No, Apple's not licensing Mac OS X to Dell, they're getting rid of the "Mac guy" in their commercials. As Radar sees it:
Apple's "I'm a Mac" campaign is almost perfect: It's funny, memorable, and efficiently lays out the advantages of Macs over PCs. Its only defect: Virtually everyone who watches it comes away liking the "PC guy" while wanting to push the "Mac guy" under a bus.
Small wonder, then, that as Apple prepares a new batch of commercials, "Mac guy"—aka Justin Long, of Dodgeball and Herbie: Fully Loaded semi-fame—is nowhere to be found. A rep for Long confirms that his days as an Apple pitchman are over: "Every ad you see Justin in is for that previous time period only," she tells Radar. "There's no long-term deal with him." She adds (somewhat implausibly, perhaps), "Justin's a movie star, not a commercial guy."
Snotty much? He was in TV's Ed too, guys. Jeez.
I've always liked Justin's "I'm a Mac" character (to be fair, I'm the kind of insufferably superior Mac user normal people fantasize about beating up), but Hodgman really is the star of these little gems, even when Giselle Bundschen's onscreen. Frankly, finding someone to hold their own against Hodgman while striking the right tone will be tough.
Tags: Apple, I'm a Mac, advertising, Justin Long, Jonathan Hodgman