SuperSite Blog

I'm not so sure it's a particularly good use of ad money highlighting "what everyone already knows."

I would have liked to see a commercial highlighting all those areas where the PC is better than the Mac.

This is the same thing I've run into everytime I get a new laptop. I'd like to pick up a  Mac just to mess around with but since I want a 17" screen I've gotta start with a Mac Book Pro which means over $2k just to start, let alone get the upgrades. So instead most recently I picked up a Sony with an 18.5" screen (which is ridiculously big but I love it), blu-ray, 4gb of RAM, all the bells and whistles for $1700. Not cheap but pretty much half of what a MacBook Pro would have cost. I also picked up an Acer mini desktop for my media center for $350 and that included HDMI out. Again, I was looking at getting a Mac Mini but once I started really shopping around...

I like the OS and they make nice hardware but I just cant justify the price difference getting a Mac.

Does anybody understand that "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person." a snide comment? It was easy for me to understand that the first time I saw the ad and I chuckled. Whatever, though...the like of Bobbi Jo will have fun with this. You have to wonder what has made those people so insecure that they feel the need to troll sites like this and post about their unhealthy hatred of a company. That goes for both sides of the "Mac vs PC war". Move on already.

--tayme

Wow. For a company that *cough, mikegalos, cough* spends virtually no time thinking about Apple, Microsoft sure spends a lot of ad dollars talking about Apple.

"I would have liked to see a commercial highlighting all those areas where the PC is better than the Mac."

Networks don't generally sell 2-second ad slots. ;-)

"spends virtually no time thinking about Apple, Microsoft sure spends a lot of ad dollars talking about Apple."

True enough.  However, Apple, which apparently has more taste and a superior OS, supposedly, spends a LOT of time ragging on the supposed inferior choice, and lot's of ad dollars.

"Networks don't generally sell 2-second ad slots."

True.  But when highlighting the areas in which PCs are better than Macs, you only need 2-seconds to say "At everything."  Zing. ;) <-- wink, wink

A couple of points on this ad.

1. The "real person" is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. But, sure, she's a "real person".

2. The HP notebook, while 17 inch, has the same pixel count as Apple's 15 inch screen. It also lacks  802.11n, fast Gigabit Ethernet, digital audio inputs and outputs, weighs 7.75 pounds to the Apple under 5 lbs.

Of course, Microsoft says NOTHING about the features of their product, Vista is not even mentioned by name.

Good luck with that race to the bottom, it's working out so nicely for Dell.

These Microsoft ads are getting better all the time.

That last one with Seinfeld and Gates was just excellent. You have to be a special sort of curmudgeon not to see that.

lotsa

" *cough, mikegalos, cough*"

If you're feeling sick perhaps you should have just stayed home?

chuckb84:

1. The "real person" is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. But, sure, she's a "real person".

The respondents were all from LA, recruited through a Craigs List ad.  You can't find ten people in LA who aren't SAG members.

Seriously, Microsoft has apparently chosen purchase price as THE differentiating factor on which they choose to pin their ad campaigns vs. Apple.  It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

@chuckb64 - For $600 you won't match spec for spec vs. an Apple machine that costs   $2800 (probably fair, Firewire and screen quality are among the specs Apple usually tacks on that others don't).

The Apple laptop in this case, based on the single spec of a 17 inch screen, vs. the 17 inch HP, is about 4.67 times more in price. If screen price was the only spec one cared about, this would be fair, but I'm assuming in most cases it isn't.

But let us assume that the person buys a laptop with decent specs, and doesn't mind a gigabyte of RAM less, or the lack of 802.11n (which one can easily procure an expansion card, or USB dongle), a few extra pounds, etc. In this scenario, the average person doesn't care (and believe me, they don't!) about a few extra features in exchange for the savings. Furthermore, in two-three years, they can buy a new one and still come out on top, even with the initially lower specs, and even assuming a lower lifespan for the laptop, and can now give the spare laptop to a child.

This is the majority of people, especially in this economy.

Now to spec match, $1500 for pretty similar specs (and I could match better, but I'm on a time budget), but probably not Firewire, or any Apple specific ports, and probably not some super fancy TFT LCD that few would notice; I didn't look *that* closely.  (www.newegg.com/.../Product.aspx).

Out of all the recent 'I'm a PC" ads, I liked this new ad and very much could related to it.

PC World should really be called We Hate PCs World.  Some of their advice columns are absolutely ridiculous and, in a lot of Vista articles, actually counter-productive, for instance they advise you to disable Aero and the Indexing Service.  Morons.

Paul, you are ignoring one glaring fact. The PC she got sucks. The "17 inch" screen has a much lower resolution than the 17 in macbook pro, the viewing angles are very poor, and it doesn't have wireless 802.11n, fast Gigabit Ethernet, digital audio inputs and outputs, has a 2.5 hour battery, weighs in at close to 8 lbs, and is nearly 2 inches thick!

The point of the commercial is moot to me. If you want to buy a cheep crappy computer go ahead. But if you want a good computer you are going to have to put some money down, and it is going to cost more that $1000 whether its a Mac or a PC.

MS has been calling themselves uncool for a while. When I still had a Mac I wondered over to the Photosynth page and was told, "Sorry we're not cool enough to work on a Mac yet but try us again  later" or something like that. I had to laugh, and by the way yes PC World now that you dumped your best writers ie Steve Bass for one, you are a bunch of losers.

@dallasmay

Not everyone can afford a grand for a computer, and though I'm no HP laptop fan there are plenty of good computers for under $1000.

Microsoft's point is easy to see...

PC's are a better value.

Many of those that post here and the author of the article don't agree with that point... but Paul is right.  Whether or not you agree with the claim, it's silly to say that the spot is confusing.

@dallasmay: If you want to buy a cheep crappy computer go ahead. But if you want a good computer you are going to have to put some money down, and it is going to cost more that $1000 whether its a Mac or a PC.

Then she would have to say: "I would have to double my budget to buy an Adamo, which isn't feasible. I'm just not cool enough to be a DELL Dude."

Look, the point of the ad is to point out that (at least when you choose within the Microsoft Ecosystem) choice is good. WinJihadists don't like it when you choose outside that system, but whatever. If you want to choose on price alone, you'll always find a better deal with a Windows PC. It's a very narrow focus, but it's undeniably true.

What kind of car does she drive, by the way? Did she base her decision on "I can only spend $5,000. I guess I'm not cool enough to afford anything other than a used Escort."?

""points out what everyone already knows: Macs cost more than PCs ... "

Well he is right. Pretty much everyone does know that. So what's the point of the ad again?

I don't think people who spend $700 on a 17" laptop are typical Mac switchers.

oh great.. she got a turd for her $699.

I guess for those who don't know better - it is a cute ad. But that laptop selection sucks.

Well I guess the Apple fanboy blowback/rage-a-thon is in full swing!

Why is it that even something so minor as this just elicits such a negative response from Apple fanatics, but ads that were completely false from Apple didnt raise a peep from them?

"oh great.. she got a turd for her $699.

I guess for those who don't know better - it is a cute ad. But that laptop selection sucks."

That is what is known as your opinion.

If she's happy with it, what's it to you other than she had the nerve not to go with an Apple computer?

I've always questioned PC World's lack of credibility.  When they fudged up (and then tried to cover up) the results on the "MacBook is the fasted Windows Vista computer" test, it removed all remaining doubt.

I think this does nothing but show the desperation on MS part!  I  mean at long last is all they have is our OS runs of cheaper hardware?  I mean is that it?  Please tell me there is more?!?!  Please tell me that MS hasn't hitched its future to poorly made, lowest common denominator hardware, as the basis for their success!  Gawd help PC users!  BTW, if you look up the spec for the 17" laptop she bought it has the same screen resolution as the 13" MacBook!  

I didn't think it was smart to say the "cool enough" line like she did. The sarcasm was WAY too subtle. If she is going to under-act like that, they should have changed the script to something like,"I can't believe how much money people THROW AROUND at Macs"

The best anti-cool ad out there is the McDonald's switcher ad on radio. The guy grew a goatee, quit bathing, and started watching foreign films. Now he's happy because he didn't have to try to be such an "indie" lemming.

@Master3

"Why is it that even something so minor as this just elicits such a negative response from Apple fanatics"

Let's not turn this into a fanboy thing, but aren't you a little curious as to what Microsoft are trying to achieve with this particular campaign? I am.

Are they trying to persuade EVERYONE to buy more computers?

Are they trying to stop SWITCHERS paying $2000 for a Mac and buy a PC instead for $1500?

Or are they trying to encourage PC BUYERS to spend $1000 on a PC instead of $1500 for a ... PC.

"I would have to double my budget to buy an Adamo, which isn't feasible."

Ditto on the MacBook Air.

"I'm just not cool enough to be a DELL Dude."

The difference is that Dell sells low-cost systems too.  Apple doesn't.

What could she buy at the Apple store for $700?  An iPhone off contract?  or a Mac Mini?  Don't make me laugh.

Off-topic, but related:  Did she hear about the massive recall on HP laptops?

This was very humorous indeed. Why should computing be the playground for the rich and the famous? Wouldn't Jobs or Gates not be the rich men that they are without the help of guys buying less than stellar computers?

Didn't Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak build Apple computer from the Jobs' garage? They started out just like the average computer hobbyists of the time, building stuff that the elite IBM and Hewitt Packard would consider toys or garbage.

It was only after "Mike" Markula of was a former marketing manager for Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel fronted the $250,000 to incorporate Apple and then came the Apple II.

So these guys started making the same "junk" that the guys at MITS were making that the young Bill Gates and Paul Allen were making Altair Basic for. Different processors, parts, and standards, but they basically did the same thing.

Now that Jobs become huge at Apple, he doesn't want to make the same "junk" anymore. From Lisa we go to the Macintosh and the rest is PC history.

Yet if he wasn't playing around with the lowest class of build it yourself hobby kit computer's of the 1970's and early 1980's, he'd never get the understanding to build the Macintosh.

Yet Bill Gates did just fine with it, becoming the worlds richest man and creating the largest number of billionaires in one company.

I just think the best people who come up in the world have respect from where they started. It was a lot of little guys that help get Jobs and Gates to where they are today. Bill Gates stays pretty humble about that. I'm not so sure about Jobs though. Woz on the otherhand is a pretty humble guy. I guess thats why Windows and Mac guys really like Woz and keeping him on Dancing with the Stars. A good attitude can get you a long way in life.

@subzero

Maybe you forgot he prefix, "off-topic"?

It won't work.

@jeffsters - "I  mean at long last is all they have is our OS runs of cheaper hardware?  I mean is that it? "

No, their OS will also run on more expensive hardware. What they have is that the choice is up to the customer. If you want to run it on less expensive hardware, you are supported...if you want to run it on higher quality hardware, you are supported. With OS X, and I am not saying it is bad, you only have Apple's hardware in order to be supported. Sure Pystar is out there, but is it really a valid choice? Choice is good...whether you choose an HP running Vista or a MBP running OS X. I have both and I like both.

--tayme

"Please tell me there is more?!?!"

There is.  However, this is ONE ad out of many, making ONE point.  They have plenty of ads and a YouTube channel and other places dedicated to plenty of ads and user generated videos all pointing out the very salient pro points for the Windows platform.

Really, the reason that these ads are effective, is that they are the anti-Apple.  When I hear this that she isn't cool enough, I pick up that she isn't a smug, annoying, tragic hipster like Justin Long in the Apple ads.  REAL people using products, not some exaggerated representations.

Pingback from  PCs, according to Microsoft, are for posers  &#8212;   Remi Olsen: Musings about web and design.

>>Odd new Microsoft commercial, which purports to show a real person named Lauren trying to find a new 17-inch laptop for under $1000. She goes into “the Mac store” and comes out disappointed, because — and this is true — the only sub-$1000 laptop comes with a 13-inch display. But then she says, “I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person.” One can only assume that it’s intended as an anti-elitist insult, but the bottom line is that Microsoft is explicitly reinforcing the idea that Macs are cool, which strikes me as a very odd tactic. The theme of the commercial seems to be “PCs: Computers for Losers”.<<

daringfireball

>>With inspiration from this Twitter user, I asked Microsoft for the precise PC shown in the ad, then compiled the chart below. This isn't an exhaustive list of specs, but here's how Lauren's prized HP Pavilion dv7-1245dx stacks up against Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro.<<

www.techflash.com/.../Mac_vs_PC_Did_Microsoft_ad_star_Lauren_make_the_right_choice_41961417.html

It's an effective ad, but of course it leaves out lots of things and could be called misleading.  Just like Apple's ads.  That's why it's ADVERTISING.  

Thing is, people know it's an ad and only presents part of the story.  That's why Paul's repeated indignation over Apple's marketing is so beyond silly.  Paul lambasts apple for things that are part and parcel of marketing, and furthermore are not harmful because people aren't stupid.

She was looking for a 17" screen on a budget.  Apple doesn't have choices that fit into her budget.

PC's offer better choices at varying prices.  She got what she was looking for within her price.

That's the point in a nutshell.

You can argue about comparing this or that until you're blue in the face, but Mackies can't dispute the above points.

You get what you pay for. Take Waethorn's mother, for example. Sure, you can have her for five bucks and maybe a loose piece of string or a button. But you could also get a delicious ham sandwich (and a bag of chips!) for that price, and come way disease-free.

Comparing the two side-by-side, both Waethorn's mother and the sandwich feel like cold meat.

A classy broad (the Mac model, if you will) may cost more, but the features, like the Mac model's habits of toothbrushing and showering, are superior to Wae's mom.

Or if you only have five bucks, the ham sandwich will taste yummy.

OK, I'm going to ask the mod to put an end to this.

The campaign is desperate and makes Microsoft and the PC look like sloppy seconds.  Everyone knows how much this stuff costs.  People aren't stupid.

And, yes, as a brand person, I think it's pretty strange to disparage your own product's coolness in your ad the way this spot does.  Obviously it's meant to be sarcastic, but it reinforces the Mac brand position which is a really stupid way to advertise.

People like to feel like they can afford cool stuff.  It's aspirational.  Calling attention to that in this way was a poor choice.  

We'll see how the sales numbers play out.  As of the last financial report, Apple's laptop line did great despite global depression and a pricier product line. That may change.

It's pretty funny (and sad) to think that the only way to slow the growth of the Mac is to have global depression.

@Ocean - Go for it...Paul is the mod. We have been trying to get him to block a certain person who likes to hijack this blog instead of creating their own in order to repost other people's work.

--tayme

@SPiotr,

Actually, my post  has a lot of relevance to the commercial. The personal influence of Jobs and Apple along with the personal influences of Gates and Microsoft are being reflected in the commercials. While Apple seeks to turn a profit at every turn, at least Microsoft is looking out for guys who don't have a grand to spare. Why should computing be restricted to rich and the wealthy? Why should it be for a grand or more? Microsoft and its industry partners have proven you don't need a grand to have a great computing experience. Apple is showing that it cannot technically make a better computer on cheaper hardware. So we wonder why there's 1.1 billion Windows machines out there?

The commercial doesn't look down at Mac users. However, the Apple commercials do everything to disparage and insult users of Windows. Yet Apple's number one customer for iPods, iPhones, and Macs are Windows users. Its not a very good business model to insult your own customers.

The commercials and marketing from Apple reflects Jobs pursuit of artistry and perfection. Jobs speaks of culture. Yet if Jobs really understood American culture, the vast majority of Americans believe in spending the least to do the most. Jobs belief in perfection and that value is determine by cost, is fundamentally flawed.

Take for example the MSi notebooks. You can get the similar hardware specs as the Macbook for less. Then using many of the tools available, you can put OS-X on the computer. So why is it that Apple increases the price of the same hardware, if I can get the same hardware experience from a lower costing unit?

For personal profit and gain. Pure and simple.

Gates simply wants to grant an experience that everyone can share. Even though Bill Gates isn't there full time anymore, as chairman of Microsoft his influence shapes and molds the company's philosophy.

Yes he makes money, but the billion people he's allowed to share the experience are more than greatful for it. Remember, no Gates, no Apple. Macworld 1997. $150 Million dollars of Microsoft money that saved Apple. Millions of PC users paying for Microsoft products that was used to save Apple.

Microsoft hasn't directly attacked Mac users in any advertisements. Yet Microsoft is being criticised for defending its business and vicariously its customers?

It just makes Apple look bad. Picking on what Apple  percieved as inferior products and people who don't think different.

Well, maybe I'm just not cool enough to spend that kind of money. Then again I don't let a company or a logo define my life for me. Anyone who lets a corporation or some guy in a turtleneck determine what cool is, really has some self esteem issues.

"People like to feel like they can afford cool stuff.  It's aspirational."

....and that's why Capitalism is somehow better than Communism....

While you're at it, keep killing your kid's financial future the way you do their environment.  Because, you know, if you keep spending, the terrorists were right about you all along!

@master3

"Well I guess the Apple fanboy blowback/rage-a-thon is in full swing!

Why is it that even something so minor as this just elicits such a negative response from Apple fanatics"

Because PAUL made an issue of it. The blowback is a response to that. Of course, Paul loves any Microsoft ads and hates all those from Apple.

Obviously. He makes money off of Windows, not Apple. Obviously.

The ad itself is pretty sad. Microsoft no longer has anything to say about innovation, quality, pushing the envelope, and the complete omission of the operating system that runs on that HP---Vista---is striking. Funny that, since Microsoft doesn't make that computer, they make the OS that runs on it, and they don't even mention their own product.

Other than "We're the cheapest game in town",  they have no brand message at all.

I don't think this ad is going to be any more effective than the inscrutable Gates/Seinfeld ads were.

"It's pretty funny (and sad) to think that the only way to slow the growth of the Mac is to have global depression."

Three things.  First, it ain't no global depression.  You must have been drinking more Kool-Aid than normal.  Second, suddenly marketshare and sales matter?  Thirdly, and still most importantly, even with a slowing PC market, which is still showing gains, the increase in unit sales are still way above that of the Mac, even if the percentage is much higher.  We've had this discussion before, and Paul has backed this up with real data before..

The person who thinks a Mac is aspirational and cool is not the intended audience.  What it does intend to do is break up the FUD that is spread from Cupertino, which has infected the "normals".  Those that read this blog or those that think a Mac is cool or aspirational and cool have already made up their minds.  Further proof of this is when we see the 4 year old do stuff with her computer.  Obviously, all of us blog reading technically inclined people already know how to do that stuff.  But those people that know nothing about computers have heard, unabated, that Windows sucks.  By bringing in normal people, it aims to change that tide.  There has been a vibe of smugness out of the Apple camp, that is where the comment is directed.  

Of course MS should have been doing this a long time ago, there is no doubt about that.

"So why is it that Apple increases the price of the same hardware, if I can get the same hardware experience from a lower costing unit?

For personal profit and gain. Pure and simple."

Don't forget that you get to brag about how it's manufactured from a a single block of aluminum without seams, like that's somehow impressive to anyone.

"Anyone who lets a corporation or some guy in a turtleneck determine what cool is, really has some self esteem issues."

Not to mention, fashion issues.

"operating system that runs on that HP---Vista---is striking"

Not really, they are concentrating on the Windows brand, not an operating system version.  Apple doesn't mention Leopard or Tiger or Snow Leopard do they?

"Microsoft no longer has anything to say about innovation"

Once again, they have plenty of ads they have made, not just this one.  Concentrating that this is the only message is simply short sighted.

"and that's why Capitalism is somehow better than Communism"

It's about choice, my Canadian neighbor.  Something that you espouse frequently with your ability to give your users choice.  Just because I dislike Apple doesn't mean that I think that the choice in the market is not a good thing.  The more choice the better.  Of course, you lack the proper choice when it comes to your shoddy healthcare, but I digress. ;)

"While you're at it, keep killing your kid's financial future"

Hey, I actually agree with you on this.  But hey, I didn't vote for them, a big group of Changerade drinkers did.  But don't you worry, we'll still come out on top and give you Canadians someone to mooch off on.  I'm sure Canada is a great place, but what do you make that the world uses?  What are those Canadian products I can purchase on the market?  Let's face it, you and the rest of the world live off the teats of the US.

Micrsoft PLEASE HIRE ME!!!!!!  I could make better adds with Windows XP Movie Maker and 30min of time.

WHAT is this suppose to tell us?  Show your competitors store, then say your not cool enough to use the competitors product, then walk into a wharehouse type enviroment and buy a $700 hunk of grey plastic that is shinny.

I am not getting it???  Compare this to an iPhone add that shows off cool abilities with some hip music in a short consise sound bite.  Or make it funny like the Mac adds, and run them more than twice for 30 days.

Honestly I will take half the money you are paying these people.  Bring back Bill and Jerry, at least they were somewhat entertaining even with out a message.

MS is taking it on the chin for this ad:

>> Microsoft says the situation shown in the ad was authentic, but it turned down my request for an interview with Lauren this morning, giving the same response to the Houston Chronicle's Dwight Silverman. And I haven't been able to find any other information online that would help me get in touch with her independently. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

In the meantime, as long as Microsoft features "real people" in its ads, the company should be prepared for an extra dose of skepticism if it doesn't also make those people available to talk about their experiences.<<

www.techflash.com/.../Microsoft_keeps_Lauren_incognito_41998587.html

"you lack the proper choice when it comes to your shoddy healthcare, but I digress."

Say that to me when you're broke and can't afford it.  I should have you bite your tongue, but then you wouldn't be able to afford the medical expenses when nobody can afford your services.

"I'm sure Canada is a great place, but what do you make that the world uses?"

If you're talking about just the US:  wood, fresh water, oil, and hydro come to mind.  Not to mention, beer.

(did I mention beer?)

"Let's face it, you and the rest of the world live off the teats of the US."

Ya, that's why Canada's banks are rated as the most secure in the world right now.

It's actually the other way around.  The majority of our economy comes from our exports, and then mostly to the US.

So have a dozenth beer.  You think you can manage to scribble your name on that blank cheque?  LOL!

Whether or not "cool" means loser or not hip/chic, Poor Lauren's a total sucker because she bought 4GB of RAM that will never be used running 32-bit Vista. Doh!

A friend of mine got that same HP laptop from Costco. He kept having right from the start crashes and windows messages of hardware failures... Now he gave it back. Apparently that laptop is a big piece of junk according to the reviews on the web...

Of course of you just look at the screen sizes, Apple laptop are always expensive compared to PCs... BUT you always get great stuff for your money... They last forever are well designed and after 4 years of use the original OS installed on it (without Antivirus, antimalware...) still runs as fast as it used to when you first bought it. Plus it will still run the latest OS like a champ, without upgrading nothing. I keep all my mac laptops atleast 4 years, sell them for %70 of the price I paid them 4 years ago and get a new one.

Hyundais are cheap too. (but they are reliable actually...)

Macs cost more than PCs? They are also better than PCs. You get what you pay for.

@subhero

"Yet Bill Gates did just fine with it, becoming the worlds richest man and creating the largest number of billionaires in one company."

"For personal profit and gain. Pure and simple."

All I am asking is that you think before you rant. You know it makes sense!

@dipshtadmin wins this week's "Jackass of the week" award for his senseless pro-American rant.

"Yet Bill Gates did just fine with it, becoming the worlds richest man and creating the largest number of billionaires in one company."

That doesn't mean anything he makes is great, or even good. Many people got rich from McDonald's, yet they peddle crap food. Nothing to be proud of. Bill Gates wouldn't be the first person to get rich from selling mediocrity. In fact, that's his career right there. Still he has no taste, as does Microsoft or the company's followers.

There is nothing real in this ad. It runs from a script. This was not "real". It is scripted, that's why it's called an ad.

As for the laptop purchase and not buying a Mac. Lots of people have no taste and spend money on crap. Just watch the ad.

"MS is taking it on the chin for this ad:"

By the same tech media, and trolls like Ocean, that give Apple a complete pass on their misleading ads that use actors making exaggerated claims.

WE GET IT APPLE FANS!!

You are pi**ed off that MS gave a swipe at Apple, so you have been spending the whole day trying to make some huge conspiracy that somehow the point in the ad that said that PCs are less expensive than Apple machines was somehow completely made up.

You've attacked the lady in the ad as being ugly, fat, and stupid.

You want to make the computer in the ad out to be trash.

You  have these sorry excuses for journalist wanting to grill the person in the ad so they can "expose" her as being a FRAUD, that likely really has a Mac, because we allllllllll know that no one would buy a PC over a God-laptop.

All because MS broke rule #1 of the tech-o-sphere:

YOU CAN NOT MAKE YOURSELF OUT TO BE A BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO APPLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

The only thing this ad, if nothing else, has done was to once again show the deranged nature of Apple fans and their bizarre love affair to a company, where they are willing to make complete and other jackasses out of themselves in order to smear anyone or anything that does not fall into line.  

robertsjoe

daveinla

Ocean

bettieblu

chuckb84

Read their comments, and ask yourself if these are people you actually want to have anything in common with.

All of them are Apple fanatics/trolls that illustrate the very thing that is wrong with the a userbase that has become so unhinged that even the level headed Apple users that dont treat a product purchase as a religion, are completely embarrassed by the immaturity of these clowns.

"Because PAUL made an issue of it. The blowback is a response to that. Of course, Paul loves any Microsoft ads and hates all those from Apple."

Well maybe he should have made an issue of Apple recent sales drop...

(Oh and how come none of you, like Ocean, ever managed to grace us with an off-topic link to that little bit of news. Guess you must have forgot that day.)

What? He didnt do that? Well I could have sworn that rat b@stard of a blogger just was on the warpath over Apple?

Nope he instead "made an issue" of a silly posting....FROM A PC MAGAZINE, about an ad from Microsoft.

And the usual clown car of Apple trolls STILL got PO'd. What a shock!

"The ad itself is pretty sad. Microsoft no longer has anything to say about innovation, quality, pushing the envelope, and the complete omission of the operating system that runs on that HP---Vista---is striking."

Okay, and can you point to me the recent ad from Apple that showed anything about OSX? A video of it running? A clip of it doing somthing.

Funny how all of the ones I've seen were of two guys bashing PCs and Microsoft.

"Innovation"?

"pushing the envelope"?

And the complete omission of the operating system that runs on their computers.

Well I guess those ads were "sad" too, right Mr. Apple fanboy? Because well all were waiting with baited breath for the verdict of you as to the effectiveness of an ad from Microsoft. Thanks for breaking the tension.

" Funny that, since Microsoft doesn't make that computer, they make the OS that runs on it, and they don't even mention their own product."

Again, do you ever hear the name OSX spoken in Apple ads?

Nope just a MS/PC bash, punchline, and Apple logo with music that sounds like it was made to be played to preschoolers. Apple is ashamed of their own OS!!!!

"Other than "We're the cheapest game in town",  they have no brand message at all."

In a tight economy you can get a good PC, running Windows, because they arent allowed by Apple to run their OS, for less than you can get one from Apple?

What an F'd up message to send!

And what message does Apple send? We are douchbags who think we are God's gift to technology and everyone else sucks. Pay us the money and you can act like one too!

That's the image their nutcase fanatics send, so I guess that has to be it.

"I don't think this ad is going to be any more effective than the inscrutable Gates/Seinfeld ads were."

If they made you idiots fly off the handle and look petty and arrogant, while making them look innocent and sane, then I call that mission accomplished.

Master I imagine you as a sad little, little man, that really needs to keep on the meds brother.

Seriously read YOUR rant (s), then take your meds.

The add is a lame attempt at trying to get back at Apple for their very sussesful add campain.  Not many people really believe what is in any add from Apple or anyone else, they judge these days more on entertainment vaule that actual truth value, if they dont Tivo past them in the first place.  Hence all the hype around Super Bowl adds.

Master3, if you read my posts here you would know I'm neither a troll nor an Apple fanatic. I have both a Dell and a macbook at home (caus' I don't want to pay $2000 for a mac laptop).

I use use PCs more often than mac because of my workplace...

@daveinla

You name was added by mistake. Sorry.

@master3

Simple message: You forgot your meds today.

Master you forgot my name!!!!#$@%&*!!!!!!

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php

I think I remember from the Zuner/Rotten Ronnies lovers blog discussion that Agro Master is a 140lb vegan.  Go gettum tiger!!!!!

Seriously though that add is not horrible, but it just makes MS look like a sore loser for mentioning and showing Apple.  I like many just blow past all adds these days.  As Bettie said at least 50% of any add, from any company is BS.

"Many people got rich from McDonald's, yet they peddle crap food. Nothing to be proud of."

Canadian McDonalds != American McDonalds

Their premium angus beef burgers are as good as anything you can get at a sit-down restaurant.  The glam shots are exaggerated, but I've eaten them MANY times, and I can say they come exactly as shown in this pic:

www.mcdepk.ca/.../ABlaunchproductontray.JPG

(well, the burger is INSIDE the box when you get it, and there's no stirling silver tray, or plate, but you get the idea)

$6.99 for a bacon+cheddar angus burger meal combo.  I usually get a side salad instead of fries.  Ok, and SOMETIMES a couple of pies for $1.29 (they have strawberry pie now too - my favourite!).  All in all, it's less than $10CDN after the 13% total sales tax.  And I'M FULL!  You can't go to any other sit-down restaurant and get as big of a dinner with dessert (x2) included for less than $15 around here anymore.

They use Alberta beef in Canada too.  Trans-fat is also gone from almost all menu items.  Many new restaurants have a chic new look too.  Take a look:

www.mcdepk.ca/Re-ImagingImages.htm

I've been to the one on Ellesmere Rd., in Scarborough, as well as the one on Kennedy:

www.mcdepk.ca/.../65boulevardKennedyLevisQC.jpg

Those locations are nicer than most of the other $15 meal restaurants around here.

BTW:  [sic] hammer on the head of anybody that spells it "add".  It's "ad", short for "advertisement".

"Seriously though that add is not horrible, but it just makes MS look like a sore loser for mentioning and showing Apple. "

As opposed to Apple being a sore loser for mentioning MS and or PCs in almost EVERY ad?

If Apple can do it, then MS has a right to mention them, and a responsibility stick up for itself.

Only to Apple fanboys is this a bad thing.

In case anybody missed the link, here it is:

www.bestbuy.com/.../olspage.jsp

Just to set the record straight, that DOES come with Vista Home Premium 64-bit, so all 4GB are available.  In fact, the notebook supports up to 8GB of installable RAM.  The Macbook only comes with 2 and supports a maximum of 4.

It also includes premium speakers with SRS Surround sound (fake surround, but still better than basic stereo).

Also, there's eSATA and HDMI on it.  

Any Mac's with that?

Hmmm???

....

Overall, it's a decent computer for $699 even if it's not anything high-end.  It's definitely a better value than that $999 Macbook.

I'd say that it'd certainly work well as a mobile Photoshop CS4 system, what with the native 64-bit support and all.  The Radeon isn't anything special but it would still include the GPU acceleration options that would help with CS4.  A Macbook @ 13" just doesn't do CS4 justice.

I just saw one of those banners.  Here was one of the comparisons:

rock + rubber bands + Macbook 13" for $999

or

Acer Aspire 5735 for $499 + Samsung Omnia + babysitter & a show

"A Macbook @ 13" just doesn't do CS4 justice."  Really?  Got any proof?

Seriously the low end Macbook has a 2.0ghz .45nm CPU with 3meg of cache?  I am pretty sure that will out perform that AMD Turon deal.  With 4gig of RAM in the Macbook I bet you would find that CS4 performs just as well or better than the HP.

"Also, there's eSATA and HDMI on it.  

Any Mac's with that?"

Bluetooth, Wireless N, GigE, Firewire....does that PC have that?  Its all in what you are looking for.  

ESATA and HDMI would be below Wireless N and Bluetooth for me that is for sure.  In fact I have never used ESATA or HDMI from any computer I have ever owned, if indeed it even had those options.

Oh and lets compare battery life between that 17inch low priced HP (6 cell?) with VISTA and a 13inch Macbook OS X.  I bet the Macbook gets double the battery life any day of the week.

Hmmm...

Glad to see this site is still a forum for the same nonsense and Apple-obsessed hyperventilating by Paul and the gang.  Waethorn, your comments are truly from another dimension.  What are you even talking about with that communism remark?  Go read a book.  ANY book.  How are those iPhone sales up there in Canada, btw?

It's pretty clear why none of you work in advertising.  My points were quite simple and strictly about the impact of this messaging from a branding point of view.  Not about the validity of the criticism.  I leave it up to the market and the sales numbers to validate a company's strategy.  I prefer the Mac even at current prices.  You guys don't.  Both positions are a matter of person preference.  Whatever.

So far, the market has continued to value Apple's products at their prices, despite the ignorant doomsday wishes of Paul and Enderle and the rest.  That is reflected clearly in their sales and, more importantly, their profits.  Profit is the measure of success in business.  If demand for you product doesn't allow for profitable pricing... there isn't enough demand for the product to exist.  Just ask GM, who loses money on every car.  You can't make it up in volume or share when each sale is a net loss.

Remember Paul's predictions of Macbook sales collapse after the refresh?  Yeah, that played out just the way he expected... or... wait a minute...so far it's been dead wrong.

The fact that Microsoft feels the need to now full on attack the Mac pricing like this in a major media campaign, given it's relative market share, speaks volumes.  It validates the success of the platform and drives home that Microsoft believes it's a true competitive threat.  The "I'm not cool enough" line doesn't sting Apple or Apple users either.  All that does is make the choir of Apple-bashers snicker.  Preaching to the choir isn't good advertising.  The reality is that a broad audience DOES think the Mac and Apple are cool.  So this spot is just plain tone deaf.

The fact is, the value proposition of the PC could stand on it's own.  The idea that it's value should be measured against the Mac establishes the Mac as the standard.  That's a very weird approach for the company with 90 to 95% of the market.

Then, as others have mentioned, there's the entirely unnecessary, totally weird dishonesty about this actress not being an actress.  What does that serve, other than to make Microsoft look desperate.  I'm not sure where that idea started, but it's lame as hell.

Hey, maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe this will resonate and cause potential switchers to reconsider.  I've worked with the creatives at CPB and they're very talented.  Their Burger King stuff is pure genius and I was pretty lucky to work with them on an especially weird BK spot last December.  But the trajectory of Microsoft's advertising over the past 12 months is basically one of bizarre obsession with Apple that started subtle and now has fully dissolved into a petty price war.

The question, though, remains: why do this?  People are fully aware of the price differential.  It's front and center at retail.  That hasn't mattered for years, as Apple's sales have continued to climb.  Even now, I'm sure there's plenty of people for Apple to sell Macs to at their current prices.  If Microsoft thinks that this depression is some kind of opening in their obsessive war against Apple, they don't understand the Apple customer base or what resonates in their value proposition to the consumer.

As for share numbers... Cheapo netbooks may be coming in to hurt Apple's marketshare numbers now... but who cares?  Those machines are even LESS likely to run additional software than the average PC, making their share pretty meaningless to developers... who are the only audience for which marketshare has any value at all. All that said, I think netbooks ARE pretty cool, if they've got 3G... but then I use my iPhone much the way most use their netbook, so whatever.

And if any of you think that each and every PC maker isn't dying to have Apple's brand power and value proposition to maintain their higher margins, you're nuts.  Just look at the Dell Adamo.  The reality is that PC prices are lower because they need to be in order to attract the customers.  

That's the nature of prices.  They emerge from market demand and competition, not cost of goods and certainly not altruism.  The notion that PC prices are cheaper because PC makers want to spread the love is just ludicrous.  If Apple's demand slumps, those Mac prices will fall.  Just look at the iPhone for proof of the Company's willingness to be aggressive on pricing.

None of this is Microsoft bashing.  Compared with the government idiocy going on this year and the ruinous bailouts and BS, any company like Microsoft that delivers sustainable business value and productive innovation is great in my book.  I admire them, Gates and I reject my former complaints about the monopoly ruling (which I've come to see was just more government BS collusion with politically connected competitors).  I want Windows 7 to be AMAZING because competition makes everything better for everyone.

I'm simply saying that this campaign feels desperate.  I wouldn't have approached it this way... unless I was told by Microsoft that the Mac was a significant competitive threat and that they demanded we take them on hard.

I didn't even touch on the complex, confusing brand dilution that comes from mixing Windows branding with PC hardware branding.

Well, this was an amusing thread...

Johnpapola, actually I pretty much agree with your last post on this one, apart from one small point...

I don't see there being much of a "obsessive war against Apple".

I mean, every mac sold, is another potential customer for windows as well.

I think this "war" is something that fanboys/crazies/whatever you call them on BOTH sides of the fence has concocted.

Anyway.

Just to throw another thing into the mix, this remarking that "people" do find the mac cool and aspirational is rubbish IMHO. Sure, some people do, but they're a tiny majority.

Most mac owners that I know just think of it as another kind of computer, they don't see anything 'special' in it that 'sets them apart'.

Of course there are also the mac "enthusiasts" who really do tie their self-worth into their platform of choice, and will take any and all opportunity to tell you about how great apple is, which ironically seems to just annoy people and drives them away from the platform!

We get one in the studio regularly. He's a good bloke, but for the love of your gods, would you shut up about the macbook, and lets get some freaking work done. One or two snide remarks or something is funny, fair enough, but he goes on so much that people get really tired of him really quickly.

This ad is sooo bad.

Microsoft could as well have said: "If you can afford a Mac, go get one!"

But that's exactly what everyone knew before... right?

Somehow I feel even Microsoft now thinks that Macs are better and there's no reason for a Windows machine anymore except for the price.

That's sad... but true.

Somehow this ad makes me wanna buy a Mac. And yes, I can afford one...