14 DAY TRIAL // With the recent 'Get a Mac' ads so clearly making fun of the vista situation, one would have thought that Apple has taken things as far as they could. That, however, does not seem to be the case and the latest ad has taken them even further.
Apple's latest ad, dubbed 'Give Up On Vista,' while managing to be both hilarious and very good at what it is supposed to do, is remarkable in more ways than one. If people thought that previous ads were a 'cheap shot' at Microsoft and their other, other operating system, this one is blatantly obvious. The ad is so direct that it isn't really suitable for television, but it does quite well on the web. Despite being such a blatant dig, it is elegantly delivered, managing to maintain the humor that has made these ads do memorable.
This ad is also remarkable in the fact that it is one of the first ads to truly take full advantage of the standard banner and sidebar layout of add space within web pages. The way the two different blocks of the ad come together, as well as the way the ad is shot with the actors seemingly looking up the page to the banner gives it a sense of integration that you just don't see with other ads. Even the lighting in the shot is set up so that when the banner lights up, the actors faces are illuminated at the right angle. Just as importantly, the ad is very unobtrusive, playing without sound and not drawing more attention to itself than you are willing to give. To get the full experience, users must willingly click on a 'play with sound' button.
Last but not least, what makes this advertisement so effective is the simple fact that it is often seen on sites that deal with Vista. A good example is CNET's Windows Vista page, with has reviews downloads and videos. See it for yourself,