With the Jerry Seinfeld era behind it, Microsoft is moving ahead with a new Windows advertising strategy that aims at Apple’s Achilles’ heel: Higher prices. The commercial appears to be the first in a series called Laptop Hunters, and it puts Microsoft on the offense instead of the defense.
Microsoft’s just-released Windows commercial taps into the price-conscious, recession-driven consumer mind-set by following a woman on a mission to find a laptop that’s fast and has a comfortable keyboard and a 17-inch screen — for $1,000 or less.
In the ad, the voice-over says Microsoft told Lauren, a redhead with glasses, that if she could find a computer that met her demands, she could keep it. In other words, Microsoft would buy it for her. With that, she becomes a laptop hunter.
‘I’m Just Not Cool Enough’
In the commercial from advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Lauren goes into an Apple store, quickly walks back out and reports, “For $1,000 they only have one computer available, and that’s a 13-inch screen. I would have to double my budget, which isn’t feasible. I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person.” That statement is a direct hit against Microsoft’s longtime rival that implies you don’t get much computer for your money when you buy a Mac.
Last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer set the stage for the new ad’s debut when he said, “Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction. The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment — same piece of hardware — paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that’s a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.”
Lauren was excited when she entered a retail store…