Latest Microsoft Ad Campaign Targets 'Apple Tax'

When's the last time you found a new Apple MacBook for less than $1,000?

Never?

Base pricing is the focus of Microsoft's recent ad campaign, which launches a frontal assault on its competitor's alleged "Apple tax".

Although the last time Microsoft worked with popular ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, it ended in Costanza-esque disaster -- however, this time the two are taking a different tact. Rather than prance in a fantasy world where comedians and geeky tech moguls journey across the United States, this new series of ads follows everyday computer buyers in their quest to purchase an affordable system.

Lauren's Quest for a Sub-$1,000 Notebook

The company's newest ad follows Lauren, who (according to reports), participated in a Craigslist 'contest' challenging recruits to purchase computers ranging in price from $700 to $2,000. The systems had to meet certain criteria (screen size, storage, speed, etc), and if participants could justify their purchases, the computers were theirs to keep. (Source: electronista.com)

The TV spot follows Lauren to Apple's store, where she desperately tries to seek out a 17" laptop for less than $1,000. As any techie might expect, that's not possible (short of, ironically enough, buying an old Powerbook used off Craigslist). Stymied but not saddened, Lauren continues her journey to big box retailer Best Buy, where she finds what she's looking for -- a 17" HP notebook, running Windows, for $699.

Bold Move or Bald-faced Lies?

Now, you can make all the arguments you want about Apple, HP, or Windows, but this is a wise move by Microsoft.

In a struggling economy where bare-bones, 8.9", DVD-drive-free netbooks are the hottest new phenomenon, it's clear that people care more about price than speed and storage. The Redmond-based company's ad doesn't make any claims about the quality of its operating system or the performance of HP computers, but that's hardly important to consumers who want cheap, capable systems.

Of course, the devil is in the details. Lauren was asked to find a laptop with a 17" screen, and she did that. Unfortunately, the HP's display is hardly a winner: at a weighty 7.75 pounds, it features a 1440 by 900 display, resolutions that aren't nearly as lush as Apple's 17" MacBook Pro, which runs at 1920 by 1200. (Source: appleinsider.com)

Unfortunately for Apple, that MacBook Pro will be on its third owner before the price drops below $1,000, justifying Microsoft's parochial, yet simple point.