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Switchers was anadvertising campaign launched byApple Computer on June 10, 2002. It featured what the company referred to as "real people" who had "switched" from theMicrosoft Windows platform to theMac. An internationaltelevision and print ad campaign directed users to a website where various "myths" about the Mac platform were "dispelled". The television commercials were directed byErrol Morris.[1]
A young woman who appeared in the commercials, Ellen Feiss, became aninternet celebrity. Feiss was a friend of Morris's sonHamilton Morris, who also appeared in a commercial.[2]
Localized versions of the commercials, with local "switchers", aired inIceland andJapan.
Certain ads featuredcelebrities, such asTony Hawk,DJ Q-Bert,Yo-Yo Ma,Kelly Slater,Will Ferrell and members ofDe La Soul.
The Switch campaign, while distinctive, was not very effective, and was gradually phased out in 2003. This can be somewhat blamed, however, for the Macintosh lineup as theiMac G3 was becoming obsolete while the newiMac G4 that was showcased was considerably more expensive than comparableWintel offerings. The advertising concept of the Mac's advantages over the PC was dropped in favor for theGet a Mac campaign in 2006.
Due to the simplicity of the ad, manyparodies surfaced on the net shortly after the campaign started. Most of the parodies lamented features they had lost due to the switch, such as the ability to play popularcomputer games and use of theright mouse button. In what seemed like a parody, but was not, Microsoft's marketing team created a web page titled "Confessions of a Mac to PC Convert", but Microsoft removed it for being fraudulent and misleading, even to the point of having a stock photograph used.[3]
The background music of the Switch Ads is "Spit" byJohn Murphy. The music was produced for TBWA Chiat Day by Kendall Marsh of Mental Music Productions, Sherman Oaks, CA.
