About David Burn
David Burn is the co-founder, editor, and publisher of Adpulp.com. David joined the ad agency business in 1997 as a copywriter and then worked for seven agencies in five states prior to launching Bonehook in 2010. Today, David is a writer, brand strategist, and leader of creative teams in Austin, TX.
This entire Mac campaign has always been peculiar. It masquerades as soft sell, but really employs hard sell tactics.
On the one hand, David, your headline implies that Mac is mocking direct response. But the truth is, the entire campaign is rooted in direct response tactics, right down to literally depicting a side-by-side comparison.
Is this latest spot just an attempt to combat the success of direct sellers like Dell?
It’s also interesting that Apple stores are probably being hurt sales-wise by competitors like CompUSA and Best Buy, who successfully sell Macs by using direct response promotional tactics.
I did think it was a slam on Dell, more than Microsoft itself. Of course, Microsoft’s OS runs Dell’s machines.
As for using direct tactics to rip on the direct business model, it tempts me to think there are some real craftsmen behind this work.