| OS X vs. Windows: The Advertising Competition |
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Page 1 of 2 Courtesy of OSWeekly.com (Column) - Advertising sure has changed quite a bit over the years. For larger companies, the days of nonstop corny (but memorable) jingles have pretty much gone the way of the dodo, although you'll still hear a few from time to time. Print, radio, and television advertising has had to adapt to our culture, and observing these trends helps you to put a finger on the pulse of what the United States and other countries all over the world are currently into. I'm sure you'd agree that advertising is built to please our senses. If we like what we see and hear, then the outcome is sure to be favorable, and we'll probably be motivated to look into what the advertiser is offering. Advertising budgets are being inflated to keep up with the expectations of the viewing public, and this has led to flashy special effects, trendy music, and celebrity appearances. Technology companies certainly aren't exempt from putting their best foot forward in this regard, because since they're providing the latest and greatest in amazing technology, you would also obviously expect their ads to mesmerize you, as well. For many years, the trend has been to over deliver in hopes that these ads will inspire strong passion for the products in the viewers, but Apple has recently started an advertising campaign for the Mac and other specific features of OS X that makes the point that if your message is strong enough, you don't need any of the other fluff. First of all, you likely remember at least one of the iPod ads that feature human silhouettes dancing in front of a brightly colored screen while they rock out to the music on their hip digital music devices. There's no doubt that these ads affect your senses, but I'm not referring to them. No, I'm making reference to the Get a Mac campaign that features two people standing in front of a white backdrop and talking. In fact, you may even recognize the two individuals from their other work. John Hodgman (The Daily Show) represents the PC, and Justin Long (Dodgeball) represents the Mac. As is also the case with Apple's previous Switch campaign, it's immediately evident that anyone with a video camera and some simple editing software can recreate these ads with absolutely no budget. This "copycatability" isn't exactly something that you'd expect from a company the size of Apple, but it certainly encourages filmmakers to make their own parodies, which will only solidify the reputation of the ads. If they're worth copying, then they're surely worth watching.
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