I was going to let this current Microsoft Laptop Hunters ad campaign come and go without commenting on it. I honestly tried. After seeing the “Sheila” version of the ad about 247 times now, however, a man can only take so much.
The ultimate goal of these ads is to promote cheaper PC laptops (under $1,000, $1,500, and $2,000, respectively) running Windows over their MacBook counterparts. 2 of these ads irk me more than the others: “Giampaolo”, and “Sheila”. In both of these ads, we have young unattractive adults going into their local Fry’s Electronics, spotting a MacBook at some point, dissing it, and ultimately ending up with (by “chance”) an HP HDX laptop.
Young Giampaolo wants a laptop with “portability, battery life, and…power”. The HDX he ends up with physically specs at 16″, 7.3 lb., 3 hours of battery life, and nearly 2″ thick. “Macs to me are all about aesthetics more than they are the computing power”, he says. The comparable MacBook he looked at specs at 5 hours of battery life, about half the thickness, and a Core 2 Duo P7350 or P8600 with PC3-8500 DDR3 RAM. Its peak transfer rate is double his chosen HDX. So let’s run down your requirement list, Giampaolo: greater portability? Nah. Battery life? Reviews of the HDX by consumers put it closer to 2 hours than HP’s listed 3. That’s another no. Power? If he was able to upgrade to DDR3 RAM he’d be able to take advantage of the installed CPU’s 1066MHz front side bus. Sadly, that’s not the case. Was the HDX cheaper? Yes. And that’s about it.
Now for Sheila, self-described filmmaker, who is looking for a “fast processor, big screen, and…something that’s going to able to cut video.” The disgusted, hands-in-the-air look she gives when the $1,999 MacBook she comes across “only has 2 gigabytes of RAM” is pictured. This image is tattooed on my brain, and I yearn to strangle a small furry animal every time I see it. In any event, she too ultimately ends up with an HP HDX (again, all by her own accord…), with 4GB of slower DDR2 RAM, a smaller screen resolution, and a few hours of battery life. I wonder how she plans on cutting video at 1366 x 768 max resolution using Windows’ Movie Maker software? At commercial’s end, she states that she’s “a PC, and an artist.”
There are other ads featuring young obnoxious people, sometimes with their parents, all coming out with a Windows-tainted laptop and getting money back for their poor decision. And they’re ecstatic about it! The commercials imply Macs are overpriced, and in other ads, that Mac owners are tantamount to gadget-minded brand snobs. According to market studies, these ads have in part been successful, in terms of market perception of value for the buck. Apple spokesman Bill Evans ultimately summed it up best, saying to Macworld “a PC is no bargain when it doesn’t do what you want.” High five, William. High five.