I'm a PC ... and I've been made into a stereotype

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2008-09-19 07:04am

While Microsoft chose poorly with their Bill Gates & Jerry Seinfeld advertisements, they've done a better job with their new "I'm a PC" ads, tweaking Apple's nose. You can see them here, though the video content requires Silverlight.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-09-19 07:15am

This one?

It's a neat ad, and if they want to undercut Apple's "for cool kids" image, this is the way to go. The guy in the shark cage was hilarious.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2008-09-19 07:18am

Bounty wrote:This one?

It's a neat ad, and if they want to undercut Apple's "for cool kids" image, this is the way to go. The guy in the shark cage was hilarious.

That's one of them, the Microsoft site has two others

apocolypse · Post by **apocolypse** » 2008-09-19 09:10am

I've always hated the "I'm a Mac" ads anyway. I'll definately have to check these out when I get home.

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2008-09-19 09:46am

apocolypse wrote:I've always hated the "I'm a Mac" ads anyway. I'll definately have to check these out when I get home.

Really? I think they're hilarious, thanks mostly to the comedic talents of John Hodgman. (Full disclosure: I use a PC, not a Mac.)

Post by **Vympel** » 2008-09-19 10:33am

SCRawl wrote:
Really? I think they're hilarious, thanks mostly to the comedic talents of John Hodgman. (Full disclosure: I use a PC, not a Mac.)

I always thought they were pretentious hipster shit.

apocolypse · Post by **apocolypse** » 2008-09-19 12:49pm

SCRawl wrote:
apocolypse wrote:I've always hated the "I'm a Mac" ads anyway. I'll definately have to check these out when I get home.
Really? I think they're hilarious, thanks mostly to the comedic talents of John Hodgman. (Full disclosure: I use a PC, not a Mac.)

Oh, I like Hodgman and all, but I'm in the same train of thought with Vympel. I just think they're pretentious and overly exaggerated. I like the actor, I just hate the commercials.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-09-19 02:33pm

Vympel wrote:
I always thought they were pretentious hipster shit.

Apple? Pretentious? WHY WASN'T I TOLD?!

The ad linked by Bounty isn't bad. But the Gates and Seinfeld ads blew chunks. Much like the Apple ones.

I suppose one advantage of Linux is no annoying ads.

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2008-09-19 02:38pm

apocolypse wrote:
SCRawl wrote:
apocolypse wrote:I've always hated the "I'm a Mac" ads anyway. I'll definately have to check these out when I get home.
Really? I think they're hilarious, thanks mostly to the comedic talents of John Hodgman. (Full disclosure: I use a PC, not a Mac.)
Oh, I like Hodgman and all, but I'm in the same train of thought with Vympel. I just think they're pretentious and overly exaggerated. I like the actor, I just hate the commercials.

Well, yes, they're exaggerated, but that's where some of the humour is.

As for the "hipster shit" part, well, I barely pay attention to the Mac character. He's just the straight man.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-09-19 02:40pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:I suppose one advantage of Linux is no annoying ads.

Only because we can't get streaming video to work reliably.

apocolypse · Post by **apocolypse** » 2008-09-19 03:58pm

SCRawl wrote:
apocolypse wrote:
SCRawl wrote: Really? I think they're hilarious, thanks mostly to the comedic talents of John Hodgman. (Full disclosure: I use a PC, not a Mac.)
Oh, I like Hodgman and all, but I'm in the same train of thought with Vympel. I just think they're pretentious and overly exaggerated. I like the actor, I just hate the commercials.
Well, yes, they're exaggerated, but that's where some of the humour is.

As for the "hipster shit" part, well, I barely pay attention to the Mac character. He's just the straight man.

See, to me the exaggeration isn't funny anymore, it's more of a steaming pile of BS that people actually buy into. It was cute the first couple of times, but now it's just obnoxious. I'm falling into the Maddox train of thought I guess.

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2008-09-19 04:04pm

apocolypse wrote:See, to me the exaggeration isn't funny anymore, it's more of a steaming pile of BS that people actually buy into. It was cute the first couple of times, but now it's just obnoxious. I'm falling into the Maddox train of thought I guess.

I see where you're coming from. I guess I just don't even see it as an advertisement anymore -- after all, I'm never going to buy a Mac. I see them poking fun at the PC and Windows in particular, and it strikes me as funny.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-09-19 05:32pm

Bounty wrote: Only because we can't get streaming video to work reliably.

They need to do one that is just the Mplayer plugin saying "(no video)" in big bold writing in the middle of the blank screen for two minutes.

Play it at the cinema for added enjoyment.

Ekiqa · Post by **Ekiqa** » 2008-09-19 09:58pm

Love the "I'm a PC and I turn number 2 into energy" with a herd of cows behind him.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2008-09-20 10:02am

I'd just like to say that I'm a PC, and I'm also a Linux Box. Take that Microsoft!

Kidding aside, I think that it's a good ad, but the lack of FUD means that it probably won't translate into new customers like the apple commercials have.

Metatwaddle · Post by **Metatwaddle** » 2008-09-20 05:05pm

I found the PC ad irritating, actually. It seemed overly long and almost whiny.

I still like the original Apple ads just because John Hodgman is funny, but the first ones were much better than the current ones.

Davey · Post by **Davey** » 2008-09-20 06:37pm

I'm a Unix.

I run NX-4 and surf the internet just fine. I can use PCs and Macs, but I can also use Unix. The way I see it, I don't hold any loyalties toward any OS, I just take what I want and use what's best for it. No worries.

That said I don't like it when people try to convince me one machine is better than the other. They're just like those dudes that drop those annoying "Convert now!" leaflets at your door and won't take no for an answer.

KlavoHunter · Post by **KlavoHunter** » 2008-09-20 08:36pm

I liked the commercial very much when I saw it last night.

I'm a PC, and people actually write games for my OS.

J · Post by J » 2008-09-20 10:17pm

Metatwaddle wrote:I found the PC ad irritating, actually. It seemed overly long and almost whiny.

I have to agree, it became redundant pretty fast and after that I just wanted to make it stop.

I still like the original Apple ads just because John Hodgman is funny, but the first ones were much better than the current ones.

Yup. Apple's got it right. Pick one point at a time and make a quick catchy skit out of it, then pick the next point and make another skit. It's brilliant, not that I'm going to buy a Mac but it's good fun catchy advertising that keeps my attention.

Darth Nostril · Post by **Darth Nostril** » 2008-09-20 10:44pm

J wrote:Yup. Apple's got it right. Pick one point at a time and make a quick catchy skit out of it, then pick the next point and make another skit. It's brilliant, not that I'm going to buy a Mac but it's good fun catchy advertising that keeps my attention.

Thus negating the whole point of Apple advertising in the first place.
If you're not going to buy one of their shiny overpriced boxes then it's just money down the shitter.

I prefer the PC, I can custom build those from scratch, strip out all the bells and whistles in Windows, install AVG & Zone Alarm and deliver a basic, nifty fast system to whoever asked me to build it.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2008-09-20 11:23pm

Darth Nostril wrote:Thus negating the whole point of Apple advertising in the first place.
If you're not going to buy one of their shiny overpriced boxes then it's just money down the shitter.

It gets enough people to buy Apple's goods, and that's really what matters.

I prefer the PC, I can custom build those from scratch, strip out all the bells and whistles in Windows, install AVG & Zone Alarm and deliver a basic, nifty fast system to whoever asked me to build it.

Who the hell considers Zone Alarm to be "good?"

Darth Nostril · Post by **Darth Nostril** » 2008-09-21 01:05am

I don't but it's free which counts for the people I build these things for.
But far better than bloated shit like Norton that I wouldn't touch with an eighteen foot bargepole.

As a matter of interest what would you recommend as a free/low cost firewall instead?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2008-09-21 01:40am

Darth Nostril wrote:I don't but it's free which counts for the people I build these things for.

No, it doesn't "count." You're bundling crap with your products.

As a matter of interest what would you recommend as a free/low cost firewall instead?

The built-in Windows firewall (XP SP2+ or Vista) is fine. There is no need for anything else (especially on Vista,), but if you insist on an additional one Comodo makes an excellent free one.

As for AV software, I prefer Avira for free scanning, but it is nagware. NOD32 is probably the best of the for-pay scanners, and it's hardly expensive for an OEM to order and bundle.

Darth Nostril · Post by **Darth Nostril** » 2008-09-21 02:30am

The built in windows firewall is shit, you are talking out of your hymen, it doesn't block outgoing crap, which is why I install Zone Alarm.
It may not be the best firewall but it beats the native windows version hands down.
The best pay for AV is Kaspersky, but thats a little too pricey for most people.
Norton bloatware sucks donkey cocks, it's been a long time since they were top of the game, since then they've been resting on their laurels, content with the neat little setup they have with the major system builders.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2008-09-21 03:00am

Why do you keep mentioning Norton? Nobody has mentioned it but you.