I'm a PC, and This is My Rhetorical Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkZdkHylJ3w

It is almost comparable to the shots taken by presidential candidates in the campaign advertisements the way that Macintosh and Microsoft have competed on television. The newest commercial is by Windows, the link is at the top of the blog. The claim made in this commercial is a form of metonymy which stereotypes people who use Microsoft computers by having those people introduce themselves as PC’s. A PC refers to the computers that use Microsoft Windows. The advertisement was made in response to a series of commercials made by Macintosh. These commercials use personification, having one actor portray a Mac and the other portrays a PC. The actor playing the Mac is shown as both smarter and more efficient than its PC counterpart.

My gut reaction to this claim is one of a PC user who wishes he had a Mac. I see people from many different ways of life all claiming to use a PC, and speak as though they are proud of it. It is a pathetic appeal that uses a bandwagon approach to try and sway a wavering audience. It is a bandwagon approach because it shows everyone is the same. Some that would argue that it is dogmatism would only be oblivious to the previous commercial that triggered this retaliation from Microsoft, which most people in the audience already know as the other alternative. It is a wavering audience because there is no evidence to prove that consumers watching this commercial are not completely dedicated to Macintosh or PC’s.

This commercial is unsuccessful in my opinion because it does not persuade one of their biggest consumers. The commercial shows adults in their different careers all representing Windows, but it fails to show any college students happy with their PC. College students should be the main focus of their marketing. However, on the other side, perhaps Windows has conceded to Macintosh in the competition for college students. According to another Mac commercial, the Notebook (Mac’s featured laptop) is owned by more college students than any other laptop.

One thing that is known is that these companies are both gaining support as the demand for computers rises along with our technological advances. The competition is over who will get a bigger share of the profits. The electoral college of consumers is split down the middle. It all comes down to who will win Florida, but will all the votes be counted in time?