By Zach Spear

Published: 11:00 AM EST

Apple this week kicked its eco-friendly MacBook campaign into overdrive with new placements on network television and top-tier internet properties; meanwhile, Research in Motion considered taking a shot at Apple in a new television commercial but ultimately couldn't bring itself to pull the trigger (video included).

MacBook campaign heats up

In recent days, readers report seeing more of Apple's "greenest family of notebooks" ads during prime time television on FOX and other networks. The spots tout the premium-priced MacBooks and MacBook Pros at a time when rival PC vendors are instead surrendering to the economy and pushing margin-diluting, budget machines such as netbooks.

Visitors to the websites of Ars Technica, CNN, the New York Times, and others were similarly greeted this week with a web ad of considerable stature, in some cases consuming as much as 25 percent of the above-the-fold real estate on those websites when viewed on a notebook-sized screen.

The latest ad spotlights the new $2800 17-inch MacBook Pro, with its "revolutionary new battery that has a lifespan of up to five years, three times longer than batteries in most notebooks." Apple explains in the spot that this will translate to "fewer batteries in landfills."



The Mac maker's green notebook campaign comes after years of criticism from activists over the company's environmental track record.

Back in May of 2007, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs authored an open letter outlining the company's green goals and noted the progress it had already made in comparison with its competitors.

Ad agency's BlackBerry bullet opens fire on Apple

In the ad industry, creative firms sometimes produce "spec" spots to demonstrate their talent and catch the eye of companies' marketing departments. New York-based Guava, with its concept for Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm, has gained plenty of attention with an anti-Apple message that's now unlikely to go much further than internet circles.

The ad depicts a blackberry bullet making a mockery of an apple in slow motion. The bullet continues through the fruit with the tagline, "The world's first touch-screen BlackBerry. Nothing can touch it."



After some consideration, RIM reportedly decided against picking up the ad for its BlackBerry Storm (reviews) campaign. Its main target, the iPhone, outsold RIM's entry into the touch-screen game to the tune of four to one last quarter.