The other day someone was telling me how offended they got by competitive ads that knock other products. Interestingly only 5 minutes before they had said that they really liked the current Mac and PC ads; you know, the Mac ads that knock the PC.
I gently pointed out this apparent contradiction and they countered that the Mac-PC ads were different because in those the Mac wasn’t knocking the PC, the PC was drawing attention to its own weaknesses.
Now my friend isn’t stupid. They know it’s an Apple ad, written by Apple copywriters and using actors employed by Apple. So why the logic failure?
Maybe it’s OK to knock the opposition if you wrap it up, or maybe it’s OK if it’s done humorously, or maybe it’s OK to make fun of and disparage the PC if you’re cool like Apple. Or maybe Microsoft is the marketing equivalent of white males – one of the few ethnic groups you can make jokes about.
Now all that may be true but it does undermine the moral dimension of the criticism of comparative ads. Seems like all is fair in advertising so long as it’s done well. And people don’t apply logic to what they see in ads. Not that’s there’s anything wrong with that. I love the ads too.
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