Rick Holzgrafe [1] writes regarding "Apple in 1998: Retreat or Focus?" in TidBITS 416: "In discussing Apple's new 'snail' ad, Adam wonders whether speed is what the average consumer really wants. It probably isn't, but that's not the point. John Sculley (remember him?) raised Pepsi from obscurity to equal standing with Coca-Cola by means of 'taste test' ads. The real purpose of those ads was not to convince America that Pepsi was better than Coke; it was to establish Pepsi and Coke as peers - and it worked. The 'snail' ad probably has the same hidden agenda. The main purpose is to get people to think of both Wintel and Mac when they think 'PC,' and break the stranglehold on mindshare that Wintel currently enjoys. The message 'Macs are better' is secondary; the message 'Macs are okay' is primary. I expect more ads along these lines, each pointing out one simple, clear reason why Macs are better but mainly driving home the point that you don't have to buy Wintel; there's a choice."

[1]: mailto:rick@kagi.com

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