The Empire Strikes Back

Before you read this post I highly recommend you watch this new Microsoft advert as it will put this post into context.

After constantly losing market share to the Apple boys at Cupertino, Microsoft has finally decided that now is the time to strike back. Why now though? Quite simply the only differentiating factor that Microsoft has over Apple is that of price. In every other category (design, innovation, operating system) Apple wipes the floor with any generic Microsoft laptop. That was all good and well before the recession reared its ugly head and we lost all our money and it’s time for Microsoft to shoot back on the price.

The story behind this advert is that ordinary people were given $1000 by Microsoft posing as a marketing research company to find a 17-inch laptop. If a computer could be found for under $1000 then any extra cash was the buyers along with the new laptop. First of all there are 17-inch laptops and there are 17-inch laptops. If I told you to go buy a hatchback car then your standard Golf is technically in a similar category as a Bentley GT. It’s not all about price but I guess that’s what this advert is about.

Anyway, Lauren (a total random who just happens to conveniently be a Screen Actors Guild member) starts the ad by talking briefly about how she’s off to find a 17-inch laptop for under $1000. Initially she walks into the Apple Store and through the magic of editing it seems as though she immediately walks out. She then talks about how for $1000 all she can get is a 13-inch screen with a small keyboard. She then gets in her funky VW New Beetle and starts talking about how buying a Mac will break her budget and she’s “just not cool enough to be a Mac”. Right now your unconscious is thinking “well if someone like Lauren isn’t cool enough to be a Mac then I guess I can also not be cool enough”.

She then drives off into an non-descript PC store and magically starts to find the PC that she wants. She agonises over two different 17-inch laptops and finally decides on an HP. The price of the laptop is shown multiple times and Lauren exclaims how she’s going to be paying for the laptop “cash”. All round congrats to Lauren and that ends the advert.

I love this advert and after the last batch of Seinfeld-Gates adverts anything from Microsoft would be considered amazing. I just think the way they tap into the money saving psyche of the average American. The average American being battered into believing that cheaper is the only way to go during this terrible recession. Lauren’s not exactly what you consider cool but she’s best described as “a little bit country” and representative of everyone. Microsoft has finally realised that they cannot compete on cool, not by a long stretch. After seeing this advert I looked at my Macbook in disdain thinking I paid double for the pleasure of being cool.

Here’s the dirty secret though, Lauren didn’t pay less for her PC because she didn’t compare her PC directly to a Mac. After a little bit of digging Lauren’s $699 PC actually has an AMD Turion X2 processor, something I seem to think is fairly entry level. Fortunately it does come with 4 Gigs of Ram so it will actually be able to run Windows Vista but Ram is cheap as chips these days and hardly a differentiation. Had they compared hardware directly the pricing would have been a lot closer even if Apple is still more expensive.

Either way, great advert and good on Microsoft on standing up to Apple by acknowledging that they aren’t as cool but cool isn’t going to pay the bills.

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