OVERVIEW AND MY ANALYSIS ON APPLE’S
FAMOUS “GET A MAC” CAMPAIGN.
DIGEST PART 2
PROFESSOR: JYOTI SHARMA
MADE BY: SHUBH BHATIA

CONTEXT
• The "Get a Mac" campaign was a series of TV commercials created by advertising
agency TBWAMedia Arts Lab for Apple Inc. The campaign ran from 2006 to 2009 and
featured the Mac computer and the Microsoft Windows operating system in a
humorous way.
• The ads usually had two actors, one representing a Mac user and the other
representing a PC user. The ads emphasized the differences between the two systems,
with the Mac character portrayed as cool and creative, while the PC character was
portrayed as nerdy, uptight, and prone to technical problems.
• The "Get a Mac" campaign was very successful and helped to establish Apple's brand
as a trendy alternative to Microsoft's Windows platform.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE “GET A MAC”
CAMPAIGN
• These are some important lessons to be learned from the "Buy a Mac" campaign:
• Manifestation of the brand: The campaign gave personas to the Mac and Windows operating
systems, which helped viewers relate to and remember the advertising.
• By using comedy to highlight the contrasts between the Mac and Windows operating systems, the
advertisements were made to be funny and shareable.
• Positioning strategy: The advertising campaign positioned the Mac as a hip, inventive, and
trustworthy alternative to the more nerdy, fussy, and unreliable Windows platform.
• Straightforward message: The advertising' straightforward, basic, and easy-to-remember message—
that Macs are superior to PCs—was transmitted.
• Integrity: The campaign's appearance and narrative were coherent throughout all of its
advertisements, which served to increase brand identification and loyalty among the users.

SUCCESS OF THE CAMPAIGN
• Sales in the first quarter of the campaign spiked sharply by 12% only after the first few
advertisements of the campaign.
• Once more advertisements were released in the fourth quarter of 2006, Apple sold a
record-breaking 1,600,000 Macs, a 39% increase.
• Apple sold nearly 2,300,000 MACS in the most recent quarter. Throughout the four-
year promotion, sales grew significantly over time.

POV: MY ANALYSIS (NEGATIVES)
• Did not appeal to a large audience: While the advertisements were successful in
attracting Apple's target group of younger, trendier consumers, they may have
distanced older or more conventional consumers who may have felt left out by
the language and comedy of the advertisements.
• Counterarguments were not addressed: Windows consumers who could have
questioned whether the Mac was compatible with other hardware or applications
were not addressed in the advertisements. To allay any worries that prospective
customers might have had, this might have been addressed more specifically in
the advertisements.

REFERENCES
• Wuerthele, M. A decade later, ad team behind iconic 'Get a Mac' campaign
recounts development & production, Apple Insider,
https://appleinsider.com/articles/16/12/08/a-decade-later-the-ad-team-behind-
iconic-get-a-mac-campaign-recount-development-production. December 08,2016.