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Apple explores the art of customer alienation
Apple's latest set of television commercials does a great job at telling prospective customers that they are morons.
The six television commercials emphasise things that are wrong with PCs, displaying one actor representing a Mac and one representing a PC. The Mac actor is a young man wearing jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt while the PC guy looks like he escaped from the boring world of Dilbert office cubicles.
The commercials are neither funny nor informative. They are coughing up age-old preconceptions about the PC's flaws and depict PC users as losers.
The real question is what Apple seeks to accomplish through these ads.
It's doing a great job if the computer maker is looking to reaffirm its commitment to its old and extremely loyal fan base – the kind that flocks to the Mac rumour websites, buy anything that has been touched by Steve Jobs and passionately hate anything else.
To them the commercial sends a feel good message, stating that Apple is still the same old company that won't be distracted by the iPod's success. But since they are extremely loyal already, why spend money on television ads to tell them? Leaking a witty internet video to one of the fan sites would do the job much more cheaply.
Apple on the other hand is doing a poor job if the company is looking to attract users to switch from a PC to a Mac. Telling prospective customers they are losers doesn't get them to like you.
Proof in case: try watching this parody that is as amusing as a nail scratching a blackboard
Bonus points for anyone who leaves a comment stating that I must be one of those moronic PC users.
Tags: apple, PC, microsoft, windows, parody, unfunny
June 5, 2006 at 06:28 PM | Permalink
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» Apple explora el arte de alienar al consumidor from Silicon Valley Sleuth ES
Los últimos anuncios de televisión de Apple en Estados Unidos hace un gran trabajo diciendo a los futuros consumidores que son idiotas. Los seis anuncios enfatizan cosas que están mal en los PCs, mostrando a un actor que representa a... [Read More]
Tracked on 6 Jun 2006 16:02:47
Comments
yawn - must be a slow day
Posted-by: James | 5 Jun 2006 23:33:26
Would the viewers of these ads feel alienated? That depends on whether or not they identified with being a Wintel user.
What Apple is trying to do is pick off possible defectors; that is, those people who have already a loosened identification to wintel. What the ads do is answer the fears, uncertainty and doubt that they have been trained to feel. No one will switch to a Mac unless they believe that the change will be an improvement. Who wants to identify with a dorky middle aged guy when they can with a hang loose casual twenty-something guy?
Unless, you are a Wintel fanatic, or a dorky middle aged guy, why would you be offended? And why would Apple try to appeal to either of them?
Posted-by: Louis Wheeler | 5 Jun 2006 23:45:57
So I guess our sleuth is either a Wintel fanatic or a dorky middle aged guy!?!?!
Posted-by: mark | 6 Jun 2006 00:53:41
"Bonus points for anyone who leaves a comment stating that I must be one of those moronic PC users."
"You must be one of those moronic PC users." Where're my bonus points? :^)
Seriously, though, I think this is interesting. Notice, for example, the phrase in the ad--"I'm a Mac. I'm a PC." There's nothing about "I'm a Mac User. I'm a PC User." This, at least to me, says that you are somehow emotionally attached with your purchase decision.
Don't get me wrong--it's a sort of cognitive dissonance thing. We all do it. Mac users don't bring up the dearth of games, incompatibilities, etc. that they have to endure. PC users don't bring up the virus problems they have to endure. We made a decision and, goddamn it, we made the right one no matter what the facts tell us! It's human nature.
But it mostly happens when we see ourself through our choices. I'm the fire-engine red sportscar. I'm the high-end stereo system. I'm the ultra-light racing bike. I'm the SUV. I'm the really expensive fishing pole. I'm a Mac. I'm a PC.
The thing is, I don't think the vast majority of PC users do that.
The computer is a commodity. Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway? Doesn't matter. PC users will switch at a heartbeat. And I don't think they have much loyalty towards Windows, except "that's what I use at work." So the majority of PC users, who aren't really emotionally connected to their purchase of a PC, will not "see themselves as the PC" and won't be offended.
Different things are important to different people. I know people who are in love with their cars. If you even intimate that their vehicle purchase may not be ideal, they'll jump down your throat. I know others who consider it a commodity--transportation--and as long as it gets them from point A to point B, they don't really care.
There will be some who see their computers this way, though, and they'll be offended. But frankly, they're a "lost cause" to Apple--these people won't switch unless you point a gun at their head, much like some Mac users.
Posted-by: Peter | 6 Jun 2006 01:11:22
I've heard comments regarding these ads that span the horizon. Most people, however, find them funny. I find them funny. I don't think they really make fun of people who use Wintel — Gosh, look at what he can do with a spreadsheet! But they do point out a major difference between the two platforms, real or imagined. They say, "You probably bought a PC because that's what you used at work. Well, the next time you buy a computer, have a look at Macs because they're really good at what you do when you're not at work."
And yes, you are one of those moronic PC users. Ka-ching!
Posted-by: Richard Taylor | 6 Jun 2006 01:42:58
These commercial are cute, and some are even funny. And, yes, there's more than a kernel of truth in each of them. I can't think of one good reason a consumer would choose a PC over a Mac as a home computer or personal laptop. Not one. Maybe serious gamers have an issue, but that's not what this is about. These ads are for college students, and grandparents, and parents who want to put their computers to good use, rather than being caught up in a world of monthly anti-virus fees, spyware, crashes, basic apps that neither talk to each nor produce stylish results. These commercials, and Boot Camp, are just the first step towards making the average user see the light. It's not a matter of being a Mac fanatic. It's about seeing the difference between junky technology that barely does what it's supposed to and something that just works. Kind of like all the cobbled together MP3 players and the iPod. Just looking at them, picking them up, plugging them -- it's damn obvious not only that they're better, but why.
Posted-by: David | 6 Jun 2006 03:20:18
I love Apple products and I love the iTunes commercials. Mac Commercials, well, they just can't seem to get it right. How about just showing off the Mac features? Dueling families, a pox on both your households. Just stick with the great stuff that makes a Mac so much better than not just a PC but any other OS before it, even OS 9.
Posted-by: stingerster | 6 Jun 2006 07:26:52
The trouble with arguing with a complete idiot is that you must invariably come down to his level. Where the idiot has had more practice.
You must be one of those moronic press-release readers unable to form an opinion without seeing an ad. How very very sad. Silicon Valley, too!
Posted-by: Sexton Lovecraft | 6 Jun 2006 12:56:50
I've watched the commercials, and in addition to what the other commentors have said, I was impressed that Apple portrays the PC as an *appealing* dork. Watch them - he doesn't come across as stupid or evil, just a bit clueless in a kind of cute way. It's the kind of teasing that takes place between friends, not vicious denigration.
Besides, it's just basic advertising 101. My product is better than the product you are currently using. If that offends you, then you have much bigger issues to grapple with than using the wrong computer.
Posted-by: edtekker | 6 Jun 2006 16:55:53
Has anyone noticed that the PC guy looks a little like Bill Gates himself....minus the extra weight?
Posted-by: Dommy | 6 Jun 2006 20:24:03
Spanish
