‘Get a Mac’ is Running Out of Gas

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I just caught the “Pizza Box” Get a Mac spot during the Top Design premiere, and it struck me. Not because it’s particularly brilliant — it hits the same mark exactly that all the other college-related Apple ads have lately — but because I realized it was the first time I had actually paid attention to a Get a Mac ad in almost three months.

Nor have I talked about one with anybody in more than a year. People don’t even get upset about it or make parody ads anymore. PC and Mac have been up there so long that I’m expecting them to introduce their children at any minute. Worse than being annoying or controversial, Apple’s core Mac marketing campaign has become the one thing the Cupertino Collective can never allow itself to be: boring.

Apple’s been here before. Switch had its (rather desperate) day. Think Different saved Apple during its darkest times. But each of them eventually outlived its usefulness based on where Apple was as an organization.

Today, Apple has become a powerhouse in media and a top-three computer maker. The iPhone is poised to become as ubiquitous as the iPod. And Get a Mac‘s playful jabs are starting to make Apple look small. “Able to run Microsoft Office” isn’t news to anyone who could be swayed by a TV ad. What’s the next narrative? How does Apple start its next growth curve, whether through marketing or design?

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16 responses to “‘Get a Mac’ is Running Out of Gas”

  1. Dizzle says:

    I actually think the latest ones are brilliant – if you look at them with a different eye. Everyone keeps saying that they are still going after Vista hard. They aren’t. Watch all the new ones again. The message has subtly shifted undercurrent. They know Redmond is going to start a TV blitz, and they are anticipating that the borg is going to capitalize on the myth of how difficult it is to switch and appeal to people’s sense of fear of change.

    Apple’s latest ads shift to focusing on how easy it is to switch.

    You gotta look at this in the bigger strategic picture. IMHO.

  2. charli says:

    sorry Pete, but I disagree. I don’t think they are running out of gas at all. in fact I think they are more important than ever. the last thing Apple needs is some cryptic catch phrase or a flashy trailer that leaves folks wondering what the movie is actually about. “get a mac” is short and sweet and to the point., which is something many in this time need.

    and I agree Dizzle that they have, to a point, toned down the undercurrent. which is probably somewhat cause of the upcoming windows ads and somewhat cause the comments are true. folks are often unwilling to switch cause “it’s too hard to learn new software” or “it will take too long to move my files to a new computer”. both of which are things apple has set up to deal with and are part of why folks will pay the extra cost for their computer

  3. Peruchito says:

    i still enjoy them. though i do think they should move away from it being the core ads for macs. every now and then would be great. but just like their products, they should innovate in their ad sense as well

  4. msloustcher says:

    Have to agree, Pete. I’m tired of them, although, they were once really entertaining. I wonder how Apple’s advertising team feels. They have a pretty successful campaign to back up.

  5. Zhizn says:

    The ads have gotten stale. Every I see one now, I groan and die a little inside.

    The pizza box one had me laugh a bit though. I can’t remember the last one I actually enjoyed. It’s just gone on too long.

  6. Peruchito says:

    i just saw the new windows (jerry & bill) ad… i think we can ride the mac vs pc for a bit longer hahaha

  7. charli says:

    there is something else to consider. the actors contracts. these two guys were signed up for a certain length gig with very likely a set number of spots. and they almost certainly have a play or pay in the contract. which means they get their money no matter what.

    no company is going to pay them for ads that aren’t produced. and if they produce them, why wouldn’t they air them. yes apple is also doing their guided tour ads of things like the iphone and will likely do more but it will be overlapping with ‘i’m a mac’ until they run out of steam on those contracts.

  8. Leander Kahney says:

    Pete. i agree. the campaign is getting old. that music drives me nuts.