The Get a Mac campaign, popularly known as the "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" or "Mac vs. PC" ads, was a television advertising campaign created for Apple Inc that ran from 2006 to 2009. The standard template of two men on an all-white background, representing two computers running Windows and (at the time) Mac OS X respectively, was conducive to Memetic Mutation.
The Mac, portrayed by actor Justin Long in the original North American campaign, was presented as a more versatile and secure option for home computing, with a passion for media arts.
The (Windows) PC, portrayed by author and humorist John Hodgman in the North American campaign (who also co-wrote most of the commercials), was presented as outdated, unreliable, boring, and overly concerned with work.
Early commercials in the campaign offered a general comparison between the two (including the fact that the Mac comes with free office and creative applications like Pages and GarageBand, as well as the fact that Macs came in more all-in-one options like the iMac), while the later ones focused on the security and user-friendliness problems of Windows Vista and Windows 7.
In addition to the North American television campaign, several advertisements have been shown exclusively as Flash web ads on various websites. Because they reference specific online advertising features, these have not been posted alongside their television counterparts on Apple's website.
Similar campaigns have been adapted for the British market, recasting PC and Mac with Mitchell and Webb respectively, and the Japanese market, featuring The Rahmens.
Microsoft would respond with I'm a PC👁 Image
commercials depicting PC users to be ordinary people in a variety of situations.
Hodgman and Long also appeared in videos during Steve Jobs's keynote addresses at the 2006, 2007, and 2009 Worldwide Developers Conference and the 2008 Macworld Expo. Hodgman also returned in a Call-Back to the campaign at the very end of the Mac-focused November 2020 event.
And I'm a list of tropes:
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: In one of the ads, PC says: "Let's go to a commercial." Mac tells him that they are already in a commercial. PC then says: "Let's go to another commercial."
- Competing Product Potshot: The campaign anthropomorphizes the Mac and PC to make the Mac look more approachable and the PC look stuffy and out-of-fashion.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: The PC does this in "Trust" while trying to avoid spyware, complete with Groucho Marx glasses.
- Creepy Crossdresser: "Better Results" promotes iMovie by having Mac and PC compare their home movies. Mac's movie is represented by Gisele Bündchen, while PC's movie is represented by a large, hairy man in a wig and a dress.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: One early ad does this with the PC, when he's looking at a photo book the Mac made in iPhoto.
- Hipster: The Mac is considered by many to be a hipster stereotype.
- Informed Obscenity: In "V-Word", PC decides to no longer use the word "Vista" because it's harming his product's image too much. Every time Mac tries to say the word, PC uses a buzzer on him to censor it. He eventually beats him at his own game by just saying the word repeatedly until PC misses it.
- Latex Perfection: Seen in the "Surprise" ad, when the PC impersonates the Mac, complete with actor switch and 👁 This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.
the mask suddenly looking different and cheaper once removed. - Mascot: The campaign features anthropomorphized personifications of the Mac and PC debating their respective strengths and weaknesses.
- Medium Blending: The Christmas-themed ads were made with claymation. Is lampshaded by PC who enjoys the Christmas season because they get to do things that they can't do as live-action characters.
- Metaphorically True: Some of the claims made about Mac makes fall under this; they aren't lies, but they really stretch the truth.
- Many ads portray Macs as being immune to the viruses that plague Windows, and that they don't get the "vague error messages" that Windows does when a program crashes. While Apple computers are more secure due to built-in anti-virus software, they are not immune; and they do experience system errors and program crashes, but their error messages are phrased differently from Windows (such as saying the program "unexpectedly quit" instead of encountering an error). It's also worth noting that a big part of the reason why Mac doesn't get as much malware is that fewer people use Macs, so cyber-criminals are less likely to write viruses for them.
- The ads present the Apple Geniuses as friendly and polite helpers who can aid people in buying and setting up their new Mac and transferring their files from their old computer to their new one, while Windows has no comparable support system. While this is true, when buying a computer from a store, the store's own staff will certainly help you make a selection in the same manner as an Apple Genius, and they may also offer aid in setting it up and transferring files. Keep in mind that Best Buy has long had Geek Squad.
- It's also worth noting that you often don't have a choice but to get your computer fixed by Apple, not your geeky relative or a third-party store that won't rip you off.
- One sketch describes the process of setting up your Mac as easier, since part of the PC is in "other boxes." That's true of the iMac, one of many all-in-one computers Apple has released over the years. However, Apple has also had a long history of producing Macs as towers and flat desktops. A Mac Mini, or later a Mac Studio, doesn't even come with a mouse and keyboard, let alone a monitor!
- Operators Are Standing By: This exact phrase is uttered by PC in one of the ads, mocking Microsoft's focus on advertising.
- Right Way/Wrong Way Pair: Mac is presented as the "Right Way" of the two, extolling its versatility and reliable security versus the PC's "stuffed shirt" personality and vulnerability to viruses and bloatware.
- Running Gag: In "Broken Promises", PC says that Windows 7 won't have any of the problems that Windows Vista had. We then get flashbacks to him introducing progressively older versions of Windows, each time promising: "It's not going to have any of the problems (previous version) had!"
- Scapegoat Ad: Apple's "Mac Vs PC" ads pit a smug hoodie-wearing hipster (representing the Mac) against geek icon John Hodgman (representing the PC). Every attempt to play up how much "cooler" Mac is makes him look like a 👁 This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.
complete dick to most viewers, whereas the PC's faults make him look, at worst, like The Woobie. - Straw Loser: The commercials focus on the weaknesses of Windows products, presenting the PC as an aging, suit-clad goober.
- Strawman Product: "I'm a Mac." "And I'm a PC." The Mac is shown as Justin Long, a young, cool guy who is always calm because he's always right. The PC is John Hodgman, a portly guy in a suit with glasses who freaks out and goes ballistic because he's always wrong. It's like the same-sex version of Defenestrate and Berate. Many commercials have a lot of "customers" who always prefer Macs without stating sufficient reasons other than "It's better." They always claim that "any PC" will have "a bunch of viruses and headaches" and that Macs have none. In the UK, PC and Mac are played by David Mitchell and Robert Webb, respectively.
- Wheel of Decisions: In one ad👁 Image
, PC isn't able to decide on a version of Windows Vista to buy, and builds a wheel with each of the six different editions. He lands on the Lose A Turn space, and Mac questions why he would have added that section in the first place. - White Void Room: The standard setting of all the commercials.
