Hacker News Reader

Comment by wallflower | Hacker News Reader

> Ken Segall did the brilliant “Here’s to the Crazy Ones” spot for the ’96 Super Bowl, which remains one of my favorite spots. It reassured the faithful that good things were coming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE

My eyeballs just sweated.

View on HN

I find these overly soppy ads a bit baffling. Ads in Australia and UK are nowhere near as sickly sweet. Perhaps we are a bit more cynical.

Most ads in North America aren't like this, which is probably one reason this stands out.

What a difference between that and the "Mac vs. PC" ads...

The difference is that in '96, Apple was building an identity that was distancing itself from the anti-Microsoft theme which had dominated the discussion of the early 90's. The Think Different campaign was meant to define the soul of the company.

In 2006, Macs sales are competing head on with PC sales. Apple has an identity. There is no longer any question about what Apple stands for. Short humorous clips by somewhat recognizable and well liked TV personalities that compare features of computers? It's not better or worse, it's simply more appropriate.

Just needed Fred Astair dancing around with a vacuum cleaner.

...Apple fans don't even realize how damn tasteless they are. Not a clue.

I'm confused. Are you implying that the commercial was fan-made? If not, then how does a commercial produced by Apple equate to the tastelessness of their fans?

That commercial was from '96, and the ranks of Apple fans have grown quite a bit since then (Apple wasn't even running a unix back then!) so I'd venture that quite a few current Apple fans never saw (or maybe saw but don't even remember) that commercial. How does that commercial prove that these fans are tasteless?

I think the parent was using the work "they" to refer to the ads, as in:

"Apple fans don't even realize how damn tasteless the ads are".

Reply on news.ycombinator.com