call [[Apple Computer|Apple's]] "elitist Mac user vibe" "[[Get a Mac|Mac Vs. PC]]" campaign by showing everyday PC users, such as scientists and teachers, noting the virtues of their platform of choice.<ref name="smh.com1">[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/09/24/1222216094448.html 'I'm a PC' made on a Mac], by Asher Moses, [[The Sydney Morning Herald]], September 24, 2008 ([http://www.thevine.com.au/news/articles/new-microsoft-ads-made-on-a-mac.aspx duplicate] on thevine.com.au)</ref> |
||
| ⚫ | |||
==Campaign== |
==Campaign== |
||
[[Image:I'm a PC shark.jpg|thumb|"Meaghan" identifying himself as a PC user while underwater in a shark cage.]] |
[[Image:I'm a PC shark.jpg|thumb|"Meaghan" identifying himself as a PC user while underwater in a shark cage.]] |
||
| ⚫ | The |
||
The ad series features prominent and popular individuals saying "I'm a PC" and has appearances by common international users as well as personalities such as medical doctor and writer [[Deepak Chopra]], ultimate fighter [[Rashad Evans]], actress [[Eva Longoria Parker]], photographer [[Geoff Green]] and singer [[Pharrell Williams]]. |
|||
| ⚫ | The composition was made to be initially resemble that of the Apple campaign, as Siler bears a resemblance to [[John Hodgman]], the "PC" counterpart to [[Justin Long]] as a Mac in the Apple commercials.<ref name="upi.com1">[http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/09/21/Magazine_Microsoft_ad_uses_Mac_software/UPI-24661221976279/ Magazine: Microsoft ad uses Mac software], [[United Press International]]</ref><ref name="computerworld.com1"/> |
||
| ⚫ | The campaign was created by the CPB advertising agency and exhibited normal PC users to be found everywhere. It was the second phase of Microsoft's 2008 efforts to displace the ubiquity of Apple's "Mac Vs. PC" ads, which portrayed the Mac as "cool and intuitive" and the PC as "boring and clunky".<ref name="smh.com1"/> The Microsoft spots typically opened with an image of Sean Siler,<ref name="gizmodo.com1">[http://gizmodo.com/5052411/so-whats-up-with-that-new-im-a-pc-guy-anyway So What's Up With That New 'I'm a PC' Guy, Anyway?], By Mark Wilson, [[Gizmodo]], September 19, 2008</ref> a Microsoft employee claiming "I'm a PC, and I've been made into a stereotype". |
||
| ⚫ | The advertisements are also interspersed with various non-famous users who proclaim "I'm a PC" from a variety of places and in a number of methods. |
||
| ⚫ | The composition was made to be initially resemble that of the Apple campaign, as Siler bears a resemblance to [[John Hodgman]], the "PC" counterpart to [[Justin Long]] as a Mac in the Apple commercials.<ref name="upi.com1">[http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/09/21/Magazine_Microsoft_ad_uses_Mac_software/UPI-24661221976279/ Magazine: Microsoft ad uses Mac software], [[United Press International]]</ref><ref name="computerworld.com1"/> |
||
| ⚫ | The advertisements are also interspersed with various non-famous users who proclaim "I'm a PC" from a variety of places and in a number of methods. The intent is to demonstrate how PC users are ordinary people, contrasting the "Mac Vs. PC" campaign's negative portrayal of Windows users. <ref name="macnn.com1">[http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/09/22/im.a.pc.pics.made.on.a.mac/ 'I'm a PC' ad pictures made on a Mac], (MacNN.com)</ref> |
||
==Criticism== |
==Criticism== |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | Shortly after the new campaign began investigation by various Internet groups determined that the series of "I'm a PC" commercials were created on Apple's Macintosh computers, using the [[Adobe Systems|Adobe]] graphics editing program, [[Photoshop#CS3|Photoshop CS3]].<ref name="computerworld.com1"/> Initially discovered by a [[Flickr]] user<ref name="fool.com1">[http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/09/22/im-a-pc-made-on-a-mac.aspx I'm a PC, Made on a Mac], by Tim Beyers, [[Motley Fool]], September 22, 2008</ref> who noted traces of Apple's [[Mac OS X|operating system]] and Adobe's CS3 graphics program embedded within press-released images of the commercials. ''[[Computerworld]]'' magazine concurs, noting that when the file properties of those images, made available on the Microsoft press site, are examined, the designation "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh" can be seen.<ref name="computerworld.com1"/> After the discovery began circulating, Microsoft responded overnight by digitally [[Data scrubbing|scrubbing]] the Apple-related [[metadata]] from the images. <ref name="smh.com1"/><ref name="informationweek.com1">[http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/09/im_a_pc_made_on.html 'I'm A PC' Made On A Mac], by Dave Methvin, [[InformationWeek]] blog, September 21, 2008</ref><ref name="roughlydrafted.com1">[http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/09/19/microsofts-im-a-pc-ads-created-on-macs/ Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ Ads Created On Macs], by Daniel Eran Dilger (RoughlyDrafted.com), September 19th, 2008</ref> |
||
| ⚫ | Shortly after the new campaign began investigation by various Internet groups determined that the series of "I'm a PC" commercials were created, at least in part, on Apple's Macintosh computers, using the [[Adobe Systems|Adobe]] graphics editing program, [[Photoshop#CS3|Photoshop CS3]].<ref name="computerworld.com1"/> Initially discovered by a [[Flickr]] user<ref name="fool.com1">[http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/09/22/im-a-pc-made-on-a-mac.aspx I'm a PC, Made on a Mac], by Tim Beyers, [[Motley Fool]], September 22, 2008</ref> who noted traces of Apple's [[Mac OS X|operating system]] and Adobe's CS3 graphics program embedded within press-released images of the commercials. ''[[Computerworld]]'' magazine concurs, noting that when the file properties of those images, made available on the Microsoft press site, are examined, the designation "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh" can be seen.<ref name="computerworld.com1"/> After the discovery began circulating, Microsoft responded overnight by digitally [[Data scrubbing|scrubbing]] the Apple-related [[metadata]] from the images. <ref name="smh.com1"/><ref name="informationweek.com1">[http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/09/im_a_pc_made_on.html 'I'm A PC' Made On A Mac], by Dave Methvin, [[InformationWeek]] blog, September 21, 2008</ref><ref name="roughlydrafted.com1">[http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/09/19/microsofts-im-a-pc-ads-created-on-macs/ Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ Ads Created On Macs], by Daniel Eran Dilger (RoughlyDrafted.com), September 19th, 2008</ref> |
||
| ⚫ | In an official press release, Microsoft stated "As is common in almost all campaign workflow, agencies and production houses use a wide variety of software and hardware to create, edit and distribute content, including both Macs and PCs."<ref name="smh.com1"/> |
||
| ⚫ | <!---Though considering the statement a "[[non-denial denial]]", Tim Beyers of ''[[Motley Fool]]'' notes that the new ads appear to have initially achieved their goal.<ref name="fool.com1"/> Conversely, Jack Loftus of ''[[Gizmodo]]'' noted that if Apple were smart, they would have another Hodgman/Long [[Television advertisement|spot]] making fun of this oversight "produced and in the can ''yesterday''".<ref name="gizmodo.com2">[http://gizmodo.com/5052790/microsoft-im-a-pc-ads-were-created-using-a-mac Microsoft 'I'm a PC' Ads Were Created Using a Mac], [[Gizmodo]]</ref>Zach Epstein of ''BoyGenius Report'' also points out that the irony of the discovery is detrimental to Microsoft's efforts.<ref name="gizmodo.com2"/>---> |
||
| ⚫ | |||
Further criticism notes the choice of spokespeople used in the "I'm a PC" campaign. Jerry Seinfeld, Deepak Chopra, Eva Longoria Parker and Pharrell Williams are all notably vocal Macintosh owners and fans.<ref name="smh.com1"/> Seinfeld's eponymous character from ''[[Seinfeld]]'' uses a Macintosh,<ref name="gawker.com">[http://gawker.com/5039828/mac+loving-seinfeld-endorsing-microsoft-for-10-million Mac-Loving Seinfeld Endorsing Microsoft For $10 Million], (gawker.com)</ref> and Longoria Parker personally uses a [[MacBook Pro]]. Chopra uses one as well, and Williams uses a Macintosh in his recording studio.<ref name="macmod.com1">[http://www.macmod.com/content/view/1559/243/ "I'm a PC", but use a Mac], by Chris Tangora (macmod.com), September 20, 2008</ref><ref name="jossip.com1">[http://www.jossip.com/new-pc-commercial-parodies-mac-commercial-making-fun-of-pc-20080918/ New PC Commercial Parodies Mac Commercial Making Fun of PC], by David Hauslaib (jossip.com)</ref> |
|||
| ⚫ | <!---Though considering the statement a "[[non-denial denial]]", Tim Beyers of ''[[Motley Fool]]'' notes that the new ads appear to have initially achieved their goal.<ref name="fool.com1"/> Conversely, Jack Loftus of ''[[Gizmodo]]'' noted that if Apple were smart, they would have another Hodgman/Long [[Television advertisement|spot]] making fun of this oversight "produced and in the can ''yesterday''".<ref name="gizmodo.com2">[http://gizmodo.com/5052790/microsoft-im-a-pc-ads-were-created-using-a-mac Microsoft 'I'm a PC' Ads Were Created Using a Mac], [[Gizmodo]]</ref>Zach Epstein of ''BoyGenius Report'' also points out that the irony of the discovery is detrimental to Microsoft's efforts.<ref name="gizmodo.com2"/>---> |
||
Further criticism notes the choice of spokespeople used in the "I'm a PC" campaign. <ref name="smh.com1"/> Seinfeld's iconic TV show ''[[Seinfeld]]'' was staged with a Macintosh displayed in the eponymous characters apartment.<ref name="gawker.com">[http://gawker.com/5039828/mac+loving-seinfeld-endorsing-microsoft-for-10-million Mac-Loving Seinfeld Endorsing Microsoft For $10 Million], (gawker.com)</ref>. |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 12:49, 7 October 2008
 |
"I'm a PC" is the title for a television advertising campaign created for Microsoft by ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CPB). The series first began to appear in September, 2008.[1][2] The new series of commercials replace those that featured the pairing of Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates.
The $300 million dollar advertising campaign was designed to challenge what critics call Apple's "elitist Mac user vibe" "Mac Vs. PC" campaign by showing everyday PC users, such as scientists and teachers, noting the virtues of their platform of choice.[3]
Campaign
The ad series features prominent and popular individuals saying "I'm a PC" and has appearances by common international users as well as personalities such as medical doctor and writer Deepak Chopra, ultimate fighter Rashad Evans, actress Eva Longoria Parker, photographer Geoff Green and singer Pharrell Williams.
The campaign was created by the CPB advertising agency and exhibited normal PC users to be found everywhere. It was the second phase of Microsoft's 2008 efforts to displace the ubiquity of Apple's "Mac Vs. PC" ads, which portrayed the Mac as "cool and intuitive" and the PC as "boring and clunky".[3] The Microsoft spots typically opened with an image of Sean Siler,[4] a Microsoft employee claiming "I'm a PC, and I've been made into a stereotype".
The composition was made to be initially resemble that of the Apple campaign, as Siler bears a resemblance to John Hodgman, the "PC" counterpart to Justin Long as a Mac in the Apple commercials.[5][2]
The advertisements are also interspersed with various non-famous users who proclaim "I'm a PC" from a variety of places and in a number of methods. The intent is to demonstrate how PC users are ordinary people, contrasting the "Mac Vs. PC" campaign's negative portrayal of Windows users. [6]
Criticism
The campaign has been criticized for having used certain individuals that also may have a connection to various Apple products as well as its commercials being revealed to have been created, at least in part, on Apple computers.[2]
Shortly after the new campaign began investigation by various Internet groups determined that the series of "I'm a PC" commercials were created, at least in part, on Apple's Macintosh computers, using the Adobe graphics editing program, Photoshop CS3.[2] Initially discovered by a Flickr user[7] who noted traces of Apple's operating system and Adobe's CS3 graphics program embedded within press-released images of the commercials. Computerworld magazine concurs, noting that when the file properties of those images, made available on the Microsoft press site, are examined, the designation "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh" can be seen.[2] After the discovery began circulating, Microsoft responded overnight by digitally scrubbing the Apple-related metadata from the images. [3][8][9]
In an official press release, Microsoft stated "As is common in almost all campaign workflow, agencies and production houses use a wide variety of software and hardware to create, edit and distribute content, including both Macs and PCs."[3]
Further criticism notes the choice of spokespeople used in the "I'm a PC" campaign. [3] Seinfeld's iconic TV show Seinfeld was staged with a Macintosh displayed in the eponymous characters apartment.[10].
References
- ^ Carlson, Nicholas (19 Sept. 2008). "Microsoft's new "I'm a PC" commercials want you to "Think Different"". Vallywag. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
{{cite web}}: Check|authorlink=value (help); Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); External link in|authorlink= - ^ a b c d e Microsoft's 'I'm a PC' ad images made on Macs, By Gregg Keizer, Computerworld (Republished on PC World, Spetember 20, 2008)
- ^ a b c d e 'I'm a PC' made on a Mac, by Asher Moses, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 24, 2008 (duplicate on thevine.com.au)
- ^ So What's Up With That New 'I'm a PC' Guy, Anyway?, By Mark Wilson, Gizmodo, September 19, 2008
- ^ Magazine: Microsoft ad uses Mac software, United Press International
- ^ 'I'm a PC' ad pictures made on a Mac, (MacNN.com)
- ^ I'm a PC, Made on a Mac, by Tim Beyers, Motley Fool, September 22, 2008
- ^ 'I'm A PC' Made On A Mac, by Dave Methvin, InformationWeek blog, September 21, 2008
- ^ Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ Ads Created On Macs, by Daniel Eran Dilger (RoughlyDrafted.com), September 19th, 2008
- ^ Mac-Loving Seinfeld Endorsing Microsoft For $10 Million, (gawker.com)