Microsoft’s Response to “Get a Mac” Changed Computing Forever

                                                                                   Photo by Davor Nisevic @davornisevic on Unsplash

Apple have had several successful advertising campaigns through the years, starting with Ridley Scott’s famous 1984 commercial:

Yet Microsoft’s response to the Get a Mac campaign started a chain of events that reverberates to today.

Get a Mac

Before the “Get a Mac” campaign, Apple sales had been sluggish.

Apple decided to use a strategy to gain market share against Microsoft’s dominant PC. This made Macs look young, cool and able to “stick one to the man” in a funny way by making the technology human and accessible.

By putting a friendly human face onto computing Apple had a winning strategy.

Apple, Better

In the first commercial Apple made their play.

Instead of talking down to the PC, the cool Justin Long tackled the older out-of-touch John Hodgman as one would a confused Uncle. Friendly, but cutting in how the Mac deals with the PC.

Apple, Accident

In another memorable commercial, the Mac responds with sympathy while pushing the product features of the Mac.

Again, youth and friendliness.

The Result

After the “Get a Mac” campaign launched, Mac sales increased. In the fiscal year of 2006 Apple had boosted its sales by 39%, an amount not to be sniffed at.

Microsoft was standing on the sidelines, but needed a way to preserve their market share. The only way would be to respond in kind. 

Microsoft’s Response

Microsoft didn’t simply stand by during this heart and minds attack. Microsoft pulled a masterstroke.

They put the human touch into their advertising campaign. Their campaign used video of real users who used their machines (although bizarrely including Bill Gates in the advert was probably a mistake) giving Microsoft that true human touch.

Microsoft understood that the age of personalization had dawned. It was simply insufficient to sell machines as a feature set or hardware bump. Now they needed to be sold as tools real people use. 

The Impact

The shift in Microsoft’s advertising showed that tech products could carry not just function but values. Both companies introduced something new to the landscape of tech advertising: Microsoft’s campaign grounded itself in diversity and usability, while Apple pioneered a more personal and accessible brand of computing. This era was the dawn of the “human era” of computing. Ads didn’t need to drone on about specs anymore — now they could just show someone using the product.

While the Mac vs. PC debate may have cooled, the trend they created persists. Today, brands sell experiences, not just products, and Microsoft’s human-centric pivot, inspired by Apple’s campaign, led the way. We moved away from raw numbers and chipsets to real people and personalities, marking a cultural shift in tech that’s still resonating across the industry.

Conclusion

Both Apple’s and Microsoft’s commercials changed the industry and redefined how technology can be sold.

The real magic is not in the machines but in the way, they are connected to users.

And so it continues today. So, think of that during your next refactoring tech debt mission.