Microsoft's Reply

In this tough economic time, I've noticed a shift in advertising. It's no longer about getting the biggest, fastest, latest and greatest version of something. The focus has shifted to the financial aspect of things. Commercials would often explain how their product was far superior to 'The other leading brand' and lead a consumer to believe it's worth paying a little extra for that added functionality. Apple has had great success with it's "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" ads, making it appear cool to be a Mac owner. Despite the steep price tag for Mac notebooks, Mac sales began to climb as a result. For whatever reason, Microsoft didn't muster much of a response until now.

Their latest ad campaign shows Microsoft offering to purchase a laptop for a random consumer. If the customer can find a laptop with all the requirements they are looking for (either a Mac or PC) for less than $1000, Microsoft will buy it for them.

The customer in the video claims to be looking for three key requirements. Speed, a comfortable keyboard, and a 17" screen. Finding a Mac with a 17" screen for under $1000 is almost impossible, thus making Microsoft's ad quite clever.

Check it out;

After failing to find what she is looking for in the Mac store for under $1000, Lauren ended up with an HP Pavilion for $699.99. Considering Apple doesn't offer a 17" screen under a grand, Lauren finished up with a decent PC. The laptop she decided on had a 2.1GHz AMD Turion X2 with 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 320GB hard drive, DVD-RW drive and of course a 1440×900 17-inch display.

My favourite line in this ad, was the subtle dig "I'm not cool enough to be a Mac person". Do you want to be "cool"? or do you want to save money?