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this book)? Against a plain white background, a hip casual guy
(played by Justin Long) introduces himself as a Mac (“Hello,
I’m a Mac.”). And then John Hodgman, playing the totally un-
hip caricature of a spreadsheet-addicted data nerd (in a brown-
ish suit that wasn’t particularly well tailored), says, “And I’m a
PC.” Then they have some interaction in which they debate the
merits of a Mac versus a PC (gee, guess who wins?).
Here’s an example:

MAC: iLife comes on every Mac.
PC: iLife, well, I have some very cool apps that are
bundled with me.
MAC: Like, what have you got?
PC: Calculator.
MAC: That’s cool. Anything else?
PC: Clock.

OK, I know, this is way funnier when you actually see the com-
mercial; but you get the idea. What’s the point of these com-
mercials? To individualize and personalize. Apple wants to put
a name and a face on Macs and PCs because that’s where they’ll
get your emotional connection. And while the ads are hysteri-
cal, they did make one mistake: the guy playing the PC is comic
gold. John Hodgman is superbly talented, he gets the best laugh
lines, and he’s funny while still engendering some sympathy. So
while Apple wants you emotionally bonded to the Mac, and the
ads accomplish that, you also end up emotionally connected to
the PC because the actor’s so good.
How did Microsoft fi ght these ads? By doing a complete 180
away from the normal hyperanalytical Microsoft stereotype.