Be still my heart, Apple airs new ads: FINALLY!
So last night I am watching the usual Prison Break and 24 on Fox, when this strangely familiar Apple-esque look hits my screen, and before I could say WTF...BAM - it was indeed a genuine Apple Ad. I guess people screamed loud enough that Apple heard them and finally decided to do something about it. The ads are a little bland, but they get the point across loud and clear. The new ads begin another phase of the switch campaign titled: "Get a Mac". It should be interesting to watch how these play out and what kind of "switcher" numbers they bring to the Mac platform this time around. The new ads can be seen here.
A tad bit of bisonium.com trivia for my fans....yours truly was filmed in one of the original "switcher" ads. At the time I had switched back to the Mac after a lengthy hiatus on the PC side, and decided to write Apple an email about the experience. It wasn't before long, I got a call from TBWA \ Chiat \ Day (Apple's Ad Agency), and after a few calls and an NDA later, I was on a jet flying first class to Los Angeles. 
It was an incredible experience I will never forget and gave me a killer look behind the scenes of what really happens on a Hollywood back-lot. Ultimately my ad didn't air, but one of the guys I shot with did - it was Richard Ziskin (pictured to the right). Nice guy who owns an umbrella factory in New York if memory serves me correct. All the original ads can be seen here.
I was considered "talent" (signed contracts and all) and got paid quite well for the 3 days, therefore entitling me to be "SAG Eligible". Basically I earned the right to pay a ridiculous sum of money to the Screen Actors Guild to carry a card that says I am in the union and can do more "acting". Your first 2 gigs are on the house, by the 3rd, you have to sign up - or so they tell me that is how it works. I passed for now as I don't see myself doing too many more commercials, but it's still kind of cool to get those letters from SAG every now and then.
