Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” Ads - Made on a Mac

[Quote:]

Flickr user LuisDS discovered metadata on the creative copy of the “stereotyped PC user” and other photos appearing on Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” website that reveal they were produced using Macs running Adobe Creative Suite 3.

Microsoft code monkeys scrubbed the identifying information from the website stills overnight.

Apart from the ha-ha-this-is-funny, here’s a question for you marketing people: how can you, as an advertising agency, be able to create compelling advertising for a product you yourself have rejected?

4 Responses to “Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” Ads - Made on a Mac”

  1. Roland Hesz Says:

    Erm.. I can damn create an advertisement for a Ferrari while at the same time I drive a Toyota Yaris. Since when using Product A for some things means you have rejected Product B for other things?
    I have a website with Linux server. And mind you, that does not mean I have rejected Windows. Or MacOS. And I use Windows XP on my home laptop, and it still does not mean I have rejected MacOS.

    If you are sent to a company to work tomorrow, and they have a policy to run all their computer with OS A, you will work with that. Not sure it means rejection or anything. You preparing to be a politician? :)

  2. John Sinteur Says:

    The toyota and the ferrari aren’t similar products at all.

    If you are sent to a company to work tomorrow, and they have a policy to run all their computer with OS A, you will work with that.

    Of course. And if I want to advertise for OS B, which is a direct competitor for OS A, I’ll be sure to NOT use that company.

    Mac and windows both have the Adobe creative suite, so they both can be used for advertising either windows or mac. So clearly this advertising agency has decided not to use windows, for whatever reason. Yet they are expected to convince others that the choice they themselves just made is the wrong one. How can you believe them in any way?

  3. Gene Says:

    My company uses MACs for creating our visual advertising. MACs are clearly better for that application. However, MS Windows is used everywhere else in the company. This would be half a dozen MACs vs 200-300 PCs. So to say a company has decided not to use windows because you they have created something with a MAC is not necessary accurate. However, to scrub the identifying MAC information from the website is questionable at best.

  4. Roland Hesz Says:

    I think the problem is that Windows and Mac OS are not direct competitors. And even if you can use Adobe creative suite for both Mac OS and Windows, Mac with graphical things has a certain advantage. Like better mouse positioning - Mac can handle only a limited set of hardware, but those it handles better - and a few other things.

    Toyota and Ferrari are similar products - cars. Designed to take you from A to B.

    Will you use Toyota to participate in a drag race? No. Will you use Ferrari to go to the grocery shop? Not likely.
    Will you use Mac OS for graphical design? Sure you will. Or for music.
    Will you use Windows for gaming - yup, a bit more choice and so on.
    And I think John, you would use the best company your budget can buy and would not give a damn whatever tool they use.

    @Gene: when a website calls anyone “code monkey” then I doubt every single word of it, because it clearly is an arrogant and biased sod, so the “scrubbing” must be proved by someone else. If it’s true, then yep, it’s a rather unfortunate thing to do, and not the smartest move.


indoor-dictatorial