Filed under: Humor, Cult of Mac, Found Footage
Clever Get a Mac sidebar ads
Apple has some clever new Get a Mac sidebar ads running on various sites around the net, including ZDNet. In them, PC repeatedly hits an emergency reset lever (attempting to clear negative banners about Vista) to less than good effect. The humorless sort are quick to point out that the quotes PC resets don't come from actual reviews, but instead from op-eds and the like. Personally, this seems like a distinction without difference. The point is that Vista has not been that well-received in the tech world and Apple is right on target about that in this series of ads. (As to various problems with Leopard, well, that's for a another time).
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.[via Gizmodo]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Poon Tangy said 10:03PM on 3-24-2008
These ads have been out for the better part of half a year now.
Just so you know.
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Chris said 9:13PM on 3-24-2008
Apple has run similar ads before. These are new versions.
Just so you know.
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Zac Bedell said 9:37PM on 3-24-2008
Wow... That's annoying. Yay for AdBlock!
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Dan S. said 9:24AM on 3-25-2008
Wow, that's annoying!
Yay for /etc/hosts and Privoxy!
LD said 10:10PM on 3-24-2008
What is a review really but an op-ed?
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RWhitney said 11:03PM on 3-24-2008
Welcome to 2008, TUAW- glad you joined up!
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Mat Lu said 11:08PM on 3-24-2008
I swear. Apple has been running sidebar ads for a while. They haven't been running THESE sidebar ads for that long! It's the same deal when they release a new commercial in the Get a Mac campaign and we post on it.
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Chris said 10:28AM on 3-25-2008
And thank you for doing so. I enjoy the ads but I use Adblock so I never get to see them (and don't want to while browsing).
Ed said 11:22PM on 3-24-2008
They've been running these since before Christmas...
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farfisa said 12:39PM on 3-25-2008
Creative use of the ad space and well done. But unless you're surfing around looking for funny ads it's still really annoying.
They ran one like that on Engadget a while back and it got a huge response. Mostly from people wanting them to never host an ad like that again.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/20/the-elephant-sized-ad-in-the-room/
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Casey said 12:58PM on 3-25-2008
Stuff like this is partly why I WON'T be buying a new Mac anytime soon.
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david said 4:21PM on 3-25-2008
@Casey- Yeah, right. Like you had your credit card out and were all excited to get a new MBP, and then you saw this ad and just decided it just wasn't worth it.
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Casey said 12:58AM on 3-26-2008
You're right. I wasn't literally setting in front of my PC with apple.com open thinking, "Maybe I better check TUAW one more time." The point I was trying to make is that, by using these tactics in their ads, Apple is alienating the very people they are trying to adopt.
Why should I purchase anything from a company that thinks I'm such a looser?
david said 2:29AM on 3-26-2008
Casey. Forgive me. I was checking TUAW during a sucky time at work. Let me be more articulate. I have been using Mac products since I was four. I would never consider using anything else as my primary comp unless Apple really takes a dive. I'm just tired of having to defend what I consider a wonderful OS and hardware manufacturer from weird attacks that really have no relevance to why I choose to pay the Apple Tax year after year. Weird ads? I don't care. I can't run every random piece of software? Don't care, either. If I have to (which I do, occasionally), I boot to the XP Partition. I have done and will probably continue to recommend Apple products to everyone that I come in contact with. It makes my life easier in not having to support Windows every four days with my elderly relatives. Bottom line, I think Apple rocks. Infallible? No. But I'll be there hitting the refresh button on the live webcast of the next Stevenote like a rat addicted to cocaine.
Casey said 12:05PM on 3-26-2008
"But I'll be there hitting the refresh button on the live webcast of the next Stevenote like a rat addicted to cocaine."
Me too :O)
...except for the cocaine part.