An Oral History of Apple's 'Get a Mac' Ad Campaign as Told By the Writers, Crew and Actors

Apple's famous 'Get a Mac' campaign was one of the most effective in the company's history. Featuring a Mac (Justin Long) and a PC (John Hodgman), the ads touted the advantages of Mac over PC in a likable and humorous manner.

Campaign Live has managed to bring together ten members of the creative team, the crew and the actors to share the untold stories of how the campaign came to life.

In September 2005, Steve Jobs gave his advertising agency, TBWA\Chiat\Day, an assignment: Come up with a campaign that clearly demonstrates the Mac's superiority to the PC. There was no deadline. Seven months, dozens of tense meetings and countless discarded ideas later, the agency produced "Get a Mac." It would go on to become one of the most succesful and admired ad campaigns in Apple's history, no small feat when "1984," "Think Different" and "Silhouette" are the competition. Among those legendary ads, "Get a Mac" stands out as the most overtly comedic and one of the most expansive: The team shot 323 spots over three years just to get the 66 that made it on air.


The in-depth article offers a very interesting first hand account of how the idea came to life, how the actors were cast, how the campaign expanded internationally, and much more. It's definitely worth a read.

Read More