People have a long history of watching and enjoying advertisements, and they have become increasingly elaborate over the years. A lot of people watch the Super Bowl as much for the ads as the sporting event. Given the high budget for ads and the current trend of "funny" or "ironic" ads, it's neither surprising nor shameful that people like them.
The "ooh new Apple ads" could be in part because the ads have two excellent comedian/actors who help do the writing, and because most people find the current stance that Microsoft takes against Apple to be somewhat comical. Personally, I enjoy seeing John Hodgeman every chance I get, even if it is in an ad. He's a funny guy.
I wouldn't call it a long history, and as much as an ad is ironic or funny, it is there to sell you something, it's just pretending not to be to get your attention and making you want to watch it. I find it worrying that people would spend $1000s on the basis of watching a funny anecdotal ad.
All ads do, for most people, is focus attention and create a "brand sense." IBM used to meticulously cultivate a very "professional" sense of their brand, for example.
As a basis for product awareness, there is nothing wrong with this. For example, I was drawn to Nikon DSLRs over their competition when I learned saw the Danny Choo Nikon ad (I read a lot of what Danny Choo produces and I like his writing). Once I started researching on my own I found the camera I wanted and bought it (D90, btw). All the ad did was provide a signpost, should I feel ashamed or manipulated? I definitely did research and agonized over the exact camera and model to get, so I don't feel like I was tricked into a bad, shameful purchase. Nor do I feel particularly manipulated by choosing this brand over any other, there were specific features (mentioned in the ads) that I decided I wanted to prioritize.
The "ooh new Apple ads" could be in part because the ads have two excellent comedian/actors who help do the writing, and because most people find the current stance that Microsoft takes against Apple to be somewhat comical. Personally, I enjoy seeing John Hodgeman every chance I get, even if it is in an ad. He's a funny guy.