The “Get a Mac” campaign was a wildly popular series of commercials where an Apple computer (an affable, young creative-professional) chatted with another computer named “PC”1 (a stuffy, middle-aged pencil-pusher) about the many virtues of owning a Macintosh. It ran continuously for three years, which is why there were able to drop this Christmas-flavored one in 2007, when the computer-buying public was already deeply familiar with the characters:
A large part of what makes the ads work is the effortless chemistry between Justin Long and John Hodgeman, but they also tap into a list of long-standing grievances against Microsoft Windows and the computers that ran it. PC’s were laughably vulnerable to viruses, often required help from overseas tech support to set up, and were loaded full of bloatware before they even left the factory. By this point in history, most people were familiar with the frustrations of PC ownership, and Apple was selling a computer that just worked. The campaign transformed the Mac’s reputation from an expensive gadget for artsy weirdos into the sexy new standard for what a computer should be.
Then we stopped using computers altogether. At least this kind of computer. The iPhone kicked off a gradual shift away from a stationary box in our office that we log into and out of, to the sleek little rectangle that buzzes against our thighs, connecting us 24-7 to cyberspace. Sure, we still use traditional, stand-alone Macs and PC’s at our jobs and certain for specific tasks2, but the computers we live on are our phones. This ad hit our culture at a time when we were way more passionate and opinionated about our desktop computers. Watching it reminds me of a time of my life when I could choose to be online or not. I miss it, almost as much as I miss the banter between these two personable computers.3
I’m a software professional. I know that PC stands for Personal Computer, a category that applies to both of the characters in this ad. I also know that when I pointed that out in 2006, it made me sound like a massive dork.
Title: Get a Mac. Company: Apple. Year: 2006. Agency: TBWA.