Hi, I'm a Mac...

Have you seen this series of commercials on TV?  The ones where the cool young guy in jeans is a Mac and his geeky-looking colleague in the suit is a PC?  If not, you can visit the Apple website to see them all.

Now, before we go any further, let me be completely upfront with you.  I'm not an unbiased observer.  I'm a Mac user.  And, like most Mac users, a very dedicated one.  But I also know PCs.  I've owned several, and used them for many years at work...in fact I still have one, at home, networked to my Mac.  But still...it's kind of like the case of ex-smokers or ex-drinkers...the most vociferous Mac lovers are ex-PC users. 

So, if I'm already "converted", what is it about this series of ads that appeals to me so much?  Well, if you haven't already seen them - go do it now.  Then we'll finish.  Okay, so you see what I mean.  After all, wouldn't you rather identify with the hip, smart guy in jeans and a hoody than his somewhat bumbling suit-clad partner?  Still, even though the main messaage is pretty obvious: "get a Mac and you'll be cool", you just can't help loving these witty little ads.  Heck, I'll bet even Bill  Gates chuckles when he sees them.

I think that it's the hint of irony more than the aspirational message or the explicit messages ("It Just Works", "Awesome out of the Box" or "You Can Make Amazing Stuff"...) that really speaks to people, though.  Take "iLife" for example - it opens with the PC guy grooving to his "slow jam" on - you guessed it - an iPod.  Or "Work vs. Home", where the PC guy, resplendent in sport coat and chinos, insists he can do "fun stuff" too - using a grayscale pie chart to share memories of a family vacation "...this dark grey area can represent just kicking it".

Anyway, I'm not here to try to convince you that Macs are better than PCs, or cooler, or that you should get a Mac.  You'll need to decide that for yourself.  Well, I'm off to change into jeans and a hoody and make a movie of my recent family vacation to burn to DVD.  Bye!

Kath is a regular contributor to urbanmoms.ca and mom to two daugthers, aged 5.5 and 3.  Share your impressions of the "I'm a Mac..." ad campaign below in comments or start a thread on the urbanmoms.ca forum.