RAWR... ain't that the truth!<br><br>[image][/image]

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>It seems that as Apple became more successful, we heard less and less from him.<p><hr></blockquote><p><br>I think he 'moved' over to 'ars technica'...<br><br>[color:blue][/b]Hodie mihi. Cras tibi.</font color=blue>[/b]

He stuck his head in the door over at the Cafe.<br><br>

WOW you switched... I'm impressed.<br><br>Way to go... at least you're open minded and not afraid to try something new.<br><br>I don't believe Mac is for everyone !!<br><br><br>only 99.9999999% <br><br>David (OFI)

But, there's nothing more PC bashing than Apple's ads themselves. I guess it's working. Maybe it's all success from iPods and iPhones and the ads aren't working at all. <br><br>

No doubt in my mind, the ads are working. "Get a Mac" is a HUGE success. The iPod/iPhone halo effect is also a fact.<br><br>

I disagree. The ads annoy me a lot (as do most ads) but they aren't childish "bashing." They are putting down the opposing product, while touting the benefits of Apple's own. That's what ads often do, and these do it gently and with good humor. People who take them really personally are superimposing their own anti-Apple issues (and their own denial about Windows) onto the ads, I'd have to say. They'd be pissed about Apple ads that never mention Windows too. They're not the market Apple is trying to convince--and with good reason. They're the most mired in their attachment to Microsoft.<br><br>Apple's the minority platform in computing, and growing that means challenging the status quo. Challenging Windows. As long as Windows is "good enough," and as long as people assume ALL computers share the same problems as Windows, and as long as people buy Windows out of sheer habit and social pressure, without even CONSIDERING alternatives, Apple can't expand the Mac market much at all. They could run ads that say "Macs are great at such and such" and never mention Windows. But people will see that and think, "well, I'm sure Windows is great at that too, and I already know Windows, and the problems I have with Windows must be the same on Mac... so who cares?" You can even show them details of how stuff works.... but in a short glimpse like that, all people will see is "different." And different = scary.<br><br>So Mac ads HAVE to do two things:<br><br>* Make people dissatisfied with what they've always assumed was the "only" OS to consider.<br><br>* Make them interested enough to look up Macs online or at a store, and find out the details for themselves.<br><br>I have no doubt the ads are working, even if I'd gladly never see another myself.<br><br>And another thing to think about: although many ads criticize other brands, Apple's whole SERIES of ads, month after month, seems to find an awful LOT to say against Windows. It's kind of extreme--not in tone or rudeness, but in sheer quantity. I can't think of another ad series that has compared to one single competitor for so long. Why might that be? Well, the computing industry is a unique situation, different from any other computer product segment. In particular:<br><br>* Many companies advertise by putting down ALL the major competition as a GROUP. They say things like "those other companies." But Apple has only ONE competitor. Imagine if there was only ONE car insurance company that had nearly the whole market. Car insurance ads from a smaller company wouldn't talk generally about "those other companies" or "paying too much." They'd directly tell you why their insurance is better than the dominant company. That say what's good about theirs and what's bad about the dominant product. Just like Apple has been doing.<br><br>* Most dominant products aren't SO bad in SO many ways, coupled with people being SO oblivious and accepting of the problems! Windows just has an amazing amount that CAN be attacked. It's not that the masses love Microsoft, it's that computers scare them, so they cling blindly to the devil they know. (Ironically, computers scare them BECAUSE Windows has been so bad over the years.)<br><br>* Advertising is about name recognition, which is why, if you dominate a market (like Windows or iPod), as a rule you don't mention the competition in your ads. The competition is off peoples' radar and that's the way you like it. But the smaller you are, the more your ads have to attack the big guys. A lot of the ads you see on TV are popular brands competing against each other. So sometimes they attach each other, sometimes not. (Look at fast food ads for instance.) But Apple's in the situation of being the unpopular, often-dismissed brand. In that case, ads that attack the competition work.<br><br>That adds up to Apple ads that go on the offensive--because they have to.<br><br>And they do it in the right way: put down Windows, NOT Windows users. (People who see criticism of Windows as some big insult to themselves are internalizing something that isn't there. They're a teeny minority of the buying public and not one Apple should design ads around.)<br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net

Uh... been thinking about this a bit...eh?<br><br>LOL<br><br>[image][/image]

If a thing is worth posting, it's worth posting fully, as Shakespeare said <br><br>nagr[color:red]o</font color=red>mme<br><br>I require stroyent!<br>TeamMacOSX.com | MacClan.net