English 103
Liu Jin
January 26, 2009
Mac vs. PC
The commercial begins with two guys standing in front of a white backdrop. One guy is a personified PC and the other is a personified Mac computer. The Mac begins by introducing each other then goes on to say that he is better and faster than the PC. The PC then becomes fed up with all the talk of how awesome Mac’s are, causing the PC to be overload and explode in anger. The commercial ends with the line “Mac…they won’t blow up on you,” to signify how PC’s will crash under too much pressure.
The commercial aims to get the attention of young adults and teenagers, and persuade them to buy the Mac. Most of the older generations look for a quality computer, not just a stylish one. However, the classy and stylish computers tend to be more appealing to the younger generation who goes for the looks and not necessarily the quality. The commercial is trying to persuade consumers that the Mac is a far better computer to purchase than the PC. In this attempt to persuade the people, the commercial also serves as a way to entertain the viewers with comical drama scene that plays out between the two computers.
This particular type of commercial doesn’t present all the facts about each computer and adds a little humor providing a perfect way to grab the younger viewer’s attention. Even though the background is just a white back-drop, it draws the viewer’s eyes to the actors who are the personified computers. Notice that the Mac only says one sentence and in that sentence states that he is better and faster than the PC. It only takes that one sentence to cause the PC to “blow up” in anger. That one sentence is all it takes to draw people to a Mac and away from a PC. Without giving all the facts, it helps to focus the viewer’s attention on this simple drama in an attempt to persuade the viewers to buy the Mac.
This commercial uses a pathetic appeal to grab the viewer’s attention. By using a humorous approach, the viewer’s are pulled into the commercial, hanging on the words and actions of the PC waiting to see what happens next. The way the Mac speaks so confidently when saying he is better and faster than the PC is another example of pathos found in the commercial. The matter-of-fact tone the Mac uses appeals to the audience by giving them a sense of reassurance in the quality of the Mac. Once the PC goes off on his rampage, the Mac attempts to pat the PC on the shoulder to get him to calm down, but the PC jerks away in anger saying not to touch him. The Mac is attempting to use pathos to get the PC to cool down and not get upset, but it seems to be too little too late.
This commercial is a perfect example of exaggerated ethos through parody. Even though the commercial resembles the official commercials from Mac, this one is actually a commercial produced for a class project made to give the impression of the real commercials. It is used to imitate the official Mac commercials, but by doing this, the students producing the commercial end up putting adding some of their character. The author’s character is seen in the personified versions of the Mac and the PC, using ethos to establish the credibility of the speaker. For example, the tone the Mac uses gives the viewer a feeling of reliability.
The student’s who produced this commercial, first had to come up with the idea and theme to use for their video. Taking this invention, students had to arrange the commercial into a way that will be the most effective to get their point across. This organization will need to be expressed through a particular style. When the group of student’s determined the invented ideas and style, they used memory to retain the invented ideas and recall the additional supporting ideas. After everything was settled and determined, the group has to determine the way to deliver the ideas and themes that help to persuade the audience. The goal of this particular commercial is to sway the audience and persuade them that Mac’s truly are a better computer than PC’s. They are able to accomplish with very little acting and a very simple plot line.
There were not many facts used in the production of this commercial. It relied heavily on the use of pathos and ethos. However the commercial used some examples of logos as well. The ending statement that said “Mac, they won’t blow up on you,” gives the underlying message of the whole commercial. When the PC has had enough with the Mac’s boasting, he “blows up” in anger and rages on about how he can’t take the comments anymore. This logos is interpreted to mean the PC can’t handle any excess stress or data. Once a PC becomes overloaded with information, it goes into meltdown mode and “blows up.” The meaning that the commercial is trying to get across to its viewers is that Mac can manage the large amounts of data and programs without “blowing up”.
Many different rhetorical strategies were used in this commercial to portray the Mac superior abilities compared to the PC. The whole commercial is a short narration between a Mac and a PC. The Mac and PC start out in casual conversation, but a short sentence from the Mac sends the PC spiraling into an anger outburst. This short narration is a useful tool in getting the attention of the younger readers. Comparison and contrast is also used to give a quick glimpse at the differences in the two computers. Not many facts are given, but there are not necessarily needed. The personalities and conversations of the Mac and the PC are enough to give the viewers a personified view of the two computers.
An analogy is used to give the underlying message of the commercial. “Mac…they never blow up on you” is demonstrated by the way the PC “blows up” in anger. This is used to refer to how a Mac computer is not going to blow up and crash on you like a PC will. The people also used the rhetorical strategy know as process to help persuade the viewers against the PC in this case. By showing the PC exploding in anger at a simple statement from the Mac, it shows how the PC is known to work. Once too much “stress” or information is put on a PC, the computer will “blow up” and crash. Rather than showing how the Mac works through process, the ad gives a great example of how the other brand, the PC, works. This puts a twist on a great rhetorical strategy.
This particular remake of a Mac versus PC commercial is a great example of the many rhetorical strategies and arguments. By using a simple comedic drama played out between two men acting as a personified computer, the commercial was able to persuade viewers into believing that the Mac seems to be a more reliable computer. No fancy words or large amounts of data and facts were needed to get the message out to the public that a Mac is better. The statement at the very end of the commercial was a great wrap up to show the viewers that PC are an unreliable computer that could potentially “blow up” when it gets worn out from dealing with all the stress that is put on it.
When a company faces a competing company, usually the winner is the one who is best able to persuade the viewers that their product is the best. In this commercial, the PC’s anger outburst was enough to cause the viewers to look down on the PC and think that the Mac’s are a better computer. The Mac’s cool manner and matter-of-fact tone was a very useful tool in helping to persuade the viewers of the Mac’s reliability and style. There are always two sides of every argument, but the winner is the always one who is best able to persuade the audience of their views.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQbKVUp34v0&feature=related
Works Cited
YouTube. "Mac vs. PC video." YouTube. 20 January 2009
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