Apropos of Bill Gates’ recent criticism that Apple hasn’t done any of the things Microsoft has done with Vista to improve security in its operating system, Apple has put in circulation a new prime time TV ad that gently pokes fun at Vista itself.
It’s the latest in the series of Get a Mac ads featuring John Hodgman as a PC and Justin Long as a Mac, and it’s called “Security.” You can watch it for yourself using QuickTime.
Standing behind Hodgman is a square-jawed man clad in dark sunglasses, an earpiece and a black suit, his hands gripped together at the wrists — looking disturbingly like a Secret Service agent. With each comment that passes back and forth between them, the agent says, “Cancel or allow?”
“Okay, what gives?” asks Long.
“He’s part of Vista, my new operating system,” explains Hodgman, who’s clearly getting irritated by the constant interruptions. “PCs have a lot of security problems, so he asks me to authorize pretty much everything I do…I could turn him off but then he wouldn’t give me any warnings at all and that would defeat the purpose, so…”
“You are coming to a sad realization. Cancel or allow?” asks Vista security.
“Allow,” says Hodgman resignedly.