In a recent ad campaign, Macintosh takes a stab at the PC market by showing Windows users who have "switched sides," from using a Windows based PC to the Unix based Macintosh. The most impressive of these "switchers" is a Windows LAN (local area network) Administrator, who "fights Windows all day and then comes home at night to his Mac, which works." This advertising strategy makes sense for Macintosh because they only make up about 4% of the personal computer market share. Macintosh provides its product to such a small niche that it's not surprising that the company directly opposes the PC market with their advertising. But when a large PC corporation takes a stab at the little guy, it makes you wonder why.

It appears that Macintosh, even though they are no threat to the PC world, has somehow upset Gateway. This is evident in Gateway's newest advertising strategy featuring the Profile 4, an all in one Windows based answer to the iMac. By design, the Profile 4 attacks the iMac in its appearance and performance. In a recent advertisement, it does backflips over three iMacs, mocking a previous advertisement where an iMac is bouncing around the screen.

The Profile 4 is quite an impressive machine when compared to its Macintosh counterpart in the same price range; however, it lacks a DVD recording drive, graphics abilities, and configuration options. So despite an aggressive "backflip" campaign, Gateway still doesn't quite make the necessary leap. With that in mind, it really confuses me why a company as large as Gateway would target a company with an ad campaign that only places focus on a niche oriented computer company such as Macintosh. It seems to me that Gateway may have provided the iMac with some free advertising.

Name: Todd G
Comments:
It doesnt matter how Gateway packages their product, its still gonna be running Windows.

Name: b.faust
Year: Jr.
Major: INfo.Sys.
Comments:
Macs are ugly on the inside. :(

Name: Mac User
Year: owner of a mulitmedia co.
Major: BS in Computer Science
Comments:
It bothers me to no end that people such as the Geek feel they need to put Apple down as a company in order to reassure themselves that they have chosen their computer of choice wisely. Whatever your preference is, no one cares. From where I stand, the article above was simply stating that Gateway has made a poor decision with regards to their advertising campaign. And on a side note; Apple computers are run in high-demand environments on a daily basis, and consistently run longer and with better graphics than most PCs. Just look at any production company involved with either graphics, or audio and ask what they use; I guarantee it's a Mac, and not just because they're pretty looking.

Name: Bob Cook
Comments:
Great article John, You should forward a copy of it to the marketing department at Gateway.

Name: Mr. Cooper
Year: I am a 5th grade teacher
Major: Anatomy
Comments:
I think John's article is very poignant. I think John learned to be suspicious from being in my class. John was always so cute. I just wish he's lose that darn RS-6000 he carries with him everywhere.

Name: The Geek
Year: 2002
Major: General
Comments:
Gateway is always dumb. I'm becoming more and more convinced that outside academia, Apple is becoming more and more a moot point. Most "professional" Apple users I know are actually running Linux on their Apples. Gateway is near bankrupt, their credit is shot. They are taking wild jabs at trying to convince foolish consumers who leave Gateway, seeking something "new" "that works" in Apple, to stay with them. When Apples and Gateways are compared, you have constantly crashing machines side by side. I'm an Apple Technician, trained to know how to configure an Apple to make it perform to it's peak abilities. I have yet gotten an Apple to run in a high-demand environment for longer then 1.5 days. I put my Dell laptop through 3 times the workout, and I need only reboot once every 4-7 days. I will grant that Windoz is not perfect, neither is Linux, but correctly deployed and configured, they seem more robust then most of the recent Apple OS'. I continue to pray for additional updates to OS X...based on Linux it has potential. Untill that potential is met, I continue to proudly carry a Dell laptop running Windows 2000.