"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." -Aristotle

About Me

I am a co-founder of Notches, an early stage startup currently based in NYC. We are building a free, open reviews network that anyone can participate in and anyone can build on top of. You can find out more on our official blog.

Connect with me on...

Recent Readers

Flickr Photos

Warning:

This article is more than 45 days old. Given the speed at which the technology world moves, this post is probably somewhat out of date. Please keep this in mind when reading the post. If this is a tutorial, please check whether you are using the same versions mentioned in the article.

This Apple advertisement doesn't make any sense. Touche!

I love the new Get A Mac campaign. Very clever, and great casting. I'm willing to overlook some of the factual inaccuracies because, hey, this is advertising, right?

One of the most recent ads (mov) doesn't make a lot of sense to me though. The ad in question is touting Boot Camp, OS X's ability to boot both Windows and Macs. After the Mac and PC make their introductions, the Mac says "and I'm also a PC", going on to explain why the Mac is the only computer you'll ever need.

It's clear that all of these ads, with the Bill Gates lookalike and all, are not-so-subtle jabs at Microsoft. Here's the thing - Microsoft doesn't sell computers, it sells an operating system. It doesn't matter whether that OS is running on a Mac or a Dell. And isn't it better if someone has to buy a full retail copy to install on a Mac than a pre-installed OEM copy?

Ironically, the PC was using the term correctly. Touche is the acknowledgement of a hit - and sometimes used sarcastically to mock an opponent's absurd logic.

Touche, indeed.

Tags: Apple, Mac, OSX, Microsoft, Windows, Advertising, Apple Ads, Ads, Get A Mac

Format: mov
Duration: --:--

Only published comments... Jun 19 2006, 07:48 AM by Tim

Filed under: Technology, Rants, Things that amuse me, Microsoft, Apple, Advertising

View related posts

This Apple advertisement doesn't make any sense. Touche!

	Omer van Kloeten said: The 'Bill Gates lookalike' is actually John Hodgman [1], who is a comedian popularized by The Daily Show. I think this is why they hired him. :) [1] http://www.areasofmyexpertise.com/bio.html June 19, 2006 8:58 AM
	Tim said: Interesting - I didn't know that. He does bear an uncanny resemblance in that commercial though :) June 19, 2006 11:22 AM
	James Welborn said: I wrote about this in <a href="http://welborn.blogspot.com/">my blog</a> yesterday and pointed the guys at MacDailyNews to it. They posted it, and then <a href="http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/9913/">the flood began</a>. Apparently, you can't even criticize an Apple advert without being called names. (Although they largely backed off when they found out I am an Apple fanatic myself.) I was hoping someone out there could give me a better linguistic/etymological history of the word to see if Apple was wrong or just being nitpicky. No one has really elucidated the subject for me yet. June 19, 2006 2:13 PM
	Arby said: In fencing, Touché means you got a hit. In an argument, when someone brings a counterpoint to an argument, you can say "touché". Usualy to acknowledge the superiority of the (counter) argument. So if the Mac said "you can run Windows on a Mac too" and the Windows guy said something like "yes, but that means you have to buy Windows and pay extra" he could have said "touché"... or if the PC said "I can run Windows and all its great software" and the Mac said "And I can run Windows too as well as Mac OS X" then he could have said "touché". I think the Apple ad makes sense... at least in French it would. June 19, 2006 3:22 PM
	Roger said: An ad does not have to make sense to work well; and Apple has done these feely/notion messages a lot. This ad is pointed at high school and college folk. Apple is going for a future market with these ads. The give away is that no one that works for a living can identify much with the young guy that lost his razor. June 19, 2006 9:06 PM
	Tim said: Arby - it is used to acknowledge an opponent's successful strike, and I've never heard use limited to just counterpoints. Even the definition James posted from the Apple dictionary app suggests the same: "used as an acknowledgement during a discussion of a good or clever point made at one's expense by another person." Mac made a point at PC's expense, and PC acknowledged that hit by saying touche. The seems to be the correct use of the word. I found it particularly amusing given that Apple corrected PC for use that I don't think is worth correcting, and when the counterargument made itself was somewhat faulty in logic to start with. June 20, 2006 8:06 AM
	James Welborn said: Roger -- the problem is that the "feely/notion" we come away with from this ad is, "Gee, the Mac is a douchebag. Who cares about that niggling detail, even if he is right?" And then we forget that the whole point of the ad was to tell us that the Mac can run Windows. June 21, 2006 10:40 AM
	Tim said: Given that we're now debating the "effectiveness" of the ad, perhaps this was by design. It was clearly somewhat effective! June 23, 2006 7:36 AM
	Louis-Philippe Brochu said: I'm a native french speaker and i think the "touché" ad doesn't make sense. It means litterally "touched" and it's used to say something like "you've got it". There is no other meaning to my knowledge... June 26, 2006 6:01 PM
	David said: The "PC" did not actually use the word "touché" correctly because he never actually made a point. In order to say "touché," you must first make a point, and then your opponent must make a good counter-point. Because the "PC" never made a point to begin with, his usage of "touché" was incorrect. The ad makes sense. June 28, 2006 1:07 AM
	Tim said: David, that's where I disagree. Nothing at all in the definition or common use requires a "counterpoint". The strike one is acknowledging by saying touche can be an initial strike or a counterstrike... June 30, 2006 1:57 PM
	Dr You said: wow, so this is what losers talk about. fascinating July 7, 2006 11:56 PM
	Loosely Coupled // Tim Marman's Weblog said: Perhaps in light of the Apple ads that don't make sense, Best Week Ever unveiled the Lost Mac ads&nbsp;this... July 9, 2006 8:03 AM
	jstreed said: I thought <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/61/66/R0256600.html">riposte</a> was the usual figurative term for a counterpoint. As for the ad itself, yes, they're entertaining, but as Seth Stevenson pointed out in Slate's Ad Report Card, the PC guy is a lot more entertaining and fun to watch. July 18, 2006 10:54 AM
	Kendoll said: In the time it took someone to write a blog, one could have easily researched their answer themselves to find that both the PC Guy and Dr. You are correct: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch%C3%A9 PC Guy was touched by Mac Guys statement/point/jab at the PC being inferior. He was also touched (although incorrectly) by the second jab of Mr. Mac concerning his incorrect use of the word. As a branding element the ad is effective. How many times have we mentioned the ad and mac in general for this discussion. I currently own an I Pod and four Macs for my home, so I believe that I would qualify as a Mac fan. I must admit that I have more empathy for PC guy than for Snotty Mr. Mac. Play the Japanese printer ad- she's hot!! August 10, 2006 2:28 PM
	Ian T said: The ads are great. I've gotten a real soft spot for PC Guy. He's real, makes mistakes and is funny to boot. (no pun intended) As for stuck up Mr Perfect.......and yes, I am a Mac Fan. Always. September 7, 2006 1:41 PM
	kiki said: Idoitsssssssssssss kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk U suck all March 14, 2007 10:06 AM
	A Little Britten at The Times » Blog Archive » Can you have a so-so relationship with your Mac? said: Pingback from A Little Britten at The Times » Blog Archive » Can you have a so-so relationship with your Mac? August 10, 2007 9:19 AM