And so what makes Microsoft’s new “I’m a PC” commercials so jaw-droppingly bad is that they’re not countering Apple’s message, but instead they’re reinforcing it. That the spots themselves jump between dozens of different people who “are” PCs, that the spots make a point of emphasizing that there are a billion Windows-running PCs worldwide, this only emphasizes that “PC” is not a brand name but a generic.
This is what advertising is about — making you the consumer want the New Improved thing, with Whiter Whites/Scrubbing Bubbles/Moxie. All this campaign does is try to convince you that generic is OK, that wanting the common denominator is acceptable. What next? Airbrushing out Vista from product lineup shots? Have you seen Bob lately?