[Macworld]

Post your comments for Apple continues to bash Microsoft with ?Bake Sale? ad here

[Schneb]

I'm personally finding the dis-Vista ads tiring and borderline childish.
With the talent Apple has at its finger tips, it should be touting the virtues of their hardware and software--not the failings of others.

[natelong]

I agree with Schneb. As much as I love the ads, sometimes they just get to be too much. They have turned into an all out bash-fest. Why are they doing this?? Is John McCain running their campaign :-) ??? The ads are funny, but I think Apple loses some its dignity every time they run ads like this.

[bferriot]

I say try thinking like a marketing person and think about who Apple is going after. Then try and think like that target person and look at those ads from that angle. If people are frustrated with Vista, Apple is saying exactly the right message.

[mrgrumpy]

Although I could see it coming a mile away, I still had a good chuckle over the cost of a "bite" (or should it be byte....)

[Philbert]

Exactly, bferriot!
There's a reason these ads are so effective. The number one rule in advertising is to identify the problem, and then present the solution.
Vista = problem
Mac = solution

[Charles Soto]

Microsoft has used Macs for years to create some of their products. When I visited the Redmond campus about 8 or 10 years ago, the Encarta content guys were using a PowerMac with MIDI gear. This was hidden behind smoked acrylic glass, of course, but it was a Mac, nonetheless. The Softies giving me the tour were perplexed about the whole situation when I pointed it out.

[whitedog]

The get-a-Mac ads certainly require a sense of humor. But childish? Compared to what? Most TV ads insult your intelligence and, if they're not just plain boring they are obnoxious.

Certainly Apple has increased the tempo of their ad production, no doubt in response to the rather effective new Microsoft ?Windows. Life without walls? ads. I was rather surprised at their quality given the preceding Seinfeld/Gates ads, which were incredibly lame. There have been three new Mac ads in the last week or so. No doubt Apple and Microsoft are jockeying for position in preparation for the upcoming holiday buying season - which promises to be difficult for everyone.

[pcharles]

The may be childish, and thin on truth, but they are a perfect example of how to target a single issue.

[ppgreat]

If Apple REALLY wanted to bash MS, all it would have to do is show the screenshots on this page to show how MS things software should appear.
http://www.microsoft...ots/office.mspx
You need a virtual shovel to clear all of that clutter out of the way to see what you're doing!

[phdtop]

In other breaking news, NetApplications recently announced that Microsoft's share of the OS market, 90.3 percent, plus the Mac's share of the OS market, "nearly 10 percent", equals 100%. Thank you; thank you verymuch.

[keinkampf]

Unlike the current political ads which are based mostly on lies, the Apple commercials are based on truth.

[Donelson]

This ad and the previous two ads, bashing Vista are TERRIBLE.
They do NOT tell why Apple is better.
They are ONLY attack ads, complaining whiner ads.
Apple MUST talk about Mac supriority in specific terms.
Saying "Vista is broken" without saying "Mac works" is a mistake.

[pcharles]

Better is a matter of perspective, so you can alway/never state something is better.

There are plenty of studies showing that the general population is not sophisticated enough to respond to fact-based ads, which is why you never see them. Ads are pretty much designed to trigger emotional responses because most people buy on emotion.

Implication is all about saying mine is "better" because yours is "worse." It is just the nature of the American Ad industry. In the UK, Apple was banned from saying it was faster because they could not prove this was true in all cases. In America truth is not required, which is obvious when you watch the political ads.