Apple's television commercials are mean and don't give Slate's Seth Stevenson any Mac love whatsoever. He writes today that the actor playing the Mac (Justin Long) "is just the sort of unshaven, hoodie-wearing, hands-in-pockets hipster we've always imagined when picturing a Mac enthusiast. He's perfect. Too perfect."

John Hodgman, the guy playing the PC, is likeable and funny, said Stevenson, who discloses that he is personally a PC user who has often considered switching to a Mac.

Stevenson gives the campaign a C+ grade:

As usual, Apple hopes to shift the debate away from a battle over specs and value and toward a battle we can all understand: cool kid versus nerd. But these days, aren't nerds like John Hodgman the new cool kids? And isn't smug superiority (no matter how affable and casually dressed) a bit off-putting as a brand strategy?