Fair enough - I agree that Microsoft has been shifting it's messaging quite a bit - but I think a lot of that has to do with Apple being a functional organization (singular vision directed on downwards) and Microsoft is a Divisional Organization (multiple business lines). Where the single vision is communicated (Windows Everywhere) - it's not always appropriate -(Consumers care about experience, not product lines) Here is the last few years of Apple Ads. o [this video] (PC Ad) o [link] (iPod Ad) o [link] (Genius Ad) They have been hitting their stride recently: o [link] (iPhone Camera) o [link] (iPhone Facetime) o [link] (iPhone Music) Interesting, one of the supposedly "Worst reviewed" ads really spoke to me o [link] (Designed in California) I hope we see more like the last one. That's the sort of thing that I think a company should aspire to.
Apple's Mac vs PC ads as an example of its marketing.
It didn't use a silly name for their competitor, but Apple's "I'm a PC" ads are one recent example of pointed negative advertising targeting a specific competitor (and using kind of silly stereotyping of "PC users" to do so): [this video]
Example of pointed negative advertising against a competitor.
I wonder if anyone else here is old enough to remember the "I'm a Mac", "And I'm a PC" ads. There was one that was about all the annoying security pop-ups Windows (used to?) have. (FWIW, it starts here: [this video] .) Lately I've gotten so many of these popups on Mac that it both annoys and amuses the hell out of me. "Die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain", I guess. But, man, Apple hardware still rocks. Can't deny that.
Ad mocking Windows security pop-ups, now ironic for Mac.
> I wonder if anyone else here is old enough to remember the "I'm a Mac", "And I'm a PC" ads. Those ads ran from 2006 to 2009. That’s between 16 and 19 years ago. How young do you imagine the typical HN commenter is? > There was one that was about all the annoying security pop-ups Windows (used to?) have. Those have been relentlessly mocked on the Mac for years. I remember a point where several articles were written making that exact comparison. People have been calling it “macOS Vista” since before Apple Silicon was a thing. > WIW, it starts here: [this video] A bit better quality: [link]
Timestamped start of the ad about security pop-ups.
> Apple's perceived superiority on the security front Still one of the biggest lies that Apple ever told. The very first I'm Mac I'm PC was 100% about how they are virus free OS. [this video]
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.
6 Hacker News comments
From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.
Read more