1

I love this part of the interview of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates because they, have been long-time rival to each other, exchanged positive emotions between them, on Steve's explaining about Apple's famous CM, Mac Guy vs PC Guy.

Then, I hope to understand the difference of a meaning or a nuance of the following sentences. I cannot get why Steve used the word "to".

An original sentence is: The art of those commercials is not to be mean, but it’s actually for the guys to like each other.

Why would it not be "The art of those commercials is not mean, but it’s actually for the guys who like each other."?

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Together at D5 Conference 2007

Here is the transcript.
Kara: And do you look at yourselves as rivals now? Today as the landscape has evolved–and we’ll talk about the Internet landscape and everything else and other companies that have [gone] forward, but how do you look at yourselves in this landscape today?
Walt: Because, I mean, you are competitors in certain ways, which is the American way, right?
Kara: We watch the commercials, right?
Walt: And you get annoyed at each other from time to time.
Kara: Although you know what? I have to confess, I like PC guy.
Walt: Yeah, he’s great.
Kara: Yeah, I like him. The young guy, I want to pop him.
Steve: The art of those commercials is not to be mean, but it’s actually for the guys to like each other. Thanks. PC guy is great. Got a big heart.

0

1 Answer 1

2

Jobs is not saying "the art is not mean", he's saying (badly!) that the art of the commercial is in not being mean. I would paraphrase his sentence like this:

The skillfulness of those commercials is demonstrated not in being mean, but in these two guys liking each other.

But his sentence is not very well-formed, which makes it harder to understand what he was saying. (Steve Jobs was a charismatic and engaging public speaker, but he was not very precise when he was speaking off the cuff.)

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .