Intel hires Justin Long, who played the “I'm a Mac” role in Apple's Mac vs PC ads, to pitch Intel-based PCs and tout touchscreens and convertible form factors
they did do at least two* ads that talked about Macs running Windows Vista, an indirect acknowledgement of the processor. I remember because they involved PC World *("The Suit" ran only for a day before being pulled by Apple) https://twitter.com/... @ijustine : My 13in M1 Mac Book edits 8k footage just as well as my $80k Mac Pro. https://twitter.com/... Marques Brownlee / @mkbhd : Tell me you're insecure without telling me you're insecure https://twitter.com/... Jim Gaffigan / @jimgaffigan : I haven't been this fake UPSET in at least a day! How dare you, @justinlong , betray an enormous corporation !!!! https://twitter.com/... Tom Warren / @tomwarren : Intel also really mocking how bad Macs are for gaming https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/... Patrick Moorhead / @patrickmoorhead : Oh it looks like there's a website, too. 🌶️ No, this won't create a stir at all. 😂 https://www.intel.com/... https://twitter.com/... Carolina Milanesi / @caro_milanesi : of course #Intel is personally invested but this is really an ecosystem point more so than a processor point. The concerns for how much marketshare Apple can capture in the higher end of the PC market are very real Patrick Moorhead / @patrickmoorhead : The “Dig Into Data” part will likely be the most controversial. “We challenge Apple to so the same.” Good to see Intel disclosing claims at the beginning of the campaign. Not every vendor does this. https://twitter.com/... Carolina Milanesi / @caro_milanesi : A lot of criticism on these #intel ads mostly around how the time is off considering the strength of the #AppleM1 which is fair. I would counter though all the ads are about ecosystem differences from design to features which I'm guessing arise from a real concern from PC OEMs https://twitter.com/... Michael Kukielka / @detroitborg : Awful https://twitter.com/... Quinn Nelson / @snazzyq : Joke is on Intel: Justin Long was never the cool one https://twitter.com/... Tim Pool / @timcast : This is devastating to the Mac Industrial Complex Justin Long was the linchpin holding together the network academics, corporations, and governments mandating the use of Apple products Their reign is finally over https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/... Basic Apple Guy / @basicappleguy : It's cute that Intel is trying to flex it's superiority by piggybacking on features in laptops (i.e., touchscreens, 2-in-1s, color options) that don't require Intel chips, but just happen to have them. https://twitter.com/... @jeeveswilliams : @verge nothing screams innovation like dragging a decade-old campaign out of its grave Guilherme Rambo / @_inside : Apple should hire the “I'm a PC” guy and make an ad where he tries to use an Intel laptop, only to end up in the ER with severe burns on his thighs 😝 https://twitter.com/... Aditya / @adimantly : @verge Apple: builds the revolutionary new chip that can put Intel out of business Intel's solution: mArKeTiNg tbh this could literally be a Silicon Valley episode Marques Brownlee / @mkbhd : @verge Approaching world record cringe levels, I love it Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : On the heels of the former Verizon “can you hear me now?” guy switching to Sprint, Justin Long is going to star in a bunch of “I'm no longer a Mac, I'm now a PC” ads. I can imagine non-competes for actors in ads becoming a thing now. https://twitter.com/... Kontra / @counternotions : Apple spokeswoman: “While we continue to make and sell many computers that use Intel chips, we have no comment on recent rumors about Apple Fellow Phil Schiller conducting a performance comparison between Intel CPUs and upcoming Apple Silicon at WWDC 2021.” Rene Ritchie / @reneritchie : IOW, Coke doesn't do Pepsi challenges. None of this stuff works punching down. It just signals Intel is doing their own transition — voluntarily from Coke to Pepsi. Primal De-Branding. https://twitter.com/... Rene Ritchie / @reneritchie : Strategically terminal. Probably a worse indicator of directional failure than continued process disasters. Not only does Apple still sell Intel Macs, even if Intel is worried the M1 transition will hurt their mindshare (because M1 has tiny market share) this only amplifies that. https://twitter.com/... Matthew Moniz / @mattmoniz : Funny this is also explains why we only saw “I'm a PC” guy at the Nov 10th Apple Event. Intel probably had a contract with the “I'm a Mac Guy” already. https://twitter.com/... Mark Twomey / @storagezilla : This ad is tragic. It's like The “I'm a Mac guy” is a recently divorced, middle aged Gen X'r looking to rebuild from the tattered remnants of his life. That's what I'm seeing here. https://www.engadget.com/... Devindra Hardawar / @devindra : Woke up to some cringeworthy crap from Intel https://www.engadget.com/... I have SO many questions. Why copy some of Apple's most iconic ads? Why center your competitor? Why even Justin Long? Sigh.
By using Apple’s former “I’m a Mac” actor, Intel is contesting the public comparison on visible PC features rather than processor branding alone. That contrast became more consequential as Apple’s later software releases began withholding some Monterey features from Intel Macs.
First-order effects
Intel uses Justin Long and touchscreen and convertible-PC messaging to steer buyers toward form factors unavailable in Apple’s Mac lineup, while keeping Intel-based PCs at the center of the comparison.
Apple’s Mac-versus-PC advertising association becomes Intel’s campaign asset, turning a familiar Apple character into a direct rebuttal during Apple Silicon’s transition.
Second-order effects
PC makers using Intel chips gain a ready-made marketing frame around touch input and convertibility, shifting competitive messaging toward device design rather than a head-to-head chip-performance claim.
Apple faces a clearer split in buyer expectations: its processor transition can differentiate Macs, but Intel’s campaign spotlights hardware categories Apple does not offer.
Third-order effects
The campaign points to a PC market in which chip vendors must sell the capabilities of partner devices, not only processor benchmarks, as vertically integrated Apple Silicon changes the basis of comparison.
If Apple continues tying new macOS capabilities to its own chips, the Intel-versus-Apple contest becomes a broader platform divide between cross-vendor PC hardware choice and tightly integrated hardware-software design.
The trend: Apple Silicon is pushing Intel to compete for PC buyers through the breadth of the Windows hardware ecosystem as well as processor performance.
Intel is bringing back the Mac vs. PC ads. The chip maker has hired Apple's “I'm a Mac” guy to create 5 ads mocking Macs and praising PCs. Details here: https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
In 66 Apple ads, Justin Long told you to get a Mac. Now he's back 12 years later to say you might be happier with an Intel-powered PC: https://www.adweek.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Apple Mac fans were apparently rather insulted by these rather fun, rather pointed ads that Intel is running, given the like/dislike ratio. I think they're great. 💯 https://www.pcworld.com/... via @Gordonung
@ijustine Just wait until there's an $80k MacPro that has an M-chip architecture. That's what Intel is trying to market around (because they can't engineer around it).
Today, if Heaven exist, Andy is looking down and he is not happy. The entire recipe of Intel success was forgotten: A leader tells its story, only its story. https://twitter.com/...
There are things my Mac Pro can do that my tiny Mac Book can't. This is purely a comparison to how powerful the M1 chip is. I'm hyped for their future products with apple silicon. I also just got a new Intel based PC that is 🔥🥰 So do with that what you will.
Intel seems to be unable to execute the winning strategy of the past, this is very sad to watch. Intel is entertaining exactly what apple wanted. We never apologized for fucking apple up with Core 2 duo, they had no other choice than to come with us. https://www.youtube.com/...
What does it tells you, as share holder: It tells you that: Intel fears the Mac. Intel does not know how to beat the Mac. Intel does not have direction or strategy against it. Intel is not a leader anymore on Desktop and laptop form factor. Intel falls into Apple's trap easily. h…
Intel is going after Apple again by reversing the 'I'm a Mac' guy role. They're not wrong in that PCs have way more interesting form factors and features. Apple *could* fix that, but I'm not sure they will (anytime soon)? https://www.windowscentral.com/ ... https://www.youtube.co…
i think the sprint phone guy was the first big modern example of this but it's a really diseased place to be when advertising has its own extended universe https://twitter.com/...
When the company with 90% of the market shares think it needs to compare itself to the 5% market share. Intel has a long history of beating Apple Macintosh, it was not done this way. #FreeAppleAdvertisement https://www.intel.com/...
When you're trying to advertise against Apple but your graphics intern photoshops the MacBook Pro to look even better than it actually does 😅 https://twitter.com/...
@matvelloso I respect anyone doing a good job for a living. We should hope for Justin to do many more commercials like this and for Intel to foot the bill for our amusement.
Seems like a case of marketing gone wrong: Xbox and PlayStation use AMD not Intel and Nintendo uses ARM- and consumers are going for AMD chips for their gaming needs. Strange days
Why does the MacBook Pro 13 in the Intel “I'm a Justin” commercial look like the leaked 14" MacBook Pro. There's no bezel. Did Intel confirm their leaked design? 🤔 https://twitter.com/...
This is an excellent point! Who needs superior performance, thermals, battery life, efficiency, graphics, and build quality when you can flip the screen around? That's true productivity https://twitter.com/...
Justin “I'm a Mac” Long now doing anti-Mac ads for Intel. Cringeworthy. Should we assume that Intel check was so substantial he just couldn't refuse? https://www.youtube.com/...
@reneritchie It's a play from the Samsung marketing playbook. Make ads that get people to talk about us. Since the products themselves aren't capable of that, they resort to other means. For Intel, it's piggybacking off of one of the more effective ad campaigns in modern history.
Now I want a commercial pairing the Verizon commercial guy who defected to Sprint and the Mac commercial guy who defected to PC. It'll be like Avengers Endgame for brands. https://twitter.com/...
I'm just finding it a little hard to believe that any person on the planet stans Intel. No one thinks “Wow, it's got Intel. Cool.” Not one soul. This is an embarrassing ad series.
A few thoughts on the new #Intel anti-Mac ad campaign found here: https://www.youtube.com/... It is good to see them finally taking a fight directly to... anything... rather than being squishy and insipid. That is a plus for me.
The fact that they got the ‘Mac’ guy to do the ads is a fun finger in the air, I can't wait to see the commentary from the fanbois who feel this is an affront. Intel execs should laugh at this angst.
@gruber re: “Get a Mac” and Intel—they did do at least two* ads that talked about Macs running Windows Vista, an indirect acknowledgement of the processor. I remember because they involved PC World *("The Suit" ran only for a day before being pulled by Apple) https://twitter.com/…
of course #Intel is personally invested but this is really an ecosystem point more so than a processor point. The concerns for how much marketshare Apple can capture in the higher end of the PC market are very real
The “Dig Into Data” part will likely be the most controversial. “We challenge Apple to so the same.” Good to see Intel disclosing claims at the beginning of the campaign. Not every vendor does this. https://twitter.com/...
A lot of criticism on these #intel ads mostly around how the time is off considering the strength of the #AppleM1 which is fair. I would counter though all the ads are about ecosystem differences from design to features which I'm guessing arise from a real concern from PC OEMs ht…
This is devastating to the Mac Industrial Complex Justin Long was the linchpin holding together the network academics, corporations, and governments mandating the use of Apple products Their reign is finally over https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
It's cute that Intel is trying to flex it's superiority by piggybacking on features in laptops (i.e., touchscreens, 2-in-1s, color options) that don't require Intel chips, but just happen to have them. https://twitter.com/...
Apple should hire the “I'm a PC” guy and make an ad where he tries to use an Intel laptop, only to end up in the ER with severe burns on his thighs 😝 https://twitter.com/...
@verge Apple: builds the revolutionary new chip that can put Intel out of business Intel's solution: mArKeTiNg tbh this could literally be a Silicon Valley episode
On the heels of the former Verizon “can you hear me now?” guy switching to Sprint, Justin Long is going to star in a bunch of “I'm no longer a Mac, I'm now a PC” ads. I can imagine non-competes for actors in ads becoming a thing now. https://twitter.com/...
Apple spokeswoman: “While we continue to make and sell many computers that use Intel chips, we have no comment on recent rumors about Apple Fellow Phil Schiller conducting a performance comparison between Intel CPUs and upcoming Apple Silicon at WWDC 2021.”
IOW, Coke doesn't do Pepsi challenges. None of this stuff works punching down. It just signals Intel is doing their own transition — voluntarily from Coke to Pepsi. Primal De-Branding. https://twitter.com/...
Strategically terminal. Probably a worse indicator of directional failure than continued process disasters. Not only does Apple still sell Intel Macs, even if Intel is worried the M1 transition will hurt their mindshare (because M1 has tiny market share) this only amplifies that.…
Funny this is also explains why we only saw “I'm a PC” guy at the Nov 10th Apple Event. Intel probably had a contract with the “I'm a Mac Guy” already. https://twitter.com/...
This ad is tragic. It's like The “I'm a Mac guy” is a recently divorced, middle aged Gen X'r looking to rebuild from the tattered remnants of his life. That's what I'm seeing here. https://www.engadget.com/...
Woke up to some cringeworthy crap from Intel https://www.engadget.com/... I have SO many questions. Why copy some of Apple's most iconic ads? Why center your competitor? Why even Justin Long? Sigh.