"Hello, I'm a twat"

[zenith]

So when you see the ads, you think, "PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers." In other words, it is a devastatingly accurate campaign.

I hate Macs. I have always hated Macs. I hate people who use Macs. I even hate people who don't use Macs but sometimes wish they did.

Charlie Brooker on the

Comments

[cis]

The best thing about the Japanese PC v Mac ads is that the PC uses his iPod to listen to eurobeat!

It's funny, I kind of imagined there was a semi-gentleman's agreement going on in advertising, so people wouldn't usually directly say "here is how [competitor] is rubbish: buy our product" on the grounds that it was nasty and would turn the buying public off. the only other ad market i've seen it in is nappies. and possibly politics.

[freakytigger]

What do the nappies ads say? I don't pay any attention to nappy ads: I am already BRAND LOYAL.

Attack ads against rivals are very common in the US, I think - there's a perception, which this thread is perhaps bearing out, that they don't go down well in the UK, culturally speaking. Also I think there's more legal protection against malicious claims here.

[cis]

Nappy ads say something along the lines of '...which are 20% more [absorbent/comfortable] than [huggies equivalent/pampers equivalent]', which is much more polite than this direct-doing-down and also lead me to believe that the mainstream nappy market is a duopoly (is this correct word?). This sort of thing only seems to work in duopoly situations - i mean, okay, you have the banking ads where they compare rates in a big chart, but in household goods ads and cosmetic ads it always seems to be 'A LEADING COMPETITOR' they're compared with, not anyone mentioned by name.

[freakytigger]

The UK nappies market:

1. Pampers - long-standing disposable nappy titan.
2. Huggies - upstart nappy challenger.
3. Terries I guess - reusable nappies, this is a monopoly basically, also a v.small bit of the market.
4. Supermarket and boots own brand - get quite a lot of shelf space so they must sell OK, but Hugz and Pampz can play on the "buy branded or you are not doing the best for your infant" angle more.
5. Indie disposables, these are mostly emergent green/niche brands for eco-conscious parents who can't be arsed with washables and feel guilty about it. Probably quite fast growing.

[blahflowers]

Peep Show meets Mac ads.

You are right

[anonymous]

Hi there! Author, you're more than right!
And just cool journal, interesting site name zenith.livejournal.com :), I see you you're are not newbe. Don't stop the nice work!