Apple’s new “Santa Claus” ad pays homage to the glory of Rankin/Bass

December 13, 2007 by Dr. Macenstein
Filed under: Apple Fanboyism, Awesomeness, video 


We’re usually able to reign in our fanboy tendencies enough to not go writing about every new Apple ad that comes out, but their latest one really deserves a special mention. Entitled “Santa Claus“, the new ad pays homage to the kick-ass Rankin/Bass stop motion holiday specials we all grew up on.

We wouldn’t be surprised if Jobs forced convinced Pixar to pump this one out, as it looks a little too slick to be claymation. Still, this commercial represents somewhat of a pinnacle in Apple’s “Get A Mac” ad campaign. It seems Apple now considers the Mac vs. PC duo iconic enough characters that they can be portrayed in a new medium and still be recognized.

[UPDATE: Faithful Macenstein reader L claims Laika Inc did this ad, not Pixar.]

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Comments

59 Comments on Apple’s new “Santa Claus” ad pays homage to the glory of Rankin/Bass

  1. Michael Dodd on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 7:54 pm

    2. It needs the Bumble.

  2. Joe on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 11:02 pm

    3. PC’s rule

    Macs suck on the internet, Apple is only good for Pods and Phones

  3. Bill on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 11:29 pm

    4. Wow, Joe, your assessment is awesome. I mean Microsoft should totally hire you for their marketing. I mean the way you back up your statement with absolutely no evidence without any point to the topic at hand. The way you use the apostrophe completely incorrectly, genius.

    Joe, why do you bother commenting on this site when you could start your own site. I’m sure you’d have a heavy readership! People love this kind of insight and it’s so hard to find on the net!

  4. russ on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 11:32 pm

    5. wow.. joe.. ever used a mac.. why don’t you stop being an ignorant shit and go read pc magazine or something ya normie.. even your name has pc written all over it… generic

  5. Rau on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 11:34 pm

    6. … Macs have there pros and cons just like any platform but please explain to me how exactly “Macs suck on the internet”?

  6. Rich on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 11:38 pm

    7. no. joe’s right.

  7. Roger on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 11:47 pm

    8. He’s probably just saying that to get at your nerves. Myself being a mac user can’t stand when people make stupid ignorant comments like that. Then again he’s probably doing so for attention and or to bait some of the more aggressive mac users :)

  8. Nick on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 11:50 pm

    9. Joe’s the one on the left.

  9. beargulch on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 11:54 pm

    10. After 15 years using Windows, and 2 glorious years using Macs, you have to be brain dead, or a Gates fanboy, to love any Windows OS. Give Macs a chance. Unix is the best.

  10. fractals on Thu, 13th Dec 2007 11:59 pm

    11. lol funny ad. macs are stupidly over priced though… i certainly wont be getting one for christmas :P

  11. David Fisher on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 12:02 am

    12. Uhh… compare CSS and web standards compatibility of IE 6/7 against Safari 2/3. Not even a close call. Seriously. You’ve apparently never done complex web authoring. Microsoft failz at teh internet.

    Windows is decent for playing games, and it’s not horrid in a mega-corporate business environment. I’ll give it those. But for programming, web development, video editing, music, photography, or just doing stuff on a day to day basis, macs kill. Seriously. This isn’t OS 8.6 anymore (yea I’ll admit that wasn’t fun, and neither was 10.0) but Leopard is kicking ass and taking names.

    Linux also has it’s place (imho servers), but for getting many multimedia things working it fails and is missing crucial software for people who are doing professional work. There is no linux analog to Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, Motion or Aperture.

  12. John on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 12:08 am

    13. Hiss! PC user! Let’s all use our snarky and superior attitudes to hide our insecurities!
    PC & Mac advantages aside, there’s a reason why Apple fanboyism gets such a bad name. Your computer preferences have no bearing on how cool or normal you are.

  13. Rohan on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 12:09 am

    14. Well, to make unsupported, immature comments like ‘Macs suck’ or ‘pcs suck’ is stupid. That doesn’t change the fact that they do suck however. Linux rules! Open source software is the way to go. Microsoft has pretty shoddy products, and Apple has done nothing but sell over-priced products that are simply not worth buying.

    (Also, one thing PC users can do that Mac users can’t is shut the hell up).

  14. L on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 12:10 am

    15. Laika Inc did this ad, not Pixar.

  15. John on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 12:35 am

    16. Hey John, it works both ways. A PC user can’t bash Macs all day just because we have some fruit with ponytails running around. Mac users can’t control everyone–although Jobs is working on it. His new name? Overlord.

  16. MacDev on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 1:03 am

    17. Using a Mac vs. a PC for internet - the only real difference I can think of is that the Mac has this feature called locations manager which makes it really nice if you have a portable computer that needs to be setup differently for different locations where you use it - like work, home, school, coffee shop, etc. Apple’s had this feature for many years - like since MacOS 8.5 or something, so you’d think Microsoft would steal it. But if you need to have a static IP at work and use DHCP at home, you are pretty much forced to manually change this on Windows whereas on the Mac, you can choose the location “Work” from the locations menu (under the Apple menu), and you’re good to go.

    You don’t need it if you are just changing Wifi networks - its for when your network settings have to actually be configured differently in different places (or even if you are at work and have different subnets that you could be on, etc.)

  17. TapeMan on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 1:33 am

    18. Oh ho ho!

    That was so funny it made me forget all of those PC commercials that said “Oh don’t buy a Mac! Please! Buy a PC, they’re better!” and then made fun of Mac computers. Oh wait.

  18. nobody on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 1:44 am

    19. I swear to god I hate all of you digg users down to the deepest core of my soul. All your hyped-up article titles and sensationalized summaries account for a whole lot of - absolutely nothing! Just because it uses omnidirectional lighting DOESNT MEAN ITS PIXAR! For god’s sake the people who write these articles must either be 8 year olds or 55 year olds. If it looks like it was made in the 50’s it MUST be made by Pixar because thats what they do right? Just like how every computer-animated movie ever made was made by pixar? I swear to god himself I hate all of you with a raw, seething passion and I pray for the day that digg finally becomes so bloated with crap that it completely falls off the radar and dies. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news. This isnt news.

  19. J on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 1:45 am

    20. You guys are jackasses. You claim that PC is the one who’s bashing Mac all along? And when you get called out on it, you’ll say “You’re twisting our words” when it’s clearly implied? The funny part is that PC is so popular already that they don’t need to advertise. I don’t see any commercials saying why you should buy a PC over Mac. Or rather, bashing a Mac (to do the same thing as your advertising campaign). That’s because anyone with half a brain already knows that PCs are superior. You point out PCs flaws, yet anyone who’s computer literate knows how easily fixed they are. However, anyone who’s computer literate will be baffled by Mac because their entire system is idiotic. Even their hardware setup is inefficient, ever been inside a Mac? How about a PC? Tell me which you like better.

    You bash Vista but flaunt your ability to run it, how ironic.

  20. 2pissuoff on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 1:57 am

    21. That’s it! just to piss you off, I’m getting a MAC and installing windows 98. Ha take that!…. Just kidding

  21. Meisterburger Burgermester on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 3:24 am

    22. Bumbles bounce!

  22. Abe on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 3:56 am

    23. I dont know what the big deal about macs. I’ve tried them, they’re slow and unresponsive. A lot of the mac users at my college wish they’d gotten win based laptops instead the new macbooks. Seriously.

  23. Abe on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 3:57 am

    24. Wait nevermind, all of them do.

  24. Tweak on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 4:47 am

    25. My buddy actually works for Laika Studios, they are ready to release their fist major motion picture “Coraline” based of the Neil Gamon book. It’s also done in the same stop motion animation. So it wouldn’t surprise me that this ad was somewhat influenced by their recent work on Coraline.

  25. I'm a PC on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 5:54 am

    26. PC is so much a more likeable character than the Mac. He wins without trying it is sad.

  26. Matt on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 6:13 am

    27. uhh…I like Macs and PCs equally, but if you are making the claim that Safari is a better browser than IE7, I can’t support that. Style based layouts that display perfectly in IE7, Opera, and Firefox (on both platforms), completely fall apart in any version of Safari. I’m sorry, but Safari is a crap browser and any serious developer knows it. However, Safari (and almost any other browser on the planet) are way better than IE6.

    Also with all due respect Mr. Fisher, CSS and HTML do not alone equal complex web authoring. Though upon viewing your website, you already know that (assuming you designed your page yourself).

  27. joe on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 6:20 am

    28. im right.

  28. jb on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 6:31 am

    29. jesus christ you guys are dumb. if the os of your choice is so wonderful why not shut the fuck and enjoy it? badmouthing other people’s ideas and choices only exposes self-doubt.

  29. Rey on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 6:46 am

    30. mac ad made in 3dsmax PC

  30. minusslade on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 6:57 am

    31. yeah macs do blow not because the comps are bad(they are) but cause all the mac loyalists who cant talk about anything other than,,,MAC! Computers are not supposed to be a “social movement”…and steve jobs is an asshole.

  31. Penguin on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 7:48 am

    32. Guess Santa is glue between. We all know Santa is a huge GNU/Linux fan :P

    (A merry GNU/Linux X-Mas to you all :P )

  32. Ray on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 7:49 am

    33. Now I want to see dolls, eh, I mean “Action Figures” made of the pair. I would totally love to have them sitting atop my Mac and PC at work in a kinda “Heat Miser” “Cold Miser” pose.

  33. morq on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 8:50 am

    34. What I can’t stand about macs (besides the obvious), is that while the Unix core may be nice, they have to go ahead and screw it all up with their idiotic GUI, and they don’t continue the unix quality anywhere *but* the command line.
    And I’m sorry, but if that’s the best part of a Mac, I’ll stick with linux; faster, cheaper, more tweakable, can be more stable, no business end telling you how you should compute, twice the eye candy, and half the wanker fanboys.

  34. Dr. Macenstein on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 9:02 am

    35. Hmmm… looks like we started off off-topic, and just never recovered…

    -The Doc

  35. Mark on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 10:18 am

    36. uh oh… santa’s on macs side now… sorry pc… you’re screwed…

    i love the hesitation that was put into the script after pcs line… very funny..

    side note: i just made my first workgroup yesterday of my new imac and pc running windows xp…. it’s slick.. so they both work well together…

  36. Mike on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 10:19 am

    37. Merry Christmas, you trendy mac emo dorks, Linux > *

  37. Imaginator on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 10:27 am

    38. The ad is great, but I don’t think that the original Rankin/Bass productions were claymation. I believe they were wire models.

  38. macsblowdonkeyballs on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 11:10 am

    39. macs are for fags and trendy metrosexuals. pcs will always be the serious machines, not some silver toy in which everyone thinks they are all of the sudden film directors or photographers. LOL get real.

  39. cult of pc on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 11:14 am

    40. Fail.

  40. FanBoysHaveSmallTestes on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 12:12 pm

    41. Worthless shit

  41. Tyler on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 1:09 pm

    42. Apple is way overpriced. I prefer PC for the customization, although the Mac is pretty stylish.

  42. rockstar on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 1:33 pm

    43. i think it all boils down to your preferences. pc users love their pc for games and the easy availability of free apps (torrents). macs love their macs for media and other stuff. i’ve got both, and i like both.

  43. ddfd on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 2:07 pm

    44. If you wear black and drink Latte then you like Macs. Everyone else uses a PC. There is nothing a PC can’t do that a Mac can, but faster. Especially with multi-core processors.

  44. Hindsight on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 2:15 pm

    45. I’m putting this in terms snot nosed little shits who can’t even afford Apple computers can very easily grasp. Sex terms.

    First, who really gives a shit what platform anyone prefers. Really. This site is a Mac site, and has totally fucking awesome Mac babes on it. You’re off topic so I trump your off topic-ness with hot babes. END of Argument.

    But if you need more of a thrashing:

    For those who’ve ever surfed porn/ malicious sites on both platforms, the answer is quite clear in the ridiculous argument over which is “better” on the internet. Mommy and daddy won’t shit a brick when they see a ton of spyware, registry entries, etc from pRon sites on their Mac because they don’t exist.

  45. >_> on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 3:37 pm

    46. http://innerslacker.com/images/argue091204.jpg

  46. farmertomato on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 3:44 pm

    47. Maybe “Joe” is a virus developer, in which case he’s correct.

  47. Dave Nofmeister on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 4:00 pm

    48. Cool commercial. Having it animated is a nice change.

  48. Dr. Macenstein on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 4:03 pm

    49. Dave, please try to keep comments on topic. We’re apparently doing Mac and Windows bashing here, not discussing the article!

    :)

    -The Doc

  49. silly@apple.com on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 4:53 pm

    50. Apple’s PC vs Mac ads are silly and childish.

    Macs are nothing but proprietary crap.

  50. Dryk on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 6:26 pm

    51. lol this happens every time a mac is mentioned on a non mac site. Who cares which is better? You all just need to relax. I think that most people would agree that the mac ads are clever and sometimes even funny. It doesn’t always need to turn into an argument. PC people, you can’t laugh at yourself? Mac people, just because you are happy with your computer platform, doesn’t mean everyone has to know. They are just computers after all.

  51. Zane on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 7:01 pm

    52. I think its hilarious that 95% percent of the time, people who say the pc is better have never even tried a mac atleast anything in the mac os X family. While most people who say mac is better are people that used to use PC…

    I think a lot of you pc owners should think about that for a second and maybe that will prevent you from being so ignorant.

  52. alias on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 10:07 pm

    53. herself-
    god herself

    Who says macs are overpriced? where do you shop, walmart? I bet you wear polyester pants, too. i shop at better stores and my clothes areof natural fibers and much nicer than yours. i appreciate quality in the things i own. Of course, I own a mac powerbook. And its still a great machine after almost 5 years of constant use -& on 24/7

  53. Jean-Luc Mactard on Sat, 15th Dec 2007 10:41 am

    54. macs are for French People!

  54. Isaac on Sun, 16th Dec 2007 4:30 am

    55. http://www.cartoonbrew.com/advertising/laika-mac-commercial

    it was Laika great commercial.

  55. arnie on Sun, 16th Dec 2007 7:46 am

    56. Most mac users are children of yuppies who don’t have to work for what they have. The idiot who said her or his clothes were better shows the point. I came to read the article and instead find whiney little kids. Yuppies suck and use macs and macs are for French people and ohter non-living creatures!

  56. Nikole on Sun, 16th Dec 2007 9:13 am

    57. Is that really Justin Long’s voice singing in the commercial? (He’s the skinny guy.)

  57. Feldwebel Wolfenstool on Sun, 16th Dec 2007 5:53 pm

    58. ….lame, and as stale as yesterday’s fart…

  58. Feldwebel Wolfenstool on Sun, 16th Dec 2007 5:57 pm

    59. PC people, for the most part, say DICK…It’s the MAC crowd that does all the yappin’….always the same old BS, good luck hopin’ they’ll ever shut up…

  59. Peter on Fri, 21st Dec 2007 2:37 pm

    60. Isn’t a Mac a PC, as in a Personal Computer? These commercials always confused me.

    I can understand the ones between Windows vs. MacOS but it infuriates me to no limit that Apple assumes that PC=Windows and Mac=MacOS.

    Seriously, but the marketing scam is working thus far. My wife has idiot friends who are contemplating buying a Mac because of it’s appeared ease of use. Can’t wait for them to call me for support and I’ll have to tell them sorry, figure it out for yourself on your easy to use OS.

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