Justin Long is no longer the “I’m a Mac” guy. In a series of new ads from Intel, Long is now making fun of his former computer choices, advocating for PCs.
The spot kicks off with Long seemingly about to say his iconic line, before pivoting to his actual name. “Hello, I’m a…Justin. Just a real person, doing a real comparison, between Mac and PC,” Long states. He then heads over to the actual devices, where he pokes fun at how many devices and accessories are given to him by Apple, as opposed to one single PC device.
Long isn’t the first commercial spokesman to switch teams. Back in 2016, Verizon’s famous “Can you hear me now?” guy was suddenly showing up in Sprint commercials, making jokes about his former employer.
Naturally, people are taking the latest spokesperson switcheroo very personally. As one tweeted, “First the Verizon guy and now Justin Long. These hoes ain’t loyal.”
First the Verizon guy and now Justin Long. These hoes ain’t loyal. pic.twitter.com/DGHqeBYvlo
— Giselle (@itsgissel) March 17, 2021
The biggest traitor in history is now Justin Long. 😂 https://t.co/vx4pyfJhX3
— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) March 17, 2021
First the Verizon guy, now Hollywood’s own Justin Long… what’s next? The “Dude you’re getting a Dell” guy switches to Compaq??? https://t.co/3q0M7BOJZ2
— ghastly spectre jon butter (@thejonbutter) March 17, 2021
But for some, the real problem wasn’t that Long switched sides; it’s that he’s being referred to as “the Mac guy” in the first place. Long first became known as Brandon, the nerdy superfan in “Galaxy Quest,” which kicked off his career in 1999. From there, he went on to star in teen hits including “Crossroads” with Britney Spears, “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” and “Accepted.”
As one person tweeted, “Justin Long didn’t help prevent a US cyber-attack in Die Hard 4.0 to be called the ‘I’m a Mac’ guy.”
Justin Long didn't dominate early 2000's cinema with movies like Waiting and Accepted just to be called the "I'm a Mac guy". https://t.co/qUq6L5D5BG
— ghostie, queen of vesuva (@AltarGhxst) March 17, 2021
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 (@ste_wr) March 17, 2021
Justin Long did not do a slew of teen movies and 4 Alvin and the Chipmunks movies to be disrespected like this. https://t.co/XtoQ4pTN11
— Mick Joest (@G33kyMick) March 17, 2021
Check out more reactions to his betrayal, as well as defenses over his work, below:
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 (@JimGaffigan) March 17, 2021
respectfully justin long is a lot of things besides "'i'm a mac' guy"… he is also the nerd king from Galaxy Quest https://t.co/iGuMzvciWd
— Hope Rehak (@HopeRehak) March 17, 2021
put some respect on justin long’s name https://t.co/2kEKpm0ZHc
— keaton bell (@keatonkildebell) March 17, 2021
I've never felt so betrayed @justinlong https://t.co/C20sWDvveP
— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) March 17, 2021
@justinlong has finally seen the light! Lol. This is brilliant marketing. https://t.co/DnSkdrsRyR
— 🆁🅴🆃🆁🅾🏳️🌈 (@totallynotretro) March 17, 2021
The fact that @justinlong has been reduced to the “I’m a Mac” guy, is very upsetting to me honestly https://t.co/DU73Ul3qYH
— Bʀᴇɴᴅᴀɴ (@BrenDeisel) March 17, 2021