North American TV ads in which a nerdy PC guy keeps getting trumped by his hip Mac counterpart have been re-shot and re-scripted for the United Kingdom and Japan, both important markets and home to
unique advertising and comedy cultures.
In Japanese culture -- where direct-comparison ads have long been frowned upon -- it's rude to brag about one's strengths. So for Japanese
versions of the ads, two local comedians made subtle changes to emphasize that Macs and PCs are not that different. Instead of clothes that cast PC as a nerd and Mac as a hipster, PC wears plain
office attire and Mac weekend fashion.
In the U.K. versions, some dialogue is made more relevant to local audiences. In one U.S. ad that shows the PC suffering from a terrible cold --
meant to represent a computer virus -- the bug changes from "doozy" to "humdinger." Another U.K. uses a real statistic to deliver one of the key messages of the campaign: that PCs are designed for
work and Macs for fun. In the ad, Mac points out Brits work longer hours than other Europeans. "And they get less holidays," says PC. "Smashing, isn't it?"
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