Oh, my aching fucking head!

Oh dear, oh dear... This is like talking to a brick wall. I appreciate all the comments and the fact that this is such a lively discussion. But let me stress, for hopefully the last time, this has nothing to do with cars, cigars, banks, Rotrings, Koh-I-Noors, or Mars-Staedler. This is about CP+B persuading Microsoft to spend $300 million on a campaign titled... "I'M A PC" I'll repeat that... "I'M A PC" And doing the work on Macs. It's not about driving to work in a Ford or on the subway. Not about wearing suits from K-Mart. Not about smoking cigars or fucking drinking Coke... It's about doing a campaign to persuade people that PC's are better than Macs... And doing it on fucking Macs. Same thing applies to Enfatico doing ads that say "I WANT" with the inference being that only Dell can satisfy that want, whether it be 19 hours of battery life, or a better sex life, and yet they are doing the ads on Macs. Still, Ken's a major Apple shareholder, So what can you say? 

Let's get back to the important stuff!

   

Comments

[popgoestheweasel]

Me head's spinning and about to explode. "I'm a PC", and I'm doing my work on a Mac. What a twisted industry we labour in. What was it Kennedy said when he was at the Berlin wall "Ich bein ein Berliner!" Which translates to "I am a doughnut".

[popgoestheweasel]

By the by, where's the rest of that stop motion?

[the lower depths]

george, the horse is dead already, can we roll on?

[kikimonkey]

I've worked on Dell and on our shoots or in the office, we'd cover up the Apple logo on the laptop with a printout of a Dell one as a joke and clients just laughed.

[sean]

I do remember one thing that didn't go down well with intel. On the website launching the centrino mobile processor a designer accidentally used a stock photo of someone using a mac (this was when macs were still using power pc of course).
My client told me the worst part was that it was an apple employee who spotted it, and intel only found out when steve jobs sent andy grove an email thanking him.

[Edw3rd]

As George suggests, it's not about loyalty; it's called eating your own dog food.

[VoiceOfReason]

George,

Maybe it's been too long since you produced something, but lots of different technologies and software are used to create any ad. And they're made by a ton of different companies. I'm sure Apple ads have some PCs involved in their production too.

As much as I love the schadenfreude of watching Microsoft and CPB crash and burn, I think this might be making a mountain out of a molehill.

But thanks for keeping them honest. Cheers.

[Gweg]

If CPB were taking the tiny stand that PCs make better ads than Macs, then I'd agree completely. But they're not.

This agency (who you hate, which I'm not sure why you're even bothering not to admit) sees that the PC is on the ropes. It's not even a matter of which is better, the Mac or PC. It's a matter of perception injustice.

Really fucking important things are accomplished with the power of Windows. Really fucking important people are powered by that software.

There is no hypocrisy in setting the record straight.

[nancy]

Don't worry, be happy and think about it! To track the success & statistics, plus rearrange the results-oriented data until it possesses numb3rs that are just as caressing as the visuals, they will probably be using Excel or even Access data driven software.

the world will be in balance

Jai guru deva om

[Big Mac]

I will add that this also involves money. That is, if an agency is going to decide that one client will dictate its internal operations, fine. Except who’s going to pay for replacing all the hardware and software, training everyone on staff, revising all the vendor relationships, etc.? You’d even have to potentially fire your IT people, as Mac and PC expertise are not always in one person. Realize too that this will probably adversely affect the work you’re doing for other clients.

I continue to believe that the holding companies make it impossible to be “loyal” to any product, client or even your own agency. The agencies are certainly no longer loyal to the employees. And the holding companies are no longer loyal to the agencies (e.g., see how Omnicom is quick to offer other network shops to replace agencies like Element 79; IPG acted similarly when Draftfcb lost Walmart). And if an art director is forced to start working PC, you’ll also potentially hurt his/her career, as they’ll fall behind in staying abreast with Mac technology, which is being used by the majority of the industry.

This really is a unique scenario. But saying it’s obscene to produce PC advertising on a Mac is being a tad over-reactionary. Sorry.

[the brit]

unless the ad says 'making an ad on a PC is a better way to go than using a mac' it doesn't really matter. as some of us keep saying, they are not selling to the very few thousand fucktards who make ads on macs, rather the million and millions of people who use them for other reason - mundane OR amazingly exciting.

[BigJimSlade]

George,

Though the horse has already been beaten to death, I'll say I appreciate your bit of nostalgia.

Gone are the days when our industry has anything but a financial relationship with our 'Clients'. They don't respect our industry, and we don't respect their floundering about.

Too many bridges have been burned, and there's been too much turnover on both sides of the fence (moat?) for deep relationships anymore.

However, just a bit of trivia, but Microsoft is actually (or was until recently) one of the largest developers of software for the Apple due to their Macintosh Office franchise.

So, you can make the case that your point is moot, as Microsoft themselves has a large Apple business.

But thanks for the trip down memory lane...

[Armando Alves]

With all the tech savvy copywriters around here, i was expecting that by now one self evident truth was debunked.
PC is PERSONAL COMPUTER !
That means it could be a Mac, a Windows or a Linux (add your favorite OS here).

The blatant appropriation of the term PC by both Mac and Windows ads is one of the most ridiculous examples of ad agencies being out of touch with technology.

Oh, yeah, i forgot. Agencies were always out of touch with technology. No wonder CP+B is doing no better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer

[Gerald Hattrick]

For the record:

Ogilvy & Mather lost the Merrill Lynch account because they used First Boston for a secondary stock offering.
And D.O. kept a Mercedes station wagon at Touffou when O&M had the Mercedes account.

[Tanner]

George:

The new MS campaign sucks.

So did the previous "teaser" one.

That on topic enough for you?

[BDP]

Everyone misses the point on the production here. This is about BDP's at BDA's. That means BIG DUMB PEOPLE.
Creatives wont LEARN anything new if it already works. They produce on Mac's so they will continue to do so on Mac's
If you see something wrong with that, then in this case...its only due to the people, because, as a former employee of BDA'S I will guarantee you there is some push from above to use a PC, but some wuss lower down wont tramp on on a creative because they are poor managers.

[The Founder]

I agree with George, if Microsoft is paying the bill.. do your work on Windows... if Dell is paying the bills... do your work on a Dell...

It's not rocket science.. it's backing the product you are trying to promote.

These are not tiny accounts... these are big ones that keep the lights on... show some respect to the people paying your mortgage.

[kypar]

One lesson I'll never forget in undergrad while I studied theatre was from a stage makeup professor....."Art speaks to the subconscious".....Yea, easy enough of a lesson but what he was saying is if it's Real for You, it will be Real for the Audience. Well, I'm willing to bet the process somewhere along the way didn't feel real to CP+B if they were doing work on a Mac......just my two cents.

POP, Kennedy said "I am a JELLY donut." Which is even funnier and perhaps more relevant to everyone's state of mind on this blog or at this time of night commentating on it. :-)

HEY, Mad Men won another Fucking EMMY!!! Time for another scotch and soda!
Cheers!

[Cameron]

They should probably comp up their ads in Paint, too. And use only Arial and Times New Roman.

[Wisey]

I finally saw these ads. Shittest thing on the face of the planet. And to top it off, it doesn't even really make any sense.
No clear brand identity, that's for sure.
Who signed off on this shit? Head is gonna roll.

[jeeezuz]

hellloooooooooo, neither windows nor os x could create these ads, however, ADOBE-SOFTWARE created these ads, so who cares what combination of chips and wires was used to run the software!!!

[Missy]

I doubt I'm going to take up smoking to work on an ad campaign for RJR/Altria... or binge drinking while working on ads for Absolut or Budweiser.

Besides the software products primarily used in the graphics/ad industry are Adobe based and works on either platform...more then likely they subcontracted the grunt work for bannerad and web campaigns out to freelancers that all use entry-level macbooks.

[oy]

jeeezuz

is that a sign off name or an expletive?

If it's the latter, it makes your comment soooo much funnier