Timothy McSweeney's Header Image

- - - -

Dave Eggers' The Wild Things is available for preorder, in regular hardcover and
limited-edition fur-covered.

- - - -

THREE NEW
MAC AD IDEAS.

BY TOM BATTEN

- - - -

1.

The effortlessly hip but still harmlessly nerdy Mac Guy stands next to the antiquated but sweet PC Guy in their standard pose. The Mac Guy pulls a pair of binoculars from behind his back and begins looking off into the distance.

PC Guy asks him, "Excuse me, what is that you are doing?"

Mac Guy looks away from his binoculars for a moment, replying, "Oh, hey. I'm just doing a simple search. No big deal."

PC Guy smiles and says, "Hey, I can do that, too!"

PC Guy picks up some binoculars off the ground and raises them to his face. However, instead of looking through them like the Mac Guy, he hurls them against the wall behind him, where they smash into a thousand pieces. He then picks up a gas can and dumps the contents over his head.

The Mac Guy is taken aback by this behavior, and yells at him, "What the hell are you doing, dude?"

PC Guy has now taken a book of matches from his coat pocket. He looks at Mac Guy with a smarmy grin. "I'm running a simple application."

With that, he lights himself on fire and dies screaming.


2.

Same pose to begin with as usual. A beautiful Japanese girl comes up to the Mac Guy and kisses him passionately, then takes his hand and stands smiling beside him.

PC Guy asks, "Hey, what is that all about?"

Mac Guy: "Oh, we're just making a connection. It's pretty effortless when you're a Mac, dude."

Another beautiful Japanese girl walks up and smiles coyly at PC Guy.

"Oh, a simple connection ... well, I can do that, too."

PC Guy takes the Japanese girl by the hand and pulls her close to him. He moves in to kiss her, and the instant before they make contact she heaves forward and vomits a writhing mass of worms into his mouth.

PC Guy turns to Mac Guy, worms falling from his mouth, and mumbles, "See? No problem!"


3.

Mac Guy and PC Guy stand just outside of an outdoor basketball court in an urban area. Mac Guy leans up against a fence with a relaxed and cocky grin on his face, while PC Guy stands anxiously wringing his hands.

After a moment, a gang of greaser-style young toughs appear and surrounds them, circling like a school of sharks and snapping their fingers in a threatening and rhythmic manner.

Mac Guy tells the clearly flustered PC Guy, "Don't worry, I'll handle this."

He steps forward and punches the nearest tough in the face. The tough hardly reacts, but Mac Guy screams in pain and cradles his shattered hand against his chest. All the toughs laugh and begin to tighten their circle, closing in for the kill ...

Suddenly, PC Guy lets loose with a horrific scream and steps forward, swinging his arms in wild circles. He launches himself into the middle of the gang as though he were the hammer of mighty Thor himself, sending young toughs flying through the air, trailing hair gel and switchblade combs behind them.

Once the battle is done, he returns to the cowering Mac Guy and helps him to his feet. Mac Guy looks at PC Guy, completely in awe of his powers.

"Dude, how did you do that?"

PC Guy straightens his suit and replies, "Your sleek design may be more aesthetically pleasing and practical, but it falls apart immediately when used as a weapon. I may be clunky and old-fashioned, but I'm easily heavy enough and sturdy enough to crush a man's skull."

- - - -

OTHER McSWEENEY'S FEATURES:

- - - -

Three New Mac Ad Ideas By Tom Batten
Thomas Friedman Explains the Issues of the Day By Sean Carman
To the Edge of the New World
Charlie Brown Has Never Knowingly Taken Steroids By Andrew and Edward Kirkpatrick
Expanding Earnings Potential on Voicemail Service By Jamie Allen

- - - -

MAIN PAGE | ARCHIVES



Memories of Amanda Davis




Red dot denotes content that is new today.

Black dot denotes newish content.

McSWEENEY'S STORE

SUBSCRIBE TO:
McSWEENEY'S
THE BELIEVER
WHOLPHIN

FUTURE McSWEENEY'S BOOKS

THE AMANDA DAVIS HIGHWIRE FICTION AWARD

INVITE A McSWEENEY'S AUTHOR TO SPEAK IN YOUR TOWN OR COLLEGE

THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING

McSWEENEY'S MONTHLY MAILING LIST

BOOKSTORES WITH A McSWEENEY'S DISPLAY

McSWEENEY'S-RELATED EVENTS AND VARIOUS TOUR DATES

ORDER INQUIRIES AND ADDRESS CHANGES

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
FOR BOOKS
FOR THE QUARTERLY
FOR THE WEBSITE
FOR WHOLPHIN

McSWEENEY'S INTERNSHIPS

CONTACT US

- - - -

LETTERS TO McSWEENEY'S

LISTS

McSWEENEY'S PREDICTS

McSWEENEY'S RECOMMENDS

NEW WHOLPHIN FILM

DAN LIEBERT, VERBAL CARTOONIST

TEDDY WAYNE'S UNPOPULAR PROVERBS

REVIEWS OF NEW FOOD

DISPATCHES FROM MANILA

DISPATCHES FROM MOSCOW

AND HERE'S THE KICKER:
MIKE SACKS'S CONVERSATIONS WITH HUMOR WRITERS


SARAH WALKER SHOWS YOU HOW

DISPATCHES FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER
WHO IS TRYING TO GROW A MUSTACHE


DISPATCHES FROM A HANGDOG BANKRUPT

DISPATCHES FROM THE ANACOSTIA

DISPATCHES FROM THE CAPITAL

DISPATCHES FROM INDIA

THE WINNER'S CIRCLE WITH ERIC FEEZELL

BEN GREENMAN'S FAKE CELEBRITY MUSICALS

SEAN MICHAELS LISTENS TO MUSIC IN MONTREAL

SHORT IMAGINED MONOLOGUES

KIDS' LETTERS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

STAINED TEETH: A COLUMN ABOUT WINE

DISPATCHES FROM THE WINGS AT THE BALLET

YOUR MONEY, YOUR JOB ... YOUR LIFE, WITH ALISON ROSEN

KEVIN DOLGIN TELLS YOU ABOUT PLACES YOU SHOULD GO IN EUROPE

LAWRENCE WESCHLER'S EVERYTHING THAT RISES: A BOOK OF CONVERGENCES

THE CONVERGENCES CONTEST

ABOUT THE CONVALESCENT

ABOUT GOD SAYS NO

ABOUT UNDERGROUND AMERICA

ABOUT THANKS AND HAVE FUN RUNNING THE COUNTRY

LETTERS FROM AN EARTH BALL TO, OR CONCERNING, SEAN HANNITY

DISPATCHES FROM ADJUNCT FACULTY AT A LARGE STATE UNIVERSITY

E-MAILS SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FLAG-FOOTBALL TEAM


ADVICE FROM A PERSON WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY

JOHN MOE'S POP-SONG CORRESPONDENCES

INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL JOBS

FLIP: A COLUMN ABOUT SKATEBOARDING

OPEN LETTERS TO PEOPLE OR ENTITIES WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO RESPOND

DISPATCHES FROM A PUBLIC LIBRARIAN

MICHAEL IAN BLACK IS A VERY FAMOUS CELEBRITY

DAN KENNEDY SOLVES YOUR PROBLEMS WITH PAPER

STEPHEN ELLIOTT'S POKER REPORT

- - - -

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL