New Microsoft Ad Campaign Targets Mac Prices

[Manderby]

Remember the tv-ads about laundry detergent? They are about the oldest ads ever, They belong to the very first ads since the age of tv. And the laundry keeps getting whiter and whiter and whiter and whiter... Dishwashers make dishes and glasses shinier, shinier, shinier... Action figures are getting cooler, cooler... Macs are more expensive than PCs... This is all "history repeating". Yet look at the number of responses. Aren't we all little nerds?

My opinion: Less than 1% of people know what is important when buying a computer, so targeting the other 99% of all people with the price is a perfectly good idea. Same thing for cars: Nobody who understands something about cars (again, most propably about 1% of all people) would buy a _enter_a_sub_optimal_car_name_ but the other 99% still do it. So, you want a cheap computer that suffices your needs? Go on, it's your choice, but don't come whining to the expers when the price was not the only thing that was cheap.

 

[niuniu]

I agree that the ads appeal to consumers (like my mother) who look for a good deal (which means big numbers she doesn't really understand on the spec sheet coupled with a low price tag).

But this ad was smarter than that - it's picked up on the generation of younger, savvier PC owners who vehemently claim to hate Apple, saying Apple users are all Starbucks drinking, shaggy haired liberals spending mummy's money.

Do a search on the forums, you'll see lots of posts such as 'I'm not cool enough for a Mac'.

Picking up on that and using it in the advert was smart, smarter than the price tag focus - it'll feed and perpetuate the anti-snobbery PC users have when it comes to Mac, and give them that underdog sense of pride and camaradery.

 

[opeter]

Sweden, actually, but at least the EU.

Ugh, silly me. I did look at your location and did read as .es, rather than .se

Yeah, I know. I have a VW Golf GTI built in Wolfsburg, and my friend has a Skoda Octavia built in... uh.. Czech Republic(?) and it's the exact same parts -- engine, seats, steering wheel, AC system etc aren't just similar, they are exactly the same. At least if you get an Audi A3, another car built on the Golf platform, the interior looks totally different.

But still, even though BMW cuts corners too, there's a looong way between a Kia and a BMW.

Absolutelly, have to agree with that.

 

[atzeX]

Why is she driving a VW? Isn’t that an „expensive“ car in the US?

And the she goes out and buys something cheap?

 

[dukebound85]

Why is she driving a VW? Isn’t that an „expensive“ car in the US?

And the she goes out and buys something cheap?

a vw isnt that expensive....esp if its used lol

 

[Anuba]

The last time that I checked, Microsoft's profit margins are higher than Apple's.

Of course they are, they're a software company (the "first" software company according to Steve Jobs) that produces some hardware on the side. How could the margins not be ludicrous on software?

Ergo, I'm not comparing Apple to them, but to...

the PC hardware manufacturers (Dell, HP)

^^^those guys, who are living high on the hog on their slim margins.

And of course, the belief paradigm that is present here is that Apple's OS X somehow gets developed all by itself, for free.

Err... I work in software, well three of my clients do, you don't need to tell me that software development doesn't come for free. I know the man hours that go into it.

But Windows didn't come out of an EZ bake oven either, a computer ships with an OS included and that's where the comparison starts. OK, now add $79 worth of iLife. Have we filled the $500-$2,000 discrepancy now?

 

[WeegieMac]

OMG you are so right. It looks just like a external CD/DVD drive They must be copying them because no one has ever produced one of those.

He means the design/appearance of the drive is near identical to the SuperDrive add-on for the Macbook Air, you unsuccessfully sarcastic fud.

 

[Rich223]

What people have to realize with computers, cars, etc. is: Lowest Price is rarely the Best Deal

 

[koa]

But still, even though BMW cuts corners too, there's a looong way between a Kia and a BMW.

But the Hyundai Genesis might delete a few of those o's.
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/vehicle/genesis/genesis.aspx

 

[AidenShaw]

IBut this ad was smarter than that - it's picked up on the generation of younger, savvier PC owners who vehemently claim to hate Apple, saying Apple users are all Starbucks drinking, shaggy haired liberals spending mummy's money.

Picking up on that and using it in the advert was smart, smarter than the price tag focus - it'll feed and perpetuate the anti-snobbery PC users have when it comes to Mac, and give them that underdog sense of pride and camaradery.

Maybe Apple will realize this and decide that the Justin Long character isn't helping them.

By the way, here's an interesting story in Advertising Age:

http://adage.com/article?article_id=135578

Microsoft Wants You to Know: PCs Are Cheaper
Gives Computer-Seeking Consumers Cash to Spend in Crispin's Latest Spots
By Rupal Parekh

Published: March 26, 2009

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- PCs are cheaper than Macs, and Microsoft wants you to know it.

Microsoft harps on the affordability PCs can offer cash-strapped consumers in the market for a new computer with a new spot called 'Laptop Hunters.'

With the recession as its backdrop, Microsoft has finally jumped on the value-messaging bandwagon in a new ad, a 60-second spot dubbed "Laptop Hunters" that will break tonight during the NCAA "March Madness" basketball tournament.
...

(by the way, Best Buy is also a CP+B account - interesting)...

a vw isnt that expensive....esp if its used lol

You mean "refurbished", right?

 

[sharkinfested]

It’s so odd that people get so personally vested in a mass-produced consumer product. I guess I could understand if the employees of these corporations were getting all upset over ads like this because sales of these products affect their job security – but why all the fanatical devotion by the consumers? Does it really matter to you what someone else chooses to buy?

You don’t see this type of devotion with other consumer products.

You never see two women fighting over which tampon is better, or two guys arguing about the recipes of Coke and Pepsi, or even BMW owners debating with Audi owners as to which car is better.

But for some reason computers are the exception – and advertisers are exploiting it. It’s really silly.

If you’re upset with this ad then you’ve been manipulated – they pushed your button.
Price comparison has been, and will continue to be, a widespread advertising tool to sell lower priced products.
The advertisers really struck a cord with the line “I’m just not cool enough to me a Mac person.” This line speaks directly about the “Apple snobs” and the “Mac fanboys”. A lot of Windows users are put off by a perceived “attitude” of many Apple users - and for that reason alone they won’t even consider an Apple computer purchase.
Windows users – they just pushed your button too.

Don’t be a sheep. Buy whatever computer you want, and don’t worry what other people buy!
For the record I buy Apple products AND Microsoft products because each company produces products that I find useful. But that’s as far as it goes for me. I won’t pledge allegiance to a corporation.

 

[Anuba]

(by the way, Best Buy is also a CP+B account - interesting)...

And so is Burger King. Apparently CP+B is the agency you go to when you want a "brand perception makeover". With Burger King the message was pretty much "heck yeah I eat meat and I'm proud of it", and with Windows it appears that the message hasn't changed much, now it's "heck yeah I use a PC and I'm proud of it".

 

[AidenShaw]

And so is Burger King. Apparently CP+B is the agency you go to when you want a "brand perception makeover". With Burger King the message was pretty much "heck yeah I eat meat and I'm proud of it", and with Windows it appears that the message hasn't changed much, now it's "heck yeah I use a PC and I'm proud of it".

SO IS VOLKSWAGEN !!!!

It comes full circle!

LOL!

 

[dsnort]

And so is Burger King. Apparently CP+B is the agency you go to when you want a "brand perception makeover". With Burger King the message was pretty much "heck yeah I eat meat and I'm proud of it", and with Windows it appears that the message hasn't changed much, now it's "heck yeah I use a PC and I'm proud of it".

Now if only Burger King would come up with a "We won't leave your sandwich in the microwave until the bun is hot enough to scald your mouth" message, they might be on to something!

 

[jazz1]

After the commercial she got paid enough to buy a Mac.

I love that thought. Maybe should could sell the Windows machine a leverage the money toward a Mac even a refurb. or used one.

Actually the proposition they put to her is "fixed" in that they pretty much said you get this only if you buy a Windows machine, given the money parameters. In other words she could not have kicked in her own money on top of the money she got to play the rigged game.

It would have been funny if she could have found an Ubuntu machine or simply Hackintoshed the Windows machine just to spite them I guess in the end where there is a will there is a way to get a Mac. I know I've done it despite hard times now and in the past.

 

[Balooba]

+extras

The clip did not show the obligatory moment where the sales person really really recommends that she buys Norton Internet Security. Three years protection for "only $184.98 + tax".

 

[neiltc13]

The clip did not show the obligatory moment where the sales person really really recommends that she buys Norton Internet Security. Three years protection for "only $184.98 + tax".

How many times do you people need to be told? Virus protection might have been "obligatory" back in 1998 but if you actually used Windows for any great length of time you'd see that it's now rock solid and it's very, very difficult to get a virus.

I've been running Windows machines for years with no third party firewall, spyware or antivirus protection. I'm fine.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

How many times do you people need to be told? Virus protection might have been "obligatory" back in 1998 but if you actually used Windows for any great length of time you'd see that it's now rock solid and it's very, very difficult to get a virus.

I've been running Windows machines for years with no third party firewall, spyware or antivirus protection. I'm fine.

Same. I've had an install of Windows on my machine for over a year and have yet to have a single piece of Malware infiltrate my system, that is running with no third party protection.

 

[idkmybff]

"Bread-n-butter Homer Simpson / IT department"

IMO, Vista really went off the rails because they tried to make it all high-octane glossy feeling like OS X and alienated their bread-n-butter Homer Simpson / IT department customers in the process (not just aesthetically but in terms of hardware requirements and so on).

You had me at Homer Simpson. While I snipped your post for brevity, I created an account just put an exclamation point after your contentions.

bravo, xeroply. we share dirt from the same trenches.

that is all.

 

[-hh]

Err... I work in software, well three of my clients do, you don't need to tell me that software development doesn't come for free. I know the man hours that go into it.

And your professional experience in hardware design & manufacturing is ... what, pray tell?

FWIW, over the past 3 decades, I've met a lot of naive software developers that believe that the guys bending metal for making the hardware can simply pull an all-nighter and "poof!" they'll have an 8 port injection mold show up overnight without having to lay out $100K four months earlier. As such, your comments about 'cheap' manufacturing has a ring of either ignorance or of crass disrespect...neither option is particularly admirable.

But Windows didn't come out of an EZ bake oven either...

True, but with roughly a 20:1 advantage in sales, MS's development costs get amortized across roughly 20x more unit sales. Hardly a trivial difference...its a huge advantage for Microsoft.

OK, now add $79 worth of iLife. Have we filled the $500-$2,000 discrepancy now?

From the above and for all other factors being equal, what Apple has to sell at an amortized cost of $20, Microsoft can sell for $1.

But since IIRC Microsoft sells OEM licenses at roughly $30 or $40, using this same sales volume handicapping ratio for recovering OS development costs, it means that the 'Apple Tax' simply due to their market share disadvantage is on the rough order of magnitude of $600 - $800.


FWIW, I know that your "$2000 discrepancy" comment is based on the new Mac Pro ... we'll simply have to wait another 48 hours for other PC manufacturers to release their equivalent products to determine if the MP is "overpriced" or not.

And given Lenovo's current prices on their D10 workstation, if their new D20 follows suit, there probably won't be a $2000 discrepancy, or even a $1000 one.


-hh

Edit:
Lenovo D10 Workstation w/Windows, 2.66GHz Quad Core Xeon, 3GB RAM, 500GB HD & DVD burner = US$2,369
(or $2,554 with the 750GB HD)
Apple Mac Pro 'Quad' (Nehlam) 640GB HD for $2,499 ... an extra $130, or $55 cheaper, depending on the HD choice on the Lenovo one wants to suggest is 'more equivalent'.

 

[bamerican]

I wonder how many times she's going to have to reformat her hard drive because of slow performance.

That's what caused me to make the switch. I've never been happier I did.

 

[Digitalclips]

Will she 'LOVE' her new PC the way she would have a Mac? That's the real question! What price can you put on love?

 

[skaertus]

How many times do you people need to be told? Virus protection might have been "obligatory" back in 1998 but if you actually used Windows for any great length of time you'd see that it's now rock solid and it's very, very difficult to get a virus.

I've been running Windows machines for years with no third party firewall, spyware or antivirus protection. I'm fine.

Windows gets viruses just because viruses are written for Windows. MacOS has also gotten viruses written for it, as it is becoming more popular over the years. An anti-virus is recommended, but not essential, to both OSs.

In fact, this "MacOS is safer" and "Windows needs expensive anti-virus" talk is pure a matter of opinion and not based on facts. Symantec has released a report last month in which it qualifies Windows as the most secure OS, and MacOS as the least secure (Linux is in the middle).

See the link for the news here: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=805&blogid=4

And the whole paper here: http://eval.symantec.com/mktginfo/e...hitepaper_web_based_attacks_03-2009.en-us.pdf

Now, let's base our statements on real data and research.

 

[organerito]

Same. I've had an install of Windows on my machine for over a year and have yet to have a single piece of Malware infiltrate my system, that is running with no third party protection.

I don't have any antivirus either.

When the very used " I am a PC, I am a Mac" ads force the reality to make their point, everyone cheers up Apple. When Microsoft does the same, most of the people become ruthless critics. It is just a commercial and it is not going to stop people from buying a Mac or a Windows machine. Perhaps, Windows 7 will, but not this commercial.

 

[skaertus]

I don't have any antivirus either.

When the very used " I am a PC, I am a Mac" ads force the reality to make their point, everyone cheers up Apple. When Microsoft does the same, most of the people become ruthless critics. It is just a commercial and it is not going to stop people from buying a Mac or a Windows machine. Perhaps, Windows 7 will, but not this commercial.

Everybody knows a PC is cheaper than a Mac. It's evident, it's on the price tag. Everything else is not clear at all (whether Macs are better built, MacOS is worth the price, or the total cost of ownership is actually bigger). Microsoft is just telling the obvious, but it's a great ad.