OLDER ARTICLES
Mac Attack Smackdown
Geek Night
Hint of a Smile
The Rest of the Story
Memories of My Youth
An Entirely Other Day Reboots
The Friars Club Roast of George W Bush
Barnsdall Art Center Sale - April 29
No Lifeguard on Duty
Father-Daughter Fun
Mac Attack Smackdown
I just read Mac Attack - Apple's mean-spirited new ad campaign. By Seth Stevenson in Slate, and I think it captures exactly my feeling about the new Mac ads:
Grade: C+. As usual, Apple hopes to shift the debate away from a battle over specs and value and toward a battle we can all understand: cool kid versus nerd. But these days, aren't nerds like John Hodgman the new cool kids? And isn't smug superiority (no matter how affable and casually dressed) a bit off-putting as a brand strategy?
I am all about building a loyal following, but this isn't grassroots, it's mudslinging. And, like most mudslinging, it's chiefly inaccurate. What's that? You want to do videos, pictures, and music? You want to have COLOR? WELL THEN! You better get a Mac, instead of that 1984 PC Jr... oh wait, the 1984 PC Jr *had* color. And sound. Oh, and games, too... well... ok, the 1983 IBM PC XT did come with a monochrome monitor standard, so perhaps the message is "A new Mac is better than a 23 year old computer!" If so, then kudos, Apple. Well played!
Here's the thing. The new Intel Macs are pretty cool. Even for someone like me, who is primarily a PC user. They're powerful, good looking, and reasonably priced for what they offer. Yes, they have some short term limitations for folks who use their computers for heavy graphic editing, but when Adobe gets a compatible version of Photoshop out there, it's going to be pretty sweet. TALK ABOUT THAT! Talk about how you can have the best of both worlds. Talk about how you can have a sweet formfactor. I'm right with you. But come on. Greyscale pie charts? Seriously.
Seriously.
originally published 06/28/2006