automatonrevolution

No, I have no idea what “Opposite Effect Sydrome” actually is. I just made it up. I guess what I mean is when, in an advertising context, an advert has the opposite effect from what is intended. Adverts, in general, are designed to make us consumers want to buy a product…not the other way round.

So I suppose my being increasingly turned off by the current Apple “Mac and PC” ad campaign means Im getting Opposite Effect Syndrome.

Now, granted, being a long term PC user I am unlikely to buy a Mac anyway, and Im probably pretty biased…but these ads are really beginning to get on my man-boobs.
You’ll probably know the ones I mean. Man in a suit on the left, representing the stodgy old PC, man in jeans and T-shirt on the right, representing Macs. They have a sort of “this is what I can do” conversation thats intended to be sort of funny, and to show how hip, user-friendly and fun Macs are compared to the lumbering, no-fun PC.

It aint working for me. I might just be getting the wrong end of the stick, but Mr Mac (or whatever hes called) just comes across as kinda smug and well…up himself. Instead of making me want to buy a Mac, its making me want one less. “Look at me” he says “I have this funky doody photo-editing thingy that makes holiday snaps so much more fun and easy to manage in my virtual photo album.” While Mr PC blithers on about Pie Charts and so on. The inferance being (I think), PCs can’t do fun stuff, Macs can.
Except..when I see that advert, when Mr Mac lists all the things the Mac can do with this funky doody photo software, im sitting there thinking….”But PCs can do all that stuff too. In fact, I bought my Mum one of those programs last Christmas and even SHE can use it.”

Maybe I havent been watching the right ads, but so far Mr Mac hasnt said he can do anything that I know that PCs cant do as well. I know that the idea is to make Macs look better than PCs (maybe they are, im not going to argue that cos I dont know for sure…im talking about the ads here….), but misrepresenting the PC as some bumbling dinosaur isnt doing the Mac any favours in my eyes. Sure, even I can see that Apple have been able to write a better user interface than Microsoft for years…but instead of highliighting THAT sort of advantage, these ads are playing cheap shots and making MR Mac, in my eyes, look like a smug git.

Maybe Im missing the point. Feel free to say so. Either way, I’ll quit whinging now