Apple blasts Microsoft, Windows Vista in two new ‘Get a Mac’ ads (with video)
MacDailyNews — Apple blasts Microsoft, Windows Vista in two new ‘Get a Mac’ ads (with video) Sunday, October 19, 2008 - 07:45 PM EDT Apple has begun airing two new "Get a Mac" TV commercials on U.S television networks that each blast Microsoft and their Windows Vista product. Apple's "Bean Counter" ad looks at how Microsoft plans to "fix" Vista (throw $300 million at advertising) while "V Word" has PC trying to bleep out every mention of the word "Vista." Apple Web Ad: Bean Counter Direct link to video here ...

Apple Unveils Two New ‘Get a Mac’ Ads, Bean Counter and V Word
MacBlogz - One Stop Apple News — Apple has unveiled two new ‘Get a Mac’ commercials. The ads, titled “Bean Counter” and “V Word” both slam Microsoft and Windows Vista, along with Microsoft’s $300 million ad campaign. The first commercial shown below directly slams Microsoft for spending nearly $300 million on an advertising campaign, in which Jerry Seinfeld was used to try and “change Vista’s image.” Unfortunately for Microsoft, “Vista [still] looks like it could turn out to be one of the greatest missteps in tech history.” Bean ...

Mischievous Monday Mornings: The Gloves Come Off!
The Next Web — What did you expect? Did you think that Apple would back off Microsoft after their Seinfeld fiasco? Nah, not Apple. They are back with a vengeance! The new ads are aggressive, below the belt, dark and funny. Check em out: Bean Counter V Word Off the Air Pizza Box ...

New "I'm a Mac" Ads Stop Attacking Vista, Start Attacking Microsoft's Marketing [Advertising]
Gizmodo — Apple and Microsoft have been having this bizarre pissing match for a few years now, but this new set of ads marks confirms what previous volleys seemed to imply: these companies have no intention of actually talking about their products. Microsoft's feel-good "I'm Joe the Plumber and I'm a PC" campaign was about as substantive as Apple's disingenuous and outdated attacks on its opponent's software, but this new set of ads is really nothing more than a vague indictment of Microsoft's marketing strategy. Maybe that'll fly with tech news hounds, but most people who see these on TV ...

I’m a PC: We don’t say the “V” word any more
Hardware 2.0 — October 20th, 2008 I’m a PC: We don’t say the “V” word any more Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 5:17 am Categories: Apple , Microsoft , Marketing , Ad industry Tags: Advertisement , PC , Apple Inc. , Apple Mac OS , Operating Systems , Software , Adrian Kingsley-Hughes , Microsoft Windows Vista , Microsoft Corp. New Apple ads are out, and rather than telling us anything about Apple or Mac OS they poke fun at Microsoft’s latest ad campaign. Here, take a look: Bean Counter - This ad takes a poke at Microsoft’s $300 million ad campaign. I ...

New Apple Ads Target Microsoft's $350M Pro 'PC' Ad Campaign
PC World Latest Technology News — Apple bites back with new 'Get a Mac' ads that poke fun at Microsoft's huge $350M 'Windows Not Walls' ad campaign.

New Apple Ads Target Microsoft's $350M Pro 'PC' Ad Campaign
Today @ PC World — Apple bites back with new 'Get a Mac' ads that poke fun at Microsoft's huge $350M 'Windows Not Walls' ad campaign.

Apple's new ads: Where's the Mac?
TechBlog — Apple's shiny MacBooks: The lure of a new machine | Main October 20, 2008 Apple's new ads: Where's the Mac? Over the weekend, Apple released two more ads in its now-classic "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" series. Both are interesting because they are clearly responses to Microsoft's own ads defending itself against the Apple series. Or, as Harry McCracken cleverly put it on his Technologizer blog: Apple Ads About Microsoft Ads About Apple Ads About Microsoft One of the new ones, titled "Bean Counter", is quite funny. John Hodgman, as the PC character, counts money to be used either for fixing Windows Vista or running TV ads. The ...

Apple Shoots Spitballs Back at Microsoft in New Ads
Wired: Epicenter — Apple is taking a few more potshots at Microsoft in two new "Mac vs. Pc" ads that went live yesterday. "Bean Counter" (above) takes Microsoft to task for spending $300 million to advertise a highly criticized product (Vista) instead of fixing its flaws. Then there's “The V Word,” which tweaks Microsoft for trying to sell a product (Vista) without mentioning it by name. With both Apple and Microsoft directly referencing each other in their ads, this volley is getting to be a bit of insider baseball. Apple has long been ...

Apple Takes Off Gloves, Beats Vista to Pulp
Wired: Gadget Lab — The fight is officially on. For a long time now, Apple's Get a Mac ads have subtly and amusingly been making digs at Windows, although they normally use the more generic term "PC". Now, after Microsoft finally took the bait and released its own "I'm a PC" ad – a tacit admission of the Apple campaign's success – Apple has gone for the throat: The two new spots have done away with subtlety entirely, but the humor is still there. "V Word" (above) mocks Microsoft's move to promoting Windows 7 instead of Vista. The other, "Bean Counter" (below), sees John Hodgman's ...

Apple Fires Back at Microsoft "I'm a PC" Ads
Gearlog — Weren't things personal enough already? Apple has responded directly to the recent spate of Microsoft ads, which were in turn a direct response to Apple's "Get a Mac" ads. Confusing, no? Cupertino today came out with a couple of new ads aimed at Redmond's $300 million ad push. The first, revolves around a visored John Hodgman divvying up a rather disproportionate amount of funds between advertising and fixing Vista. The second, seemingly a shot at the campaign's failure to mention the OS by name, has Hodgman ...

New Mac ads respond to Windows ads responding to Mac ads
Boy Genius Report — First is was hilarious. The Mac, Justin Long, all cool and hip with his witty retorts and his, umm, jeans. The PC, John Hodgman, all dorky with his thick glasses and his ties. Oh lordy that PC, how silly he was with all of his dumb ideas and his inferior OS. After a while, Microsoft decided to respond to the commercials with a run of its own. “I’m a PC”, responding to “I’m a Mac”, highlighted the tremendous reach of the Windows OS and the millions of people in all walks of life who use Windows. Ok, super. Can we move on now? Oh no - now a fresh crop of ...

New hard-hitting Apple ads go straight for Microsoft’s jugular (with video)
MacDailyNews — New hard-hitting Apple ads go straight for Microsoft’s jugular (with video) Monday, October 20, 2008 - 11:20 AM EDT "The new Apple 'Bean Counter' ad goes straight for the Microsoft jugular, no messing about at all. Answering the question 'you think that amount of money will fix Vista?' the PC punch line is a resounding 'no, you are right, I'll put it all in advertising,'" Davey Winder reports for iTWire. "It's a very clever twist of the knife that builds on the less than successful promotion of Vista in the marketplace and amongst high profile customers," Winder writes. "While Microsoft attempts to imitate Apple and build a friendly, lifestyle ...

Apple Goes McCain On Microsoft With Mocking Attack Ads
TechCrunch — The advertising war between Apple and Microsoft continues. Apple’s latest TV spots mock Microsoft’s $350 million ad campaign for Windows Vista, suggesting that some of that money would be better spent fixing Vista. The ad is funny (see above), but it does seem petty and elitist. After all, the new Microsoft ads got much better once they dumped Jerry Seinfeld as a spokesperson and went with the everyman “I’m a PC” rallying cry (which itself was a response to Apple’s long-running campaign mocking PCs). It is also ...

New Mac Ads Get Seinfeldian On Microsoft
The Inquisitr » Technology — In a fitting twist, Apple’s latest ads bring a Seinfeldian element of self-awareness to the campaign against Microsoft. The new spots, released today, strike me as being quite akin to the “Seinfeld” show’s season four plot line in which Jerry and George create a show about nothing for NBC. In Apple’s case, the company has created a commercial about a commercial that was about their commercials. Still with me? Maybe it’d be easier just to watch. The first spot directly takes on the cash spent in Microsoft’s Seinfeld-started $300 million campaign: ...

New Apple ads mock Microsoft ad campaign
The Microsoft Blog — Two new Apple ads out today take scathing shots at Microsoft's $300 million ad campaign. In the first, the 'PC guy' sorts cash between two piles -- a towering one for advertising and a tiny one for 'fixing Vista': The second -- titled the 'V Word' -- notes that Microsoft has decided to emphasize the word 'Windows' rather than the 'V Word,' 'Vista':

Who is cheap and expensive at the same time?? Apple!
Redmond Pie — The latest ‘Get a Mac’ ads from Apple are really misleading and pathetic to say the least. The first ad, titled ‘Bean Counter’, makes fun of the $300 million “I’m a PC” marketing campaign, while the second ad, ‘V Word’, makes fun of Microsoft for not using the word ‘Vista’, but just ‘Windows’ in their advertising campaigns. In reply to the first ad, a few things I want to point out: Apple has as big an advertising budget as any other company you know. And most of it is used to mock Microsoft and Vista, instead of marketing OS X features in the ‘Get a Mac’ ads. Apple have yet to fix many iPhone and Leopard issues. ...

Apple to Microsoft: You Can’t Put Frosting on Manure
Digital Daily — In the end, Apple (AAPL) just couldn’t help itself. Microsoft’s (MSFT) new “I’m a PC … and I’ve been made into a stereotype” ad campaign was just too wide and deserving a target. Apple could no more ignore it, than Steve Jobs could hold back his pitching arm upon finding Steve Ballmer sitting above the dunk tank at the Santa Clara County Fair. So it was inevitable, really, that we’d see Apple take a few potshots at Microsoft’s “transformative” new “made on a Mac” marketing campaign in two new “Mac vs. Pc” ads that debuted over the weekend. The first, ...

Poll: What Do You Think of Apple’s New Attack Ads?
SitePoint — The increasingly hostile climate around the US presidential election seems to have seeped into the blossoming Apple vs. Microsoft ad war. The latest salvo comes from Apple, with a pair of new ads in their successful “Get a Mac” campaign that casts the Daily Show’s John Hodgman as the nerdy, out of touch PC and actor Justin Long as the hip, young Mac. The problem with the new ads is that rather than pointing out problems with Windows or talking up what’s great about OS X, they instead take aim at Microsoft’s new $300 million advertising campaign — and not on merit, but on, er, price ...

Has Apple Successfully Lured Microsoft Into an Ad War?
Byte of the Apple - BusinessWeek — Has Apple Successfully Lured Microsoft Into an Ad War? Posted by: Peter Burrows on October 20 If you hadn’t noticed, Apple’s “I’m a Mac” ads have been strangely absent from TV of late. During the baseball playoffs, I noticed only iPhone ads. I know the folks at Microsoft have noticed this as well, and have wondered whether it has anything to do with their new “I’m a PC” ads. After all, the Apple ads seemed to get scarce soon after Microsoft’s campaign launched. The goal of Microsoft’s ads were to stop letting Apple define the Windows brand with the TV-viewing public. But if Redmond thought it had successfully gotten Apple to ...

Apple mocks Microsoft's new Windows naming scheme in new ads
Ubergizmo — Apple has two ads that pokes Windows right in (left?) eye... Recently Microsoft has decided to name the next Windows, "Windows 7" (instead of "XP" or "Vista"). Secondly, you might have noticed the Microsoft Vista ad campaign on TV (and elsewhere) recently as they have put quite a lot of money in the operation (building the Vista brand only to shelve it for the next windows). Apple's point is: "it's not going to fix Vista" - ouch. I'm not a Mac OS X lover or a Vista hater, but I have to admit that Apple is clearly outmarketing Microsoft. Add a comment | From: Apple ...

Apple's rebuttal chides Microsoft for not saying the 'V' word
Betanews — Apple's rebuttal chides Microsoft for not saying the 'V' word By Tim Conneally , BetaNews October 20, 2008, 3:28 PM Thanks to the depth of coverage given to Microsoft's "Windows, Not Walls" advertising campaign, Apple has come forward with its own ads addressing the palaver. Humorous and to the point, Apple's advertisements echo comments frequently heard throughout the blogosphere regarding Microsoft's $300 million "Life Without Walls" campaign: "That money could have been used on fixing Vista," and "Why don't the ads address Vista directly?" As with the whole series of "Mac vs. PC" ads, it is a direct attack on Microsoft, ...

Video: Apple Responds To Microsoft's "I'm A PC" Ads
Homotron.net — Ah, we knew it was coming. Microsoft finally deigned to acknowledge Apple as a direct competitor and launched a counter-attack with their recent $300 million ad campaign targeted specifically at combating Apple's "I'm a Mac" ads, and now Apple has responded with their own counter-counter-attack. You didn't think Apple would take things lying down would you? (Well, sometimes, at night, I do think about Apple taking things lying down, but that's my own little fantasy...) Two ads have been released targeting Microsoft's campaign. The first, seen below, directly targets the much ballyhooed $300 million Microsoft ...

New Apple ads savage Microsoft's $300m Windows campaign
AppleInsider — By Aidan Malley Published: 06:15 PM EST Not content with just criticizing Windows Vista itself, Apple has launched a pair of new TV spots that accuse Microsoft of launching its ad blitz to distract the public from the problems with its software. The two ads, which first began airing this weekend, continue to feature John Hodgman and Justin Long in their familiar PC and Mac roles but question the direct lack of references to Microsoft's own product. The first, "Bean Counter," is the most direct and tackles Microsoft's well-publicized $300 million marketing campaign for Windows, which already includes $10 million just for a set of ads ...

Apple Mocks Vista in New “I’m a Mac” Commercials
Mobilewhack.com — Apple didn’t fail to respond to Microsoft latest commercials by bringing in their own “I’m a Mac” campaign. Entitled “Bean Counter” (above) and “V Word” (below) the new videos are way funnier than what Gates and Seinfeld tried to pull off. Apple takes aim at Microsoft 300 million add campaign suggesting that that money could have been invested in fixing Vista. During last Tuesday’s keynote, Apple’s officials counted the failure of Vista as one of the elements that helped them increase MacBooks sales. What do you think about the new commercials? Tags: Apple , Commercial , microsoft , ...

Why 'I'm a PC' is a Brand Failure
Microsoft Watch — October 20, 2008 7:45 PM Why 'I'm a PC' is a Brand Failure I was cautious about the approach, right from the start. "The 'I'm a PC' commercials are sad Microsoft acknowledgment about how smaller rival Apple outmarketed the giant," I blogged one month ago. "Apple set the agenda by using PC to identify Windows." arrow.gif GOT A TIP OR RUMOR? Rather than promote the Windows brand, as the commercials should, they promote "the PC" in response to Apple's "Get a Mac" ads, which begin with: "Hello, I'm a Mac. And I'm a PC." The "I'm a PC" commercials don't say much about Windows (Well, there's a logo) and nothing about Vista. As ...

We Don't Say the "V" Word Around Here.
Mac|Life all RSS Feed — ad Apple has finally responded to Microsoft’s $300 million image makeover campaign with two new ads tackling the “V” word, and Microsoft’s interesting marketing strategies (Churros with Seinfeld, anyone?). The ads target Microsoft’s apparent hesitation to refer to Windows Vista by its full name because of its issues. “Not saying the word Vista is not the same as fixing Vista’s problems,” preaches Justin Long. Both commercials poke fun at Microsoft’s attempt to redefine itself in this cruel world of Mac vs. PC. Truth is, there are so many negative impressions of Vista that not even $300 million could turn back time. Check out the ads ...

Videos: New Mac Ads Attack Microsoft Marketing
The UberReview — As always, the latest round of anti-Microsoft ads from Apple make compelling viewing. One more after the jump. [Gizmodo] Related posts Video: Mac vs. PC, UK Style (4) Recommended Specs for GTAIV PC (2) Windows Seven Next Year? (0) Windows 7, a Snazzy New Calculator and More (1) What Happens when the Most Boring Game on Earth Becomes a Movie (2)

Get a Mac commercials: “Bean Counter” and “V Word”
2dayBlog - Technology Journal, New Gadget everyday! — [image] Apple has just released two “Get a Mac” ads recently, the Bean Counter and V Word. They just wanted to know why Microsoft is spending so much money in advertising Vista rather than fixing it. Check it out after the break. Bean Counter V word [via Techeblog ...

New Apple Ads poke fun at Microsoft ads “I’m a PC: we don’t say the “V” word any more”
D' Technology Weblog — New Apple ads are out, and rather than telling us anything about Apple or Mac OS they poke fun at Microsoft’s latest ad campaign. It doesn’t matter whether you like Vista or hate Vista, the fact that the name is tarnished is now inescapable. If Microsoft’s Mojave Experiment proved anything, it was how toxic the “V” word had become. And Microsoft knows this, hence the focus on the word “Windows” in the latest series of ads, and the decision to name the next version of the OS Windows 7. Here, take a look: ...

New Apple Ads Employ McCain-like Tactics
Fast Company - Technology — 12:49 pm | 1 recommendation | 1 comment New Apple Ads Employ McCain-like Tactics | posted by Saabira Chaudhuri Apple's continuing onslaught against Microsoft is getting old. The company's latest anti-Microsoft ads come off as more bullying than funny. With all the backlash McCain's campaign has been facing with their anti-Obama tactics, one might think Apple would be wary about playing so blatantly dirty. Yet the company continues in its attempts to highlight Vista as an inherently flawed product. The first, shows John Hodgman (who plays the PC), dividing up stacks of dollar bills into piles for either "advertising" or to "fix Vista." ...

Measuring Apple’s ‘Get a Mac’ viral video response to Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ campaign
MacDailyNews — Measuring Apple’s ‘Get a Mac’ viral video response to Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ campaign Tuesday, October 28, 2008 - 06:25 PM EDT "Microsoft has directly responded to Apple’s wildly successful 'Get a Mac' ads with the $300 million 'I'm a PC' campaign (well, after a brief but intriguing attempt to team Microsoft founder Bill Gates with comic legend Jerry Seinfeld)," Matt Cutler reports for Visible measures Corp. 'The "I'm a PC' campaign hit in mid-September and it took Apple exactly a month to respond with three pointedly anti-Vista 'Get a Mac' ads: Apple's "Bean Counter ad: Apple's "V Word" ad: Apple's "Bake Sale" ad: Cutler reports, "To see if ...

News Bits Goes to the Movies
Contentinople: — Where do kids go for their online movie information these days? Surprisingly enough, it's not Moviefone , which is owned by AOL LLC , or even Fandango , which is owned by Comcast Interactive Media (CIM Labs) . Give up? According to a Nielsen NRG poll, the No. 1 online destination for moviegoers aged 15 to 24 is actually MySpace . According to the poll, 46 percent of young movie watchers stopped by MySpace, versus 26 percent for Yahoo, 18 percent for Fandango , and 12 percent for AOL's Moviefone . But the social networking site's hold on young moviegoers may be even more ...

Microsoft previews Mojave, er, Windows 7; unceremoniously dumps ‘Vista’ name
MacDailyNews — Microsoft previews Mojave, er, Windows 7; unceremoniously dumps ‘Vista’ name Wednesday, October 29, 2008 - 12:00 PM EDT "Microsoft introduced what it said would be a slimmer and more responsive version of its Windows operating system on Tuesday, while unceremoniously dropping the brand name Vista for the new product," John Markoff reports for The New York Times. "The new version will instead be branded Windows 7... The company did not say when it would sell Windows 7 to the public," Markoff reports. "After almost two years, Windows Vista is still getting a lackluster reception from consumers and facing a relentless marketing barrage from ...