Apple’s ‘Get a Mac,’ the Complete Campaign

April 13, 2011

Steve Jobs could sell. He did it in person, he did it on stage, and he did it on television—in the form of advertising campaigns that were often the envy of the business. Among the most beloved was the long-running "Get a Mac" series with John Hodgman and Justin Long as the bumbling PC and the hip, unflappable Mac—an odd couple who would entertain viewers for years with their quips, barbs, sight gags, and one-liners. In 2010, Adweek declared "Get a Mac" to be the best advertising campaign of the first decade of the new century. Below are all 66 TV spots (plus the long version of 2008's "Sad Song") that aired during the campaign's run, from May 2006 to October 2009. All 66 ads were directed by Phil Morrison of Epoch Films for TBWA Media Arts Lab.

Better

Click to view.May 2006. Mac admits PC is good at business stuff like spreadsheets, while he's better at "life" stuff like photos, music, and movies. PC doltishly asks Mac what he means by "better." Hodgman trips up a little on his second line—an amateurish moment that wouldn't be repeated.
iLife

Click to view.May 2006. PC is seen rocking out to an iPod and praising iTunes. Mac replies that the rest of the iLife suite works just as well and comes on every Mac. PC defensively responds by listing the cool apps that he comes with, but can only identify Calculator and Clock.
Network

Click to view.May 2006. Mac and PC, holding hands to demonstrate their ability to network with each other, are joined by a Japanese woman who represents a new digital camera. Mac and the camera speak to each other fluently, but PC, lacking the proper driver, is utterly confused and unable to communicate.
Restarting

Click to view.May 2006. Mac and PC explain how they both have a lot in common, like running Microsoft Office, but their discussion is hampered by PC's unfortunate habit of freezing and restarting.
Viruses

Click to view.May 2006. PC has caught a virus and is clearly under the weather. He warns Mac to stay away from him, citing 114,000 known viruses that infect PCs. But Mac isn't worried, as viruses don't affect him. PC then announces that he's going to crash and falls backward onto the floor.
Wall Street Journal

Click to view.May 2006. Mac is reading a favorable review of himself by Walt Mossberg in The Wall Street Journal. PC then claims that he also received a great review but is flummoxed when Mac asks for details. PC says the review came from the esteemed Awesome Computer Review Weekly.
Out of the Box

Click to view.June 2006. Mac and PC, still in their boxes, talk about what they'll do when they get unpacked. Mac says he'll get started right away, but PC, who's doing exercises, is held up by tedious startup tasks. Mac hops away, leaving PC waiting for other parts of himself that are in other boxes.
Touché

Click to view.June 2006. Mac tells PC that he can run both OS X and Windows, making him the only computer you'll ever need. "Oh … touché," PC says. Mac says PC is using the word "touché" the wrong way. PC listens intently, then moronically misuses the word again.
Work vs. Home

Click to view.June 2006. Mac says he enjoys doing fun stuff like podcasts and movies. PC says he also does fun stuff, like spreadsheets and pie charts. Mac thinks it might be difficult to capture a family vacation on a pie chart. "Not true," says PC, who shows off just such a chart.
Accident