Microsoft vs. Apple: Does Advertising Really Make a Difference?
In 2006, Apple launched its now-famous “Get a Mac” ad campaign, featuring two characters—“Mac” and
“PC”— sparring over the advantages of the Apple Mac versus a Microsoft Windows-based PC. The ads
portrayed Mac as a young, hip, laid back guy in a hoodie, whereas PC was a stodgy, befuddled, error-prone,
middle-aged nerd in baggie khakis, a brown sport coat, and unfashionable glasses. Not surprisingly, adroit and
modern Mac always got the best of outdated and inflexible PC. Over the years, Apple unleashed a nonstop
barrage of Mac vs. PC ads that bashed Windows-based machines—and their owners—as outmoded and
dysfunctional.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5z0Ia5jDt4
The “Get a Mac” campaign produced results. When the campaign began, Mac held only a 2–3 percent share
of the U.S. computer market. Less than two years later, its share had more than doubled to 6–8 percent and
growing. The cool campaign also helped boost customer value perceptions of Apple computers. Even though
its computers were widely viewed as more expensive, at one point, Apple scored a whopping 70 on the
BrandIndex (which tracks daily consumer perceptions of brand value on a scale of 100 to 100). Microsoft,
meanwhile, floundered below zero.
Good advertising wasn’t the only thing contributing to Apple’s success. The popularity of its iPod, iPhone, and
other new products was also converting customers to Mac computers. But the smug ads were consistently
hitting their mark. Microsoft needed to do something dramatic to turn the advertising tide. So, two years after
the Apple “Get a Mac” onslaught began, conservative Microsoft hired the anything–but-conservative
advertising agency Crispin Porter Bogusky, which is known for its award-winning but cheeky and irreverent
campaigns for clients such as Burger King and Coke Zero. Microsoft and Crispin made for an odd mix of
corporate personalities. Even Rob Reilly, executive creative director for Crispin, worried a bit about the
partnership. After all, Crispin itself was a Mac shop through and through. Still, Reilly was enthused about
creating a campaign to blunt Apple’s attacks and restore Microsoft’s image as an innovative industry leader.
To break from the past, Microsoft and Crispin first launched a set of “teaser ads” designed to “get the
conversation going.” In the ads, comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Microsoft founder Bill Gates spent time together,
shopping for shoes, eating ice cream, and exchanging irrelevant banter, all with little or no mention of
Microsoft Windows. Although they made few selling points, the humorous, well-received ads put a more
human face on the giant software company.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11NOblvuEpU
