Microsoft recently released another ad in its “Laptop Hunter” series where they follow individuals looking for a computer with certain specifications. If they can find it for under a certain price, Microsoft foots the bill. Wow, I wonder if Sony has a similar deal for their LCD TV’s?



In Microsoft’s latest ad, we meet Giampaolo, a dashing young fellow looking for a powerful laptop for under $1500. He ends up at Fry’s where he decides to check out some Macs. Upon examining what seems to be a Macbook he remarks, “This is soo Sexy.” But it’s not love at first sight for Giampolo as he goes on to take a few jabs at Apple.

But Macs to me are about aesthetics more than they are about the computing power. I don’t want to pay for the brand, I want to pay for the computer.

Hmm, makes you wonder why he even checked out the Macs in the first place. Giampaolo, who’s a recent engineering grad, eventually ends up purchasing an HP HDX 16.

Giampaolo’s statements echo recent sentiments from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer where he said that consumers don’t want to pay $500 more for a logo in tough economic times.

Are Microsoft’s new commercials effective?

These commercials are admittedly entertaining, but they fail to adequately address the real reasons users decide to switch to the Mac. Microsoft still can’t come to grips with the fact that people aren’t buying Apple products to be “cool”, but rather because they deem the OS and user experience worthy of a premium. It’s not about the logo, it’s about the quality that the logo has come to represent. If Microsoft truly believes that people buy Apple products for the logo, how can they honestly expect their own products to compete when they’re not even taking competitors seriously. I mean, it’s easy to dismiss the iPhone and the Mac, for example, if you think its advantages are minimal, and its success simply the result of some fad.

When will Microsoft learn that this ridiculous notion of “coolness” barely drives any significant sales at all. There’s a distinct difference between buying a product that you think is cool, and buying a product because you think it will make you cool. People buy Macs because they can do cool things with them straight out of the box, not because they think they’ll all of a sudden become popular and respected in their social circle.

If Microsoft wants to get people excited about using Windows, it needs to spend more time focusing on its own OS, and less time focusing on the notion of the “cool Mac user.”