This one, called "Broken Promises" is a walk down Windows memory lane. (The real question: How long has the "Hodgman—Miami Vice attire" Post-It been on the writers' bulletin board?)

The next one, called Teeter Tottering, shows a cute woman trying to ditch a clingy PC. (Don't they know who we're rooting for here?)

This final one, PC News, has a Rob Lowe sound-alike explaining to Hodgman why people waited until Windows 7 arrived to switch to Macs. (I love Macs, but anyone who waited out Vista can handle Win 7 just fine.)

[Apple]

Needless to say, the execution on this concept chessboard leaves something to be desired, but the idea has potential. I can see a whole series of Mac vs PC board games springing from this. So, who killed Mac with the wrench in the library? (Psst...it's probably PC.) [Coroflot via Waylou via Craziest Gadgets via SlipperyBrick]

Now, I'm a Mac user (surprise!), but I think I'm starting to agree with Dan on these commercials. They're getting a bit long in the tooth and a bit forced, no? [Apple via CrunchGear]

The ad reiterates the same played-out message we've heard in dozens of these ads: PCs get viruses, crash, push your grandparents down the stairs, whatever, so go buy a Mac and be hip or something. Apple's amassing a really funny cast here; even Justin Long was great in Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and tossing Patrick Warburton in there could have been a golden opportunity to be, you know, funny instead of just smug. Too bad Apple seems content to stick with the status quo. [Apple via Engadget]

The ad has a Lauren-type actress give her list of specifications, and of course, bunch by bunch, the drab-suited PCs are disqualified until she gets to "something that works," at which point all the remaining PCs leave. Since we've been seeing some flames for criticizing the Laptop Hunters series, let me be one of many to say that I hate this and all other "I'm a Mac" ads. Sure, Laptop Series was kind of fluffy and without either substance or style, but at least it wasn't condescending and smug. Now, what say you, commenters? [Apple]

"Time Traveler" - During which the PC character goes to the year 2150 to see if PCs have become any less error-prone.

"Stacks" - PC is having trouble finding people's faces in his huge photo stacks, so Mac pimps the new facial recognition software contained in iPhoto. This is an obvious shot across the bow of that cute little girl who showed us how "easy" it was to do photo editing on a PC.

"Legal Copy" - PC wants us to believe he's easy to use, but the lawyers say otherwise.

"Biohazard Suit" - Can you say Conficker?

Apple has obviously decided to respond to Microsoft's "un-commercials" with the tried and true "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" formula, and why the heck not, really. It's ten times better than their catty initial response the other day, and the commercials are, at the very least, incredibly popular.

To be honest, I would have liked to have seen a Lauren cameo or parody of some kind, only because she's actually on my TV right now as I type this. Hi, Lauren. [Apple]

It's true. The Linux Foundation saw those successful I'm a Mac commercials, and Jerry Seinfeld playing with Bill Gates, and they wanted in. So they're having a video contest that will try and showcase "just what Linux means to those who use it, and hopefully inspires many to try it."

That means you, the Linux user at home, will get to submit a video that rivals what Apple and Microsoft's multi-million dollar ad agencies have had years to hone and perfect with focus groups and trained, funny actors. But that's the beauty of the penguin, right? Grassroots development, supported by a passionate community of users, all topped off by a network of cranky forum dwellers who'll attack anything negative written about their OS within milliseconds of its publication.

The winner of the I'm Linux contest will receive a free (as in beer) trip to Tokyo to participate in the Linux Foundation Japan Linux Symposium in October 2009. The winning video will be screened at the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit in San Francisco on April 8, 2009.

Novell actually did this already back at BrainShare in 2007, but we'll see if the community at large can do them one better:

[Linux Foundation via Slashdot]

There's also the minor matter of Apple accusing Microsoft of spending money on advertising that would be better allocated to fixing Vista. The message, of course, is delivered in an expensive advertising campaign, the week after Apple released brand new, prohibitively expensive laptops. Justin Long's Mac moves on to criticize Microsoft's 'reluctance' to call Vista by its real name, which is either a misguided dig at the Mojave campaign or some kind of odd jab at the logical dropping of the 'Vista' name for Windows 7.
Everyone expects misinformation and questionable techniques in advertising, but that's not the issue here. These ads seem directed at Microsoft's corporate management, not their customers. Redmond and Cupertino are having a useless, protracted argument with each other, unaware of the fact that their shouting is going completely over everyone else's heads. [MacRumors]

The offending evidence was metadata found in the images of the PC user featured on the “I’m a PC” web site. The data exposed the fact that the images were produced using Macs running Adobe Creative Suite 3.

Microsoft has since responded to the controversy, saying in a statement that "as is common in almost all campaign workflow, agencies and production houses use a wide variety of software and hardware to create, edit and distribute content, including both Macs and PCs."

They then scrubbed the metadata from the imagery.

We recently asked you guys and gals if advertising could make Microsoft "hip." The answer, it appears, is yes—so long as Redmond is creating said advertising on a Mac. [Digital Daily]

Ad work and post processing are more often than not done on Macs, so this is nothing special. Just a footnote in the campaign that could have been one more notch on Microsoft's side had they been able to claim that these ads were made on Windows. – JC

What comes next is a parade of everyday PC users—scientists, fashion designers, teachers, and celebrities (like Pharrell!)—who talk about how much they like using computers that run on Microsoft operating systems and software. The vignettes, none of which are online right now, are supposed to be quick and upbeat... probably similar to those old Mac Switch ads?

As a Windows user who was deeply puzzled by what message the Seinfeld + Gates ads were trying to espouse, I'm glad they're going with a more informative, if conventional, approach. My biggest problem with the “I'm a Mac” ads were that they weren't, in any sense, grounded in reality. I don't look like John Hodgman. I use my computer for more than just spreadsheets. It's nice to see Microsoft's campaign reflect that. [NYTimes]

Oh, but wait! He's cool, look here, under hobbies: "No time for hobbies, too busy spamming Windows-only developers." I was wrong, you're totally gnarly, dude. –Adam Frucci

Cult of Mac [via Crave]

"Hello, I'm a Mac.
"And I'm a PC"
"I'm a bit pretentious and condescending, and refuse to capitalize proper nouns."
"I sometimes poop my pants."
"I've been pooping my pants for years!"

Yeah, those commercials. We put together some of our favorite parodies that we've seen over the past few months. Hit the jump to laugh a little at the expense of others.

Mac Vs. PC

iPod vs. Zune

PS3 vs. Wii

PS3 Vs. Toaster

Ok, technically there are more than five here...just pick whichever you like most from the group and consider yourself an honorary Gizmodo writer for the day, with full typo privileges.– Mark Wilson