New Apple Ads Have Good Time With The 'V Word'
In two new ads, called "The V Word" and "The Beancounter," Apple unleashes zeitgeist-fueled criticism at Microsoft for trying to cover the flaws of its Vista operating system with an advertising campaign. The criticism in each of the Apple commercials centers around the idea that Microsoft is trying to obfuscate the problems inherent in Vista rather than fixing them.
In Apple's commercial "The V Word," the Mac and PC guy stand on the icon white background discussing PC's new red button. When Mac asks PC about the red button, the Microsoft proxy tells the somewhat scornful Mac that his company is no longer saying the word "Vista" because there are so many problems.
Instead, every time the "V" word comes up, PC pushes a red button that buzzes, blocking out the sound.
From here, predictable hijinx occur, with Mac saying "Vista" repeatedly while the PC pushes the button, drowning out the word. The idea, PC posits, is that by saying "Windows"— a term with less baggage—customers will forget the problems that are frustrating users of the operating system.
In "The Beancounter," PC sits at a desk separating a mountain of cash into two separate piles. PC sets the majority of the bills to one side saying, "Advertising," while occasionally setting some of the money into a smaller pile while saying, "Fix Vista." PC and Mac then have a brief conversation about how Microsoft is spending its money hiding its problems instead of fixing the issues with Vista. At the end of the commercial, PC decides to just put all the money in the advertising pile, leaving nothing on the table to fix the problems with the Windows operating system.
Oh Apple, with your clever, innuendo-laced advertising.
The two latest ads from Jobs and Co. are a clear response to Microsoft's $300 million ad campaign that launched last month. The first couple of commercials featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld adventuring through daily life, connecting with real people, buying shoes, eating churros and wondering whether or not the next generation of computers would be moist and chewy "like cake" were nearly exclusively panned across the Web by bloggers and the media alike.
The second round of Microsoft's campaign is targeted more directly at the PC vs. Mac ads that Apple has been running for years. The spots feature everyday people and Microsoft employees tagging buildings, running data centers and swimming with great white sharks, all while proclaiming "I'm a PC."
While the Microsoft ads are working on changing the perception of Microsoft, Apple's criticism that Vista is a broken operating system still seems to be sound and resonates with consumers. Whether or not the commercials will sway potential customers to one side or the other remains to be seen, but Apple's ad campaign has been successful to this point.
And more to the point, the criticisms Apple are lobbing at Microsoft still seem to be valid.
Watch the latest Apple commercials in high def on Apple's Website.