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Sixth Microsoft TV ad attacks white MacBook

updated 09:40 am EDT, Wed July 8, 2009

6th Laptop Hunters Ad

Microsoft has returned to its ad campaign with the first ad in its "Laptop Hunters" campaign in weeks. The TV spot sees couple Matt and Olivia tasked with finding a system at Best Buy with a large screen, long battery life and good support for pictures at $700. They dismiss a 13-inch plastic MacBook as "too small" and too expensive at $1,000, eventually settling on an HP Pavilion dv7 exactly matching their target price. In comparing the Mac and Windows lines, Microsoft is direct and emphasizes absolute price over features.

"You can't get a Mac for $700," Matt says.

The ad is the first to appear since Apple's price-cut MacBook Pros appeared and after Apple gave a low-profile update to the plastic MacBook a week earlier and appears to steer away from the contentiousness of later "Laptop Hunters" ads, which targeted mid-range systems and frequently saw unusual choices, such as rejecting a faster MacBook Pro for a slower HP HDX system solely due to RAM and showing the $2,000 price of a 15-inch MacBook Pro but eventually settling for a Dell Studio XPS 13.

However, the ad appears to mislead viewers by misrepresenting the value of the system. The closest current match through Best Buy is the dv7-1450US; it normally sells for $850 and is significantly slower than the MacBook it's compared against, suggesting Matt and Olivia settled for an on-sale model. It has an older, 2.2GHz Turion X2 Ultra and Radeon HD 3200 video comparing against a faster, more efficient 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo and GeForce 9400M. Crucially, battery life is also relatively short, with most tests online showing between 2.5 and 3 hours of battery life in real tests despite an 8-cell battery; Apple's least expensive system usually nets 4 or more hours with a 6-cell battery.

It's also suggested that Microsoft is prompting the people in the ad, as Matt mentions that the dv7 "has Windows Photo Gallery" to justify its use for pictures.

The commercial nonetheless underscores Apple's lack of any notebook priced significantly under $1,000 and the relatively low amount of RAM and storage on the company's least expensive systems. HP's model has 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive where Apple's model carries 2GB of RAM and a 160GB disk.

 
Previous Comments

Budget OS

07/08, 09:51am (6 replies) reply

Why do North Americans insist on equating cost with value?

Mimi-mim

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2007

+17

deception

07/08, 09:59am (1 reply) reply

It may have 4GB, but I'm sure they don't mention that it's OS can only use the first 3GB ;-)

sribe

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2003

+15

Re: Budget OS

07/08, 10:01am (1 reply) reply

Because you can check your email, surf the web, and look at some pictures for $600 or for $1000.

gitcypher

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2007

-8

and

07/08, 10:03am (2 replies) reply

It's the 64bit version of Windows.

gitcypher

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2007

-3

Comment buried. Show

figures

07/08, 10:05am reply

More black on white crime...

testudo

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2001

-29

Another stupid commercial

07/08, 10:35am (1 reply) reply

They're idiots. Let them settle for c***. Apple doesn't need cheap b******* like that who don't understand that you have to pay for quality. PC laptops look like c***. What's with all of the stupid stickers??? They look like a**.

howiethemacguy

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Sep 2007

+10

Recession

07/08, 10:45am (1 reply) reply

Actually the price push is very attuned to the economic times. To most people a computer is a computer and that is why these ads work. However, I was raised to seek out the best value for my hard earned dollar, even if that meant waiting and saving my money to afford the better value. I use Macs, drive a Porsche and do not shop at Walmart.

RKDinOKC

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2007

+7

It's the OS, stupid

07/08, 10:51am (1 reply) reply

I find it interesting that MS keeps harping on the hardware without even mentioning the OS. After all, MS is an OS vendor, not a PC hardware vendor. I interpret that as meaning that they can't come up with any compelling reasons for choosing Windows over OS X.

TheBum

Mac Enthusiast

Joined: Sep 2001

+23

It's the OS, stupid

07/08, 10:53am reply

I find it interesting that MS keeps harping on the hardware without even mentioning the OS. After all, MS is an OS vendor, not a PC hardware vendor. I interpret that as meaning that they can't come up with any compelling reasons for choosing Windows over OS X.

TheBum

Mac Enthusiast

Joined: Sep 2001

+10

Apple OSX vs crapdows

07/08, 10:57am reply

Apple OSX
Lack of virus
Lack of stupid pop up balloons
Lack of constant need to babysit the os

PRICELESS

dliup

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2006

+12

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