Apple’s non-sexist ad

While being somewhat fanboy-ish about Apple with fellow Olin professor Ben Linder, Ben commented that the worst thing he’s seen out of Apple recently has been the Mac+PC ads. In particular, the role of women in those ads.

I think I saw the first non-sexist “Mac+PC” ad from Apple in a while. In Genius, a woman plays a smart Apple Genius, and is not relegated to “peripheral” status. Sure, there’s the air of incredulity on the part of PC, but we can give Apple the benefit of the doubt and assume it is because she is an Apple person, not because she is a she.

How do the other Apple ads that feature women fare?

• Counselor - Not too bad. She’s leggy, but plays the part of a smart professional. Let’s give it a plus.
• Better Results - Hrm. She isn’t a person, just a “professional home movie” that is easy to make and looks nice. And then PC gets the ugly dude instead of Apple’s beautiful one. Interesting message, Apple.
• Network - Ouch. Not directly linked from Apple anymore, but still available.  Here a Japanese woman plays the role of a digital camera that just “plugs in” to the Mac. Yikes on many fronts.

Maybe I’m being picky. Maybe I’m not. Either way, you know that each of these ads probably gets approved by Jobs himself. The lack of any prominent female characters in these ads may be forgivable out of the ad structure, but the role of women leaves a lot to be desired.

Anyway, food for thought.