Filed under: Apple
New Get a Mac ad: Time Machine
Apple is airing a new Get a Mac ad today (thanks to everyone who sent this in) all about Time Machine. The ad, as you might be able to guess from the shot above, features a number of Macs who quickly explain what Time Machine is to a slightly confused PC.
I've gone on record saying that Apple should tout specific features in their ads for Macs, and this ad is a very good start.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Chris McCorkle said 3:51PM on 1-13-2008
Funny, simple, and good. Not the best I've seen, but I enjoyed it as I usually do.
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Mabedan said 3:55PM on 1-13-2008
it's good :) no mocking, and it just telling about a feature inside a mac, its operating system.
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quandmeme said 6:39PM on 1-13-2008
Exactly, thanks. I'm glad they are talking about features. Anyone can take shots at the market leader.
ho ho ho said 4:03PM on 1-13-2008
its so close to being right...
when the mac lifts that file up - he should have passed it up the line to the most current mac...
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ajprice said 4:07PM on 1-13-2008
Hehe the CGI and green screen guys would have loved working that one out.
Nice advert though.
Sam said 4:14PM on 1-13-2008
but...Vista also has backup capabilities...
just sayin'.
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Quine said 4:36PM on 1-13-2008
actually, vista has rollback capabilities. As far as I've seen it has no built-in versioning style backup. There was a good article about it on appleinsider in their road to leopard series on time machine.
Sam said 4:42PM on 1-13-2008
yeah it has rollback, but also that whole 'shadow copy' feature, where you can get individual files back. Which is exactly what Apple is tooting its horn with. So I'm pretty sure they both do the same thing, but Leopard just puts it into a more simple and elegant package.
And I'm no Vista fanboy, but Apple does sometimes exaggerate things a tad in their ads.
Quine said 5:49PM on 1-13-2008
Ah, didn't see that feature. However, it's only available in the expensive versions, not the one the vast majority of users get, so it's not really tout-able or even comparable to TM imo.
I definitely agree that apple exaggerates in their ads! some of the things they say are downright absurd.
Joel I. Johnson said 7:23PM on 1-13-2008
Shadow Copying is also available on Windows 2003 Server.
Sam said 9:30PM on 1-13-2008
and vista ultimate, business and enterprise.
ho ho ho said 6:30AM on 1-14-2008
to those saying Apple exaggerate in their advertising...
erm... hello...?
as someone who has worked in advertising for 15 years - that is the purpose of advertising. you take your truth / feature - and make out like you are the greatest. look at any commercial for any product.... EVER!
jeeze. to think how many times you must have been hoodwinked by advertising. you are an advertising mans dream.
Sam said 12:00PM on 1-14-2008
I'm not an idiot ho ho ho, I understand advertising.
I'm just letting letting people know that Windows has a similar feature and Macs just made it look more elegant.
not that theres anything wrong with that.
Dylan said 8:17PM on 1-13-2008
haha. Funny commercial. I enjoyed it alot. I definitely agree with the other poster about passing the file/folder up the line.
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Darren said 4:26PM on 1-13-2008
I disagree. I find the ads that make fun of Windows' faults are much more fun and entertaining.
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Mabedan said 5:53PM on 1-13-2008
fun? i totally agree, fun for us, mac fans.
but imagine yourself as a pc user, you feel like apple is mocking you and saying "you who use a pc, you're so stupid!!!!" it's not so agreeable. but it makes us laugh
and after all, mocking isn't good, in anyway, it's funny, but not mature
Darren said 9:04PM on 1-13-2008
I don't have to imagine being a PC user, I am one, and like most PC users I'm fully aware of Windows' stengths and weaknesses.
This may come as a shock to you, but the overwhelming majority of home computers users feel no particular allegiance to their computer or software vender. Most people just plain don't like computers, and especially don't like their own computer; to watch these people use a computer is to watch them suffer. And they know they're suffering, but they're resigned to fact that computers just plain suck.
I take my parents as an example of the average home computer user. These "Get a Mac" ads are effective because 1. they're funny, charming, and memorable, and 2. they perfectly illustrate the many problems my parents have had over the last 5 years. When I visit my parents and one of these ads come on they don't feel offended, instead they ask me "Should I get one of those?", to which I reply "it depends".
I'm increasingly annoyed with these people who feel they need to apologize for Apple's ads because they're apparently smug and offensive. They're not. The only people who are offended by these ads are Microsoft geeks, the type of idiots who are personally offended by anything Apple-related. Let them be offended.
Hansi said 4:28PM on 1-13-2008
It's good in that it isn't as smug as some of the others, but it is a little ironic that this feature has been in Windows for years, and arguably is a better one than Time Machine.
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Quine said 4:39PM on 1-13-2008
where? seriously, I tried so hard to find usable version control+backup in windows xp and I found nothing of the sort. Vista's an unusable mess imo (and trust me, I've used it hundreds of hours) so that doesn't count.
Dewey said 4:36PM on 1-13-2008
I like this one better than the last few. Bragging about being better reviewed and whatnot was not really what I was expecting from these commercials. I too like them expressing the features within the OS.
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