Apple Revs Up Ad Attacks on Vista
For nearly a year, television and Internet audiences have been seeing a familiar string of ads from Apple attacking rival Windows-based computers. With this week’s release of Windows Vista, the newest jabs aren’t any friendlier.
In one ad, the character personifying the PC is dressed in hospital patient garb, talking about how he’s set to undergo major surgery to upgrade to Vista. He then saunters off, telling the Mac character that if he doesn’t come back, Mac can have his peripherals.
In another ad, a man pretending to be the Mac character heaps praises for the PC — until the real Mac character steps in, confounded, asking “What’s going on?” The fake Mac replies, “Nothing,” and then mutters “I’m a fan” as he walks away.
On its own Web site, Apple Inc. tells visitors to get a Mac, stating, “Why upgrade to Vista when you can upgrade past it?”
Microsoft Corp. launched Vista on Tuesday, its first major overhaul to the Windows operating system in five years. It features sleek new graphics, better search capabilities, improved security measures and multimedia tools, as well as more advanced parental controls and gaming support.
Yet Microsoft detractors, Mac users, and even PC-oriented magazine editors are pointing to how some of those features already exist on Macs. And Apple — set to release its own upgrade to its Mac OS X operating system, code-named “Leopard,” this spring — has already promised more innovations, such as automatic backups of files and advanced animation features.
The Cupertino-based company has repeatedly ribbed Microsoft to “start its photocopiers.”
Representatives of the Redmond, Wash.-based rival declined to comment Wednesday, following its typical stance of not responding to Apple’s marketing ploys.
The series of “I’m a Mac — I’m a PC” advertisements debuted last spring and are an extension of Apple’s broader campaign to attract Windows users to…
