New Apple Ads

A couple of people asked me how I square up my contention recently that Apple and Microsoft no longer compete with the launch of the new Apple TV ads.

The ads actually are quite good (and can be seen here), and will be welcomed by many Apple fans who have complained for a long time about Apple's comparative lack of marketing of the Mac brand (especially next to iPod). They all revolve around 2 characters - PC and Mac. So, surely, Apple is taking aim at Microsoft with this?

I don't think most viewers will see it that way. The ads take aim at the PC experience - viruses, iLife, etc. And, a few of the ads specifically mention Microsoft in the positive - that both machines run Microsoft Office. Even "Windows" is not mentioned once. Sure, the technical elite may know where some of the blame lies for the failings of "PC", but for the average user, they're more likely to blame Dell, HP, etc. This is simply Apple going after PC buyers with a similar message from the iPod world - it just works and does what you want it to, oh and of course it's compatible too - with anything (Camera, Office, etc).

I was recently "told" by a reasonably intelligent, computer-using person that Macs could now run Word and Powerpoint for instance. He was quite amazed at this revelation. What he was referring to was Bootcamp! The fact that Word and Powerpoint have been available on the Mac BEFORE being available on a PC was completely unknown to him (and still is as I was too gobsmacked to correct him and walking out the door). His view obviously was that Mac users could not enjoy such standard software before now - they must be just toys.

I think these ads therefore will work on the level they're intended - not to those of us who understand the differences between OS's, hardware, software, networking etc. but for those (the vast majority) who buy a computer to use it and enjoy it. They use Microsoft in the positive, and they hit on all the areas in which the integrated Apple experience delivers something that a separated OS + hardware strategy never can.

I don't know whether these ads will actually make it to the UK and whether they'd be shown in the same form (the characters are quite American). But this is certainly the type of approach Apple should adopt (much better than the "Intel chip being set free" earlier this year) as the complete picture starts to unfold.

What do you think about the ads?