According to the new Microsoft ad — which is all over the blogosphere — Lauren has a budget of just $1,000 (which turns out to be Microsoft’s money, how kind) for a laptop, and she wants one with a nice keyboard and a 17″ screen. Now, if you go to the official Microsoft site, you have to install their proprietary “Silverlight” program to watch it. Thanks, Microsoft. Here’s a Flash version of the ad:
Now, as you will have seen, poor Lauren — who apparently doesn’t care about hard drive space, processor speed, memory, or whether or not she can burn DVDs — can’t find a single thing for her at the Apple store.
Well, duh!
I am no raging Apple fanboi. I happily use Macs at work, and I have an old iMac (thanks, boss) running my jukebox at home. But I also have a dual-booting WinXP/Ubuntu computer which I consider my main machine. Personally, I tend to find the tweakability and DIY factor of a PC to be more to my liking. And, since I don’t care overmuch about premium products, I find the budget of a Mac to be a little high for my tastes.
But, I certainly think they’re nice computers! They just don’t target the thin slice of market that Lauren represents (well, maybe not so thin). Even PCMag has “fact checked” the ad:
If Microsoft’s point is to stick it to Apple and claim that there’s only one Mac laptop for under $1,000 and it’s got a small 13-inch screen, they’re absolutely correct. You can’t walk out of an Apple Store with (any) laptop for under $1,000 after tax. Certainly you can’t walk out of an Apple Store with a 17-inch laptop for under $1,000. Apple’s 17-inch MacBook Pro is a professional product for people like pro photographers and videographers and is marketed and priced as such.
Exactly. Macs have a great operating system with unparalleled integration among all their hardware. The design is stylish, and the targeted market is professionals who want it to Just Work.
Sending Lauren into an Apple store with her stated list of requirements was ridiculous. What if she was looking for a vehicle? What if she was looking for something that was good on gas, easy to park and fun to drive — for less than $20,000? And what if Microsoft sent her into a limousine dealership?
“Geez,” she’d say, walking out disappointed. “Everything in there was big and stodgy — and expensive. They only thing they had for under $20,000 was a keychain.” Hyuck, hycuk.
But it’s not really making the point, is it? Straw man, much?
I hate advertising.
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