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Actor Justin Long, who was a spokesperson for Apple as the "Mac Guy," had computer geeks short-circuiting after he jumped ship to do commercials for the tech company Intel.
In one of the new PC ads for Intel, Long appeared as his authentic self, saying, "I'm a... Justin, just a real person," while comparing different color and style options of Intel laptops to the limiting "grey and grey" selections of Mac's newer laptops.
You can watch the ad, here.
The Mac community jokingly lamented over Long's betrayal.
@verge Why does this feel like infidelity?— Khaleesi Baptiste, Esp. (@Khaleesi Baptiste, Esp.)1615993656.0
The biggest traitor in history is now Justin Long. 😂 https://t.co/vx4pyfJhX3— Brianna Wu (@Brianna Wu)1616004724.0
Hey, @justinlong, how are you enjoying your new Intel PC laptop that is also a tablet that doesn’t need a stylus th… https://t.co/ueoRZltUyf— Quinn Nelson (@Quinn Nelson)1615995828.0
Intel is bringing back the Mac vs. PC ads. The chip maker has hired Apple's "I'm a Mac" guy to create 5 ads mocking… https://t.co/pLRDQBXQNo— Tom Warren (@Tom Warren)1615986207.0
I haven't been this fake UPSET in at least a day! How dare you, @justinlong , betray an enormous corporation !!!! https://t.co/CnFgOD8m2Q— Jim Gaffigan (@Jim Gaffigan)1615996762.0
Imagine referring to Justin Long as "Apple's I'm a Mac" guy lmao https://t.co/Ji6VDA76bB— Samuel Vincent (@Samuel Vincent)1615993017.0
Meanwhile, one Apple critic applauded Long's defection to a rival company.
@justinlong has finally seen the light! Lol. This is brilliant marketing. https://t.co/DnSkdrsRyR— ɹəɿʎʞʂ ʊəʂʂʊɲɹʠ (@ɹəɿʎʞʂ ʊəʂʂʊɲɹʠ)1616000361.0
One eagle-eyed social media user was quick to point out Long may not have completely abandoned his "Mac Guy" persona after they spotted him using an iPhone for his Twitter banner.
Justin Long in an ad saying PCs are better than Macs? But here’s his Twitter banner: https://t.co/gfturaKUf8— Apple Parody (@Apple Parody)1615994392.0
Interestingly, some Twitter users were less concerned about the actor's jarring switch between the two tech brands.
Fans of Long were flummoxed over the fact he had only been known by his "Mac Guy" persona instead of his name for years, despite having an extensive career in Hollywood with films like Jeepers Creepers and Tusk and Live Free or Die Hard.
Justin Long didn't dominate early 2000's cinema with movies like Waiting and Accepted just to be called the "I'm a… https://t.co/QxKA7WyeRM— i was never given a name (@i was never given a name)1615989286.0
Justin Long didn't help prevent a US cyber-attack in Die Hard 4.0 to be called the "I'm a Mac" guy. https://t.co/sCDFBrVa5H— Steve Wright 🦖🕹 (@Steve Wright 🦖🕹)1615990021.0
Long said in a 2019 interview he shot roughly 300 ads for Apple, but many of them were rejected by Apple CEO Steve Jobs because he thought they were "super funny" which was not the tone Jobs was aiming for.
Long explained why the CEO did not seek humor for his ads:
"One in particular, I remember, Zach Galifianakis played, like, a drunken Santa Claus, and [Apple] said, basically, that Steve Jobs preferred when they weren't super funny…. because he thought it would detract from the point of the commercial."
"He thought if people were too focused on the humor in it, they would lose sight of the product."