One of the crucial entertaining moments in VC this week was a chunk of rage-bait advertising and marketing from Normal Catalyst.
In a now-viral publish on X that parodies the previous Mac vs. PC commercials, the enterprise agency — higher often known as GC — posted a “VC vs GC” video on Wednesday. The VC was performed by a tall actor in a dishevelled shirt and vest with a distinctly massive, bald head — an obvious dig at Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen. (However the actual Andreessen by no means appears to be like that raveled).
The GC character was performed by a person with a thick head of darkish hair, white kicks, and a bent to stare deeply into the digital camera. He was clearly speculated to characterize actor Justin Lengthy’s cooler, “hipper” Mac character from the unique commercials, in distinction to John Hodgman’s straight-laced “sq.” PC persona.
GC asks VC about his robotic canine.
VC explains, “That is Woof AI” after which extols the virtues of the factitious companion (you don’t have to stroll it or break the information to the children when it dies!) and declares, “You’ll by no means need an actual canine after this.” VC mentions that his agency is main the seed spherical and pitches GC to hitch the cap desk.
GC explains how individuals like actual canine and remarks, “I’d love to listen to extra, however we even have a very excessive bar round accountability for this stuff.”
Then VC kicks the AI canine and the canine chases him off the display screen. The publish has now been seen 2.4 million instances with lots of of shares and feedback, and 1000’s of likes.
I might should learn to date between the traces that I might be off the web page and peering into one other e-book to unpack this, however I will strive anyway. The message, roughly: Different VCs, and a16z specifically, will fund something. GC will not. (I requested about this. GC hasn’t responded.)
It is a pointed argument if that’s the case, and never completely with out foundation. Andreessen’s agency steadily invests in corporations which might be thought of controversial, just like the surveillance startup Flock Security, AI notetaker Cluely, and Adam Neumann’s Circulate. However the identical measure may simply as simply be utilized to Normal Catalyst. GC’s portfolio contains Anduril, Percepta, and Polymarket.
My takeaway is that GC needed to point out an a16z-type character kicking a canine, with out anybody truly kicking an precise canine as a result of that might be a serious downside.
Lots of the feedback on the video appeared to seek out the video, and the selection to publish it, cringe. Lots preferred and beloved it, too.
Compulsive X person Andreessen himself could not resist responding, many, many instances. He mentioned it made GC look “smarmy” and mentioned, “Keep tuned for our upcoming advert marketing campaign, ‘We’re the VC who doesn’t sneer at your idea.'” He stored going from there. My private favourite was: “The factor they received proper is the relative heights.”
As others famous, you recognize you have hit the proper rage bait when the goal takes it.
There have been plenty of a16z companions and staffers who got here to Andreessen’s protection, too. A lot in order that their reactions drew lots of comments. My private favourite on this class was from VSC Ventures VC Jay Kapoor: “GC vs. A16Z beef is like Kendrick vs. Drake for individuals who know what a 409A valuation is.”
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