The Mac Vs. PC Commercials: International Editions

It seems I’m always sneaking in little asides in my articles about how America has stolen so much from Britain. Now I’ve just found myself seeing a reverse scenario for the first time. And it has something to do with TV, which is almost always America stealing from the British…to help the poor and uninformed viewer. But to show the far reach of Apple Computers and the perennially-popular Macintosh computer, their long-running ad campaign showing a humanized form of the PC and the Mac doing a Harvard-like debate now have editions airing over in the U.K. and Japan. The way the Mac ads are expanding, those commercials may just end up in farther editions in other countries before long. Of course, considering U.K. and Japan have their own actors doing the commercials, you’re probably wondering if they’re equally as funny (or annoyingly ubiquitous) as the ones here in America.

For the U.K. edition, you’d expect these types of commercials to be witty as hell. However, British critics are starting to knock them there based on one problem: The actor/comedians they picked are well-known in other comedic roles on a particular sitcom that some watching couldn’t shake when the commercials first aired. These two comedians are David Mitchell and Robert Webb (aptly titled as a comedy team: Mitchell and Webb), which was probably a wise choice, because it saved rehearsal time due to their already formed natural comedic chemistry.

What bugged some of those U.K. critics is that they both act on a sitcom called “The Peep Show” and a show you perhaps have caught on BBC America if you ever happen to watch there on occasion (which I recommend highly). It’s one of the most popular comedies in Britain for the last five years–though the basic plot is familiar in a buddy comedy: They’re both single and on numerous sexual conquests. Mitchell and Webb have carved such a niche for themselves in those roles, viewers look at them as the not-always-likeable characters from “The Peep Show” rather than imagining them as a button-down P.C. and hipster Mac.

The advantage of the American commercials has always been because John Hodgman (PC) and Justin Long (Mac) weren’t super well-known when the ad campaign started in 2006. However, Justin Long is getting a little too ubiquitous lately in movies and TV, making the ads a little less effective in some ways. Suspension of disbelief helps a lot–especially in such a high-concept kind of ad campaign.

Despite the familiarity problem in the U.K. versions–Mitchell and Webb have turned it into a successful commercial enterprise there. One interesting aspect to the British version is that they run a little longer than they do here in America. Could it be that the Brits have never caught the TV ADD bug that America’s had since the 90’s now? Whether that’s true or not, the Brits have managed to carve out their own identity with these commercials. They’ve copied some of the mini-plots of the American ads we’re all familiar with, but they’ve more often than not created ones that give references to British culture. As one example, a spot showcasing the British court system is utilized with the PC dressed as a barrister and preventing Mac from saying a word when Mac starts making PC look bad in that always subtle way. In another, you see PC talking about Britain’s strong, stiff-upper-lip sensibility in the work place (which I’m sure is far-fetched today) while chastising Mac’s insistence on having fun all the time. This leads to a very cleverly British method of metaphor in describing what PC means by using animal metaphors and imploding his argument by referring to himself as an octopus with all those useful–or unuseful–tentacles.

As of now, Britain hasn’t aired as many of the ads as America has. But just when you thought the witticisms of this ad campaign should stop in the U.K., Japan goes and gets involved to create their version of PC vs. Mac…

Japan uses another comedy duo to sell the Mac…

No other country other than Japan knows the comedy duo The Rahmens. Well, I hear they’re well-known on the internet for doing some kind of video series about traditions in Japan that developed a small cult following here in America. Other than that, Japan isn’t always known for being red-letter in comedy, but the Rahmens are extremely popular over there and were chosen to do a Japanese take on PC vs. Mac. Japan renamed the ad campaign “Get a Mac.”

Actually, Japan started copying the American ads before the U.K. started doing their own back in 2006. It probably wouldn’t shock you to learn that they also made various commercials that showcase the culture of Japan so they can stand alone. To show the differences between America and Japan, one of the more amusing ones was one designed for the New Year and PC exclaiming at how amazing that picture of a wild boar is that Mac managed to create on his own. Yes, a wild boar.

And, of course, they use various well-known pop culture phrases in some of the commercials. One of those subtle burns given to PC from Mac is when the two are bantering nicknames back and forth to one another and Mac calls PC “Waku”, which is Japanese for “work.”

It’d be interesting to see English translations of the ads here, though the people who uploaded them onto Youtube (where you can see all of the U.K. and Japanese ads) didn’t provide subtitles. Based on a slightly stiffer delivery, perhaps only those in Japan would really get bigger laughs for this team than Americans would.

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Now we’ll just have to wait until other parts of the world start doing these ads, especially Canada where they’d be only second in dry humor next to the Brits.

Here’s two links to Youtube showcasing one of the U.K. ads and one from Japan.