How many ad campaigns will it take before PC users start to get fed up with being fed the usual "Mac sucks, we rule" propaganda?
The newest ad takes place in a department store, where a college-aged student named Giampaolo is handed $1500 with the promise that he can keep whatever he buys. That's an offer we wish Microsoft would hand us. We'd be happy to show our readers how to spend $1500 - and we wouldn't take sides either.
However, Giampaolo is on a PC mission, with three conditions imposed in the selection process for his $1500: power, portability and battery life. The problem for this ad, is that although it's not strictly stated, there's an obvious anti-Mac undercurrent that transpires during his search. That's not exactly fair.
At one point, Giampaolo is slightly over-awed by the sight of a "sexy" Macbook, but later rejects it after he reassures himself that the Mac is all looks and style, but nothing underneath. " I don't want to pay for the brand, I want to pay for the computer", he says. Steve Ballmer made similar comments only recently at a New York conference, when he considered Macs as an overpriced logo.
The ad is shot with a distinct documentary style, going for realism over the usual parody. But perhaps the final joke is on Microsoft.
By the end of the ad, Giampaolo exits the store with a bulky 16" HP HDX 16, known for its sub-standard battery life and extremely bulky dimensions - a failure over the light, battery efficient and powerfully "sexy" Macbook.
Yes, the HP is still cheaper than the Macbook, but does it truly answer our shopper's original criteria? Not really. The old Mac vs. PC debate wages on.