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With Ads of the Weird, MSNBC.com takes a look at some of the oddest, most eye-catching, controversial and just plain interesting advertising out there today. Primary writer Allison Linn covers the retail and advertising industries for MSNBC.com. The Ads of the Weird team is always interested in hearing what ads have caught your attention, whether it's online, on television or in print.


Christmas break

Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 3:00 AM by Rob Neill
Filed Under:

Though we have yet to hear one of our favorite holiday songs, the bourbon and fruitcake bloat has put us in a holiday frame of mind. Not soon enough to complete all our shopping of course, but hey, we’ve got till Tuesday (possibly a commonly held sentiment).

Taking a quick spin through our inbox this morning, AdRants points out possibly our favorite seasonal commercial so far this year. It’s Canadian. Because heaven knows you can’t have fun with anyone’s holiday in this country. (Why are we so thin-skinned?)

Looks like Jesus got his groove on.

Virgin Mobile

The 90-second spot envisions the nativity as a high school (junior high?) production of “You Got Served.” Angels and Jesus vs. Wise Men. We hope this doesn’t affect our prospects for the afterlife, but Jesus, your crew got clowned. Especially since the Wise Men would get shut down by these guys.

Nice work, Virgin Mobile, even if we don’t know why this would make anyone consider your cell service. Watch the ad here.

Our runner-up is this installment of Apple’s long-running “PC vs. Mac” campaign. Watch it here.

(At this point we have to run the following disclaimer: msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal News. And at this point we add to the disclaimer: We are no fan of Apple products (we’re not rich), don’t own an iPod (these work just fine, thanks) and are a fan of the campaign, despite some people thinking it’s getting a little long in the tooth.)

Perhaps this isn’t the most brightly written of the series. But the animation has us all feeling like it’s 1972 again. Which is fitting, since the holidays are really meant for children.
 

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Comments

The MAC v. PC commercials are comical at best. Does it make me want to go out and buy a MAC? Probably not. PC has marketshare, is more compatable with accessories than mac .. and furthermore wasn't it Microsoft who saved Apple from bankruptcy?

Garrett, Livonia, Michigan (Sent Tuesday, December 18, 2007 4:52 PM)

I had a MAC before a PC...I bought a MAC before I bought a PC...The Apple commercials certainly make me wax nostagic but they don't inspire me to go buy another MAC computer.  The only purpose those witty commercials serve is to send MS developers back to the drawing (key)board to hone their products (because we all know they don't listen to us).

Catherine, Dallas, Texas (Sent Tuesday, December 18, 2007 7:10 PM)

By the time you're done buying all the software add ons, security stuff, a driver to this, an adapter for that, oh need to upgrade now that it's 2 days old... What it costs to own a PC far outweighs a Mac. But hey, if you want to scream and yell at your computers because they're constantly getting viruses, or just plain funk out and don't want to work- buy a PC! (they are, however, good for gaming...) As for me, Mac all the way. Point, click. Done. Very easy. I love the commercials!

Amanda, Boston, MA (Sent Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:03 PM)

The PC vs. Mac commercial was cute, though I agree not the best in the series.  And they may or may not necessarily sway folks from one camp or the other, but they do underscore one thing...Steve Jobs (and by extension, Apple) has always had a flair for marketing cleverness.  This legacy goes back to the early print ads for the Apple II's, the famous '1984' spot introducing the first Mac, the 'Think Different' campaign heralded subsequent to Jobs return to Apple, and the 'Switching' series.  True, PCs have marketshare and Jobs acknowledged that even back in 1996 when he essentially conceded that the PC wars were over; however, I'm not so sure about device compatibility issues, as I've yet to have a device not be recognized (forsaking the vendors that just don't want to build an OS X driver for it), and in fact have had many devices function BETTER on the OS X platform (e.g. an Epson USB scanner that we originally bought for our Windows ME & XP computers).  As for Microsoft saving Apple, really it was more like Microsoft *helped* rescue Apple from the brink of financial oblivion following a succession of unsuccessful CEO's (at least in their Apple tenures), by entering into purchase of $150M non-voting stock and a new non-competitive licensing agreement.  But it was once again Steve Jobs' vision (he came back in 1997 simultaneous with the cooperative agreement with Microsoft) and the creativity of the amazing folks at Apple that turned it around for Apple (cf Apple's profit margins over the last few quarters - although iPod figures pretty heavily into that success as well, the Mac sales numbers continue to climb in the post-G5/Intel era) - otherwise, all Microsoft would have purchased is a money pit.  Gates knows better, which is why he did it.  Like it or not, Microsoft and Apple need each other.  I'm inclined to agree with Catherine - Apple will continue to drive the innovation, and Microsoft will figure out how to deliver it to the masses.

Stefan, Seattle, Washington (Sent Thursday, December 20, 2007 4:21 PM)

Computers are high-speed idiots but, it just so happens that Mac's are smarter idiots than others ...


Tom Boynton (Sent Monday, December 24, 2007 2:29 PM)



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