Mac In The Firing Line

A vinceunlimited blog article from 14 May 2007

Wherein I discover Apple Products

This is the screen that turned me into a Mac user. Most just get there from using their iPhone

I’m in the long process of converting one of my bedrooms into a home office and central to this new environment will be a shiny new PC.

I have been looking for a machine that hits the right aesthetic notes as well as performing magnificently.

My major problem area was finding a decent screen and I stumbled into a corker in the new Apple Store that someone kindly set up in my nearest town.

This got me thinking all Mac and I’ve decided that I would suit a quirky set up.

Now, whilst I await latest product news, I am getting all keen and buying up all the Mac magazines and trawling the website constantly.

As a result I’m very familiar with the Mac adverts [both US and UK versions].

Naturally, being me, I immediately turned my attention to thinking up a new ad.  As with all the other ads it opens with the familiar ‘PC’ and ‘Mac’ characters.

PC: “Hello, I’m PC and I’m very popular, though I sometimes don’t get on with everyone.”

Mac: “Hi, I’m Mac and although not as commonplace as you PC, I get on with anyone.  Straight out of the box.  This makes me smugly better.”

A third party joins.

PC: “But, who is this Mac?  I can’t seem to make it out.  You’re so cleverly compatible Mac, tell me who it is.”

Mac: “No. Sorry.  At a loss there for once.”  [To third party]  “Who are you?”

Third party: “Hello, I’m Amstrad emailer.”

Mac: “Nope.”

PC: “Does not compute.”

PC/Mac [together]: “You’re fired!”

Author: Vince Poynter
From the Blog and Geek sections of the vinceunlimited.co.uk website dated 6 Jul 2018
First published on 14 May 2007
The advertising campaign for Apple at the time was the “Get a Mac” campaign and used two contrasting characters.  The informally dressed Mac character, performed by Justin Long, appeared cool and composed and usually got the better of the more stuffy, formal performance of John Hodgman as the PC character.  The campaign was created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab.  A UK version of many of the ads were re-shot using Robert Webb and David Mitchell
The image is of the author’s first converted bedroom Apple Mac set up showing the MacMini on top of a matching back-up drive powering a 23″ Mac monitor displaying many photo icons, coupled to an optical mouse, printer and small Bose stereo speakers.  An iPod Classic and webcam are on one of the shelves.  The image was taken by the author, in Jul 2008 and was added in Version 5.147 6 Jul 2018