Get a Mac
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The Get a Mac campaign is an advertising campaign by Apple Computer, Inc.
The ads, directed by Phil Morrison, are slightly similar to the switch campaign ads of 2002, where a person (or people in this case) explain why to switch from a PC to a Mac computer in front of a white background. In the "Get a Mac" campaign, actor Justin Long represents the Mac, while author and Daily Show cast member John Hodgman represents the PC. The ads set out to show how Macs have certain strengths over the PC.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs mentioned the campaign during a shareholders meeting the week before the campaign started. The campaign also coincided with a change of signage and employee apparel at Apple retail stores detailing reasons to switch to Macs.
Ads
Each ad starts out where Justin Long introduces himself as a Mac and Hodgman introduces himself as a PC. There are a total of nine advertisements as of June 2006:
- Viruses - PC has caught a virus that's been going around and continues to sneeze as Mac tries to help him. PC warns him that there are over 114,000 viruses for the PC and tells Mac "not to be a hero" - however Mac explains that none of the viruses affect him. PC commences to crash which is simulated by fainting.
- Restarting - Both Mac and PC explain how they both have a lot in common, and how Office is Mac compatible as well. Shortly after, PC freezes, and wakes up again after "restarting." PC then asks "Oh, what? Macs don't have to ... " and then freezes again. "Had him then lost him," Mac says and then leaves to get I.T. support.
- Better - Mac praises the PC for the ability to do work with a spread sheet, and Mac then explains that he can do "life stuff" better than a PC, such as music, movies, DVD's, pictures, etc. PC defensively asks what Mac means by "better" to which Mac replies that it is easier and more enjoyable to do those tasks on a Mac than on a PC. PC replies, "Oh, that kind of better. I was thinking of the other kind." The ad then cuts to the ending splash screen with Mac saying off-camera, "What other kind?"
- iLife - This is a promotion for iLife. This is a literal embodiment of the iPod Halo effect.
- Network - This commercial demonstrates that Macs can connect to Windows networks and other peripherals with ease. The piece is the only one to feature a third person; in this case, a Japanese woman representing a new digital camera. Mac introduces himself to Digital Camera with the standard Japanese 「はじめまして、よろしくお願いします。」, which can be translated as "Hi, nice to meet you." After handing him a digital print she tells Mac, referring to PC, 「ね、ね、誰あの人？オタクっぽくない？」or, "Hey, who's that guy? He looks a bit like a dork, doesn't he?"
- WSJ - The two characters give their introductions and Mac begins reading the Wall Street Journal." PC snatches it and reads that Walt Mossberg, " ... one of the most respected technology experts on the planet ... ", called Mac "the finest desktop PC on the market at any price," to which PC compliments Mac. PC then boasts that he also received a review that morning and that "they" called him "awesome" and says, "So, we're the same." Mac congratulates PC and then asks which publication that was in. PC replies, ending the ad, "The, umm ... Awesome ... Awesome Computer ... Review ... Weekly ... Journal."
- Out of the Box - Mac and PC are in boxes discussing what will happen when the buyer first brings them home. Mac talks about what he plans to do right away (music, photos, make home movies and DVDs etc.), while PC says he plans to download all the drivers and rid himself of pre-installed trial software. Mac gets out of his box and goes off to actually "do stuff".
- Touché - The ad begins as usual with the two characters introducing themselves, but right after PC gives his introduction, Mac replies, "And I'm a PC too." PC is confused and Mac explains that he can run both Mac OS X and Windows XP, calling himself "the only computer you'll ever need." To this, PC mutters, "Oh...Touché." Mac, a little puzzled, explains that one only says "Touché" after they make a point and someone else makes a good counterpoint, which Mac has not done because PC has not yet made a point in the first place. Mac decides to backtrack to give PC one more chance at using the word correctly, but PC makes the same mistake again. The ad then cuts to the ending splash screen where Mac mutters off-camera, "Never mind..."
- Work vs. Home - Mac explains how he likes doing fun stuff like movies, music, and podcasts. PC says he also does "fun stuff" like time sheets, spreadsheets, and pie charts. Mac says it's hard to capture a family vacation using a pie chart, however PC rebuts his claims by showing a pie chart representing "hangout time" and "just kicking it". "Yeah, I feel like I was there." the Mac replies.
Criticism
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The ads have attracted some criticism since their launch. Some of the ads assert that some things are easier to do on a Mac than a PC running Microsoft Windows, including "life stuff" such as creating movies, photo albums and such with the bundled iLife suite. In reality, the PC is just as capable with the right applications, generally requiring a separate purchase.
Most major applications available on Mac such as Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office are available on Windows, although these particular applications were actually launched on the Mac before their Windows counterparts were made. Due to the market saturation of the PC platform (over 90% of the home computer market worldwide), appropriately there are more companies programming for it and therefore more applications and peripherals available for the Windows platform; particularly certain kinds of applications, such as enterprise resource planning, spyware, and computer games.
Another debate over the ads' details is the greyscale pie chart in 'Work vs. Home' [citation needed]. Some say this makes an absurd (to the point of slanderous) implication that Windows is incapable of displaying color photos, although many others see that it is simply a comedic device.
Some criticize Apple of the way they use the term "PC." These critics suggest that Apple is deliberately deceiving the public to think a PC is a generic computer and that Apple computers is somehow mechanically and electronically different than other personal computers.[citation needed]
Parody
There have been a few parodies of this ad campaign, including one made by Ctrl+Alt+Del creator Tim Buckley [1], and many videos found on YouTube [2], including a spoof by Vh1's Best Week Ever [3].