There's no doubt about it-- the new "Bunnies" commercial is a smash hit, at least among AtAT viewers. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with only a few minor criticisms (such as, why not include the URL of the Apple site on the end screen with the "Think Different" slogan?). Nobody seems to doubt that Apple's really getting its money's worth with this ad. In fact, it's good enough to inspire isolated incidents of general lunacy. You may recall that in yesterday's episode, we facetiously suggested that you might want to call up some Wintel manufacturer's order line and innocently try to place an order for a system with a G3 processor, just to make 'em sweat. Little did we realize the lengths to which some AtAT viewers will go in order to waste a little time. Faithful viewer Dustin from Alaska had this to say:

Upon seeing the idea on your website today (3/12) I decided to call Dell. Punching in the number for "home and small business" I was immediately connected to a salesperson. I asked, "How much does it cost to get a computer with a G3 processor in it?" The salesperson answered, "I've never heard of the G3... What is that?" I said (acting innocent), "Well, I saw a commercial on TV last night for a computer that had a G3 processor that was twice as fast as a Pentium II. I know I want the fastest computer out there, so I thought I'd call Dell to see how much it would cost." The salesperson answered, "Well, we don't sell anything like that." I said thank you, and hung up the phone, barely able to contain my laughter. If Dell gets enough calls like this, perhaps even from people thinking that Dell might actually sell a G3, public perception could be seriously changed-- and directly in Michael Dell's face!

Now, we were kidding when we made the initial suggestion (really!), but reading this made us think that, hypothetically, such a ploy wouldn't necessarily be all that bad as a guerilla advocacy tactic after all. Even if it didn't make Dell worry about the public learning about the G3, wasting their time and toll-free phone charges serves as a petty revenge against Michael Dell for his previous comments about shutting down Apple. While we at AtAT could never condone such a measure, it's interesting to to note that sometimes petty revenge is the best kind. ;-)