As you may know, Microsoft has been getting a lot of mileage out of a series of advertisement called “Laptop Hunters,” on which they’ll give someone $1000 to buy whatever laptop and related paraphernalia they want, so long as it does not go over budget. Of course, this means that the people will look at a Mac, find that it’s too expensive, and then get a computer running Windows for far less. These ads have been so effective that Apple, one of the best companies at advertising out there these days, told Microsoft to pull the commercials, claiming that they had lowered their prices. Mr. Kevin Turner, CTO at Microsoft, scoffed at the demand, saying that “it was the greatest single phone call in the history that I’ve ever taken in business.”
I’m a long-time Windows user, and while I like that Microsoft has finally figured out what an effective ad campaign is, I can’t see this specific flavor of commercial lasting all that long. And the reasoning is not all that complex: “Laptop Hunters” suggests that the reason why you want a PC instead of a Mac is because a PC is less money for a comparable machine. From a hardware perspective, this is true. You can get a significantly cheaper PC running virtually the same components for less money. I know the Mac faithful will come out to defend that, but it’s true.
But a campaign based around price is one generally reserved for a company that can’t offer much of anything else, and that’s not a position in which Microsoft should want to stay. Windows 7 is a beastly piece of program. So I say it’s about time to replace “Laptop Hunters” with something that touts how Microsoft’s latest OS gives Mac a run for its money. And there are many directions that these can go. Talk about how it can be your OS on both netbooks and powerful machines, and how it adjusts for low-powered machines and high powered machines.
At the end of the day, you want the consumers in the market to think that they are getting the best product. The fact that PCs are cheaper should only be icing on the cake. “Laptop Hunters” may work for now, but it works in the same way that commercials for used car dealerships work. Is it any surprise that Microsoft has seen success with these ads in this economy? When Windows 7 launches, I want to see commercials showing off cool functionalities. That has way more long-term value than beating into peoples’ heads that they can pay less for yours. Make them think that it’s cheaper and better.
(Original story via Ars Technica)
