The last time I wrote about a Microsoft marketing campaign I took a great deal of flack, and was called  a FanBoi, but I’m about to do it again, and this time I’m probably going to be a little more harsh.  I pride myself on calling it how it is, but, feel free to let me know how much you disagree with me in the comments.
AppleInsider is talking about an upcoming Microsoft ad that is highlighting price differentials between owning a PC versus owning a Mac. Â PCs are cheaper in their perspective, and pretty much do the same job as an Apple based product. Â I don’t “disagree” with them, but I still don’t see how Microsoft has any business talking about price differences between computer producers. Â When was the last time you bought a Microsoft laptop…how about a desktop? Â Exactly. Â They don’t make computers, they make Mp3 players, video game devices, and software. Â Unless they’re planning on releasing their own machine any time in the immediate future I really don’t see how it’s their fight.
You want a genius Microsoft commercial? Â Here’s one…
You have an entire room of Apple Computers, filled to the max and all the way to the horizon.  The camera starts off facing the back of the Apple machines with all that glowing Apple goodness that’s present on the laptops.  The camera steadily passes over them and then does a 180 coming to a complete stop on the screen.  The Mac boots into Windows, the windows start-up jingle plays.  Text fills the screen.  ”We make software that matters!” End of commercial.
See, they could address their key market and lay a huge smackdown on Apple’s marketing team. Â They’d have a successful ad campaign. Â Instead they’re fighting a “PC” fight when really they should be fighting the “Operating System” fight. Â You pick fights you can win, not fights where you could “possibly, perhaps, maybe come out victorious”. Â They need to hire a marketing team who understands that.
Price Differentials… really?
So now that we’ve pointed out quite articulately that Microsoft makes software and they’re fighting Apple’s hardware division, lets take a closer look at the “cheaper” Windows software versus Apple’s OS X.
The cost of the cheapest Vista alternative? $98.99, and it’s not even the fully featured version.  It’s the stripped down “basic” version.  The ultimate Vista experience?  $179.00ish.  The full featured OS X Leopard runs you  $129.00.  So it might be cheaper for the crap version no body pays for, but you can bet the retirement on the fact that a Best Buy or staples employee will be making you feel pathetic for buying the “basic” version.  You’ll leave the store with Ultimate.
While a “PC” might be cheaper, the Microsoft operating system certainly is not. Â Don’t get me started on the additional software that comes on a Mac that is not present on a Windows machine. I’ll leave that argument for another day, because frankly, I don’t think I need to introduce the topic to prove my point any further.
Microsoft isn’t cheaper than Apple. Â Dell might be. Actually, that Dell laptop would be even cheaper if you told them you wanted your “Microsoft” tax back because you’ll use Ubuntu instead.
Checkmate.
You can watch the ad below. Â Let me know what you think… I’m curious.
The new Microsoft Ad
April 9th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
The whole marketing campaign has been already proven to be complete bunk. Let's never mind the fact that she was a hired actress and not a “real person.” There have already been a hundred articles showing that the price difference is moot when you compare equal machine specs. For what you would get with a basic Mac you would have to pay nearly twice to get a PC to match in speed and storage. I agree completely that this “war” they are fighting doesn't even make sense….Microsoft doesn't make PCs! And anyway, all Microsoft is doing is insulting its own demographic by suggesting that people are too stupid to know all of this.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
For the main specs (spec for spec) the general Dell, Acer, Cpq, and other laptops are going to be cheaper than MacBooks, but it really isn't an apples for apples comparison (my apologies for the pun). You definitely get superior performance out of the Apple computers as well as the style factor. As an engineer that works in the industry, I see the “other specs” and you can make most of the specs say what you want them to. Look at all the specifications on a MacBook and then look at all the specifications on a high end laptop … it's the attention to detail (specs like height/pressure — not needed for the average person, but I like that they ensure robustness).
All I know is that my Compaq laptop that I bought appeared to be missing the “F” and “S” keys (after about 1 year), so I couldn't even properly curse at it's performance when writing reviews. My MacBook hasn't ever had a problem — it also doesn't get up to 45C (that's roughly 120F!) The fan was on so often my housemates called it “The Chopper” — The Chopper rests now though.
Also, with MacBook, I can now easily express how the performance of my “other” laptop was … It F&#@'in Sucked!
April 21st, 2009 at 1:45 am
Macbooks are really generally more expensive than Dell, Acer, etc. But for the price differences, I think its worth it to get the Mac. Their customer service is excellent. Plus performance wise, the Mac really outshines the competition. So it's all about what you're willing to invest.
April 26th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Good point. I belive i actually paid 400 bucks for a copy of vista ultimate. Which I have downgraded back to xp.
April 26th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Good point. I belive i actually paid 400 bucks for a copy of vista ultimate. Which I have downgraded back to xp.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I'm not sure that hiring an “actor” is really a “bad” thing. In today's day and age I almost expect anyone in an infomercial to have been paid for their services. But, I'm with you on Microsoft fighting the wrong War.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Frankly I'm surprised that you'd buy a Compaq laptop considering your experiences with your original Presario back in 94-95. ;)