Advertising is part of marketing that is focused specifically on promoting products or services through paid messages.
It aims to inform, persuade, and remind potential customers about a product or service.
And back in the earlier days of Apple Macs and Microsoft Windows PCs, one of most notable advertisement, was the 'Get a Mac' ad, a television advertising campaign created for Apple that ran from 2006 to 2009, in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany.
Justin Long, the American actor and comedian, known for his roles in comedy and horror films, was the star for the ad in the U.S..
Long, dressed in casual clothes, introduces himself as an Apple Mac computer.
At the time, Long was the 'Mac Guy'.
Now, he isn't.
At the Computex 2024 keynote, Qualcomm unveiled an advertisement, which features Justin Long.
It appears that after two decades, Long is depicted as overwhelmed by a barrage of notifications about app compatibility, low disk space, and battery issues in macOS. This prompts him to look for an alternative, and he sets his interest on Microsoft Windows operating system running on an ARM-powered PC.
The ad was introduced at the very end of the keynote, with CEO Qualcomm Cristiano Amon announcing it as footage of "a very special person actually ordering their Copilot+ PC."
The 23-second video featuring Long concludes with Long stating, "Things change," a sentiment echoed by Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon during the event's closing remarks.
In other words, Long, which has long been the face of Apple's iconic "I'm a Mac" commercials, is now on board Qualcomm, promoting Windows PCs.
Long has being driven to order a Snapdragon-powered PC.
In a playful nod to his iconic 'Mac Guy' persona, Long cheekily uses a MacBook in the Qualcomm advertisement.
When Long first became the Mac Guy, his participation was part of a series of marketing strategies, where Apple was trying to associate his "I'm a Mac" persona to promote its products.
In the original Get a Mac ad campaign in 2006 for the U.S. market, Long played a personified Mac, characterized as easygoing and efficient, while author and humorist John Hodgman portrayed a PC, depicted as conformist and prone to problems like viruses and system crashes.
Long played a relaxed, pleasant guy surprised by the complexities and messiness of a PC.
The ads ran for three years and consisted of 66 different commercials, although Long revealed in 2019 that approximately 300 were filmed.
The "Hello, I'm a..." approach was so appealing, funny and effective, that it quickly became part of the pop culture, sparking numerous parodies.
Long was recruited again in 2017, when Huawei featured Long in an ad for its Mate 9 smartphone.
In 2021, Intel also employed Long to create "Justin Gets Real" advertisement that praised PCs and mocked various aspects of Apple's M1 MacBooks, including the Touch Bar and its limited color options.
The advertisement was released in the wake of Apple's transition to Apple Silicon in its Mac computers.
Read: 'Justin Gets Real': Intel Converted Justin Long From 'Mac Guy' To 'PC Guy'
At this time, Long is with Qualcomm.
While the company knows that Long will forever be remembered as the 'Mac Guy,' it believes that it's a good idea to use the Mac actor to try to sell rival products.
Qualcomm thinks that through Long, consumers will have heard the word "Qualcomm," and that is what matters.
Qualcomm has even copied Intel in how it strove to make consumers really believe that Long has really switched platforms.
As for Long, he is fine being tugged here and there.
After all, he is an actor.