A New Skirmish in the Mac versus PC Jihad

In the backdrop of a rivalry which seems only slightly less heated than the one between the Yankees and the Red Sox, a new series of television ads from Microsoft takes aim at the relatively high cost and lower value of Macs compared to Windows-based PC's.

I think this is the smart route to go from Microsoft, as at very least it'll help wash down the stench and vomit from those horrible Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld advertisements which tried to demonstrate... well, it's still not clear at this point, which was part of the problem. The marketing gurus at Microsoft likely came to the realization that the public was going to laugh about (1) anything that came off as a defensive retort to Apple's hilarious and popular "I'm a Mac... I'm a PC" advertisements, (2) anything that tries to speak of Microsoft product's reliability and functionality, or (3) anything that tries to speak of the aesthetic value or warm and fuzzy user experience of using Windows.

So what's left? Price. Essentially, it's the last line of defense of "our product is inferior and probably gives you a worse experience than our competitor, but you can save a heckuva lot of money." It's a risk, because once you run to that "we're cheaper" area and concede the quality and functionality crown to a competitor, it'll be a tough climb back in the eyes of the public.

As for the new ad campaign, Apple fans' reactions were predictably strongly negative. Some make the point that a supposed "girl off the street" presented with a challenge to buy a laptop for $1000 is actually a character actress, another notes that supposedly "tech-savvy" Giampaolo demostrates his deep knowledge by saying things like "this one has a little camera thing" and seems to ignore that Linux option that truly tech-savvy users consider. Some complain that he's not wearing his seatbelt.

For what it's worth, this blog was written on a Windows-based laptop.  I probably could care less, but I find that the people who care passionately very amusing.