Microsoft: Apple wanted 'Laptop Hunters' ads pulled

[Slogan]

To me the adverts were poor, that's my opinion. They weren't poor because they were Microsoft ads, I just thought they were a bit silly sometimes.

At the same time I think some of the Mac vs PC ads can be boring and repetitive. Needless to say I don't invest too much reliance on them as someone who pre-ordered two copies of Windows 7 yesterday.

The fact that someone at a Microsoft conference said what he said in the opening post, does not make the adverts a success. Otherwise I could turn around and point out how few people actually knew the ads existed in the first place.

Have Apple brought this on themselves? Entirely. I don't blame Microsoft for hitting back at all and in fact, I would only encourage it - particularly if it means price drops to Apple products.

Nothing wrong with a little competition but the comments made by the guy at the conference don't add up.

 

[Streeteh]

To me the adverts were poor, that's my opinion. They weren't poor because they were Microsoft ads, I just thought they were a bit silly sometimes.

Fair enough tbh, i actually think they're stupid too but they're effective. The Mac adverts actually make me angry when i watch them due to the smug-gittyness attitude but they do too work very well. Sadly we aren't average consumers so stuff that works for them will most likely annoy us

The fact that someone at a Microsoft conference said what he said in the opening post, does not make the adverts a success. Otherwise I could turn around and point out how few people actually knew the ads existed in the first place.

I can see where you're coming from, but he did reference a study that was carried out by someone completely unrelated to himself. I do agree that bias exists in everything though and there's a fair chance that said study is also biased, but the adverts are making people stand up and pay attention far more than any Microsoft advert i have ever seen so they're doing something right. When i praise these adverts i'm more basing it on the fact that all previous MS adverts have been crap, compared to those these are brilliant.

Have Apple brought this on themselves? Entirely. I don't blame Microsoft for hitting back at all and in fact, I would only encourage it - particularly if it means price drops to Apple products.

Again it's good to see we agree on another thing, Apple 'threw down the gauntlet' first and it was only a matter of time before Microsoft found the sore spot to poke. Also i too would like to see a price drop on Apple products, i'm of the opinion that they still have the best OS for low spec laptops. For now i'm making do with one of the Dell minis with OSX, but a proper Mac with the superior battery life and screen would not go amiss, but double the price? Hell no.

 

[V4NT0M]

If true it's a facepalm, after the crap they run 24/7 with their PC/MAC adverts, I hate those adverts because 99% of it is complete untruths, Apple's ads are basically propaganda.

 

[m4cc45]

OK - to qualify that - how well do you know OS X, compared to Windows?

Have one Apple in work which we attempt to support which is a massive pain. The marketing department reckon they will save money from using it but the programs they are using are all available for windows and we have to actually spend money getting office for Apple. I don't see the point. I've yet to see something produced from it that couldn't be done on windows.

For reference they are using Adobe CS / MS Office.

My brother has a Apple where by we wanted to setup a printer on it using the automated software from HP. It was overly complicated in my opinion.

Functionality wise it was drag the CD to the trash can to eject the CD and the mouse was one of the push to click mice which made it even harder.

In my time I've used I'd say 6 different Mac's. I've yet to see one where I would be pleased to use it.



M.

 

[Alex74]

If true it's a facepalm, after the crap they run 24/7 with their PC/MAC adverts, I hate those adverts because 99% of it is complete untruths, Apple's ads are basically propaganda.

Well actually some of it is fair enough. I mean, when you buy a mac with OS X then you do get a lovely software package with which you can generally do whatever you like from the word go with no fiddling around..

Apparently Microsoft tried to bundle a few bits of software with their OS and got fined millions or something..

 

["andy"]

congrats to microsoft. if its made apple drops prices then good job !

hopefully they will make some new adds that force apple into selling OS X as a standalone

 

[fez]

It basically dupes the idiots in the audience doesnt it. It says buy a cheap windows laptop because apple charge more than that cheap windows laptop for their better product.

It is somewhat akin to ford doing an ad comparing their cars to a BMW. All I hear when I see the adverts is "buy me because I am cheaper, dont worry about any of the other stuff that matters, just focus on the cheap"

I work on both macs and pcs and dont really care which I use but I do love my iMac. I could have gone out and bought all of the components that it has for about £100 less I reckon but I wouldnt have the quality or the OS and that is what I am prepared to pay a little extra for.

Maybe they should do a comparison between a sony store and the apple store. That one might go something like "I have $1000 to spend in the apple store or sony store... Oh, I couldnt get anything"

What happened there, the sony was a pc so why wasnt it cheap. You pay for more than simply the hardware in a computer. Maybe I just get annoyed by adverts that prey on peoples ignorance but I think they are pretty poor form. So are the apples to be fair but I dont think they dupe people to quite the same extent.

 

[TheVoice]

It basically dupes the idiots in the audience doesnt it. It says buy a cheap windows laptop because apple charge more than that cheap windows laptop for their better product.

It is somewhat akin to ford doing an ad comparing their cars to a BMW. All I hear when I see the adverts is "buy me because I am cheaper, dont worry about any of the other stuff that matters, just focus on the cheap"

I work on both macs and pcs and dont really care which I use but I do love my iMac. I could have gone out and bought all of the components that it has for about £100 less I reckon but I wouldnt have the quality or the OS and that is what I am prepared to pay a little extra for.

Maybe they should do a comparison between a sony store and the apple store. That one might go something like "I have $1000 to spend in the apple store or sony store... Oh, I couldnt get anything"

What happened there, the sony was a pc so why wasnt it cheap. You pay for more than simply the hardware in a computer. Maybe I just get annoyed by adverts that prey on peoples ignorance but I think they are pretty poor form. So are the apples to be fair but I dont think they dupe people to quite the same extent.

I think the point the adverts are making is that if you want a Mac, you have to spend a lot. If you want a Windows-based PC, you can essentially spend as much or as little as you want. There's so much choice out there that you're pretty likely to get what you want, whether it's a cheap 17" or an expensive but very powerful 13". Apple doesn't give consumers those choices; you want bigger, you pay more.

The Microsoft ads weren't just focusing on cheap systems, there was a rather attractive girl in one of them who ended up with a Dell Studio XPS 13.

As for preying on people's ignorance, that's what all advertising does. At least the MS are dealing with the facts as far as price is concerned, whereas Apple see fit to just bend the truth (or make things up completely) about Windows/PCs to suit whatever they want their advert to say. If someone is ignorant enough to get sucked in by either advertising campaign, it's their own fault.

 

[fez]

I think the point the adverts are making is that if you want a Mac, you have to spend a lot. If you want a Windows-based PC, you can essentially spend as much or as little as you want. There's so much choice out there that you're pretty likely to get what you want, whether it's a cheap 17" or an expensive but very powerful 13". Apple doesn't give consumers those choices; you want bigger, you pay more.

The Microsoft ads weren't just focusing on cheap systems, there was a rather attractive girl in one of them who ended up with a Dell Studio XPS 13.

As for preying on people's ignorance, that's what all advertising does. At least the MS are dealing with the facts as far as price is concerned, whereas Apple see fit to just bend the truth (or make things up completely) about Windows/PCs to suit whatever they want their advert to say. If someone is ignorant enough to get sucked in by either advertising campaign, it's their own fault.

Fair point, it just seems a little weird that we allow such blatently misleading adverts on TV. You have to lie pretty badly and not admit to it on an advert for it to be banned. Those eye brushes adverts that give like 500% volume but have in small print at the bottom "filmed with lash inserts" are a fine example. Who in their right mind would buy eye lash stuff based on an advert that has to zoom within an inch of the models eyes and still has to use lash inserts to show their product off.

We wrap people in cotton in other areas such as making sure people know they are buying a hot drink when they get a coffee so why is advertising exempt?

 

[Burnsy2023]

congrats to microsoft. if its made apple drops prices then good job !

hopefully they will make some new adds that force apple into selling OS X as a standalone

I can't see that happening. Half the reason that OSX is so good is that it runs on a closed platform. Without the millions of hardware configs, you can concentrate on usability rather than the dull 'under the hood' development.

My brother has a Apple where by we wanted to setup a printer on it using the automated software from HP. It was overly complicated in my opinion..

The ironic thing is that OSX probably had the driver as standard.

I also think the Mac build quality argument is a valid one. Yes, you can get some very well built PCs, some which are just as good as the Macs. I think The Dell XPS range are equivalent - they're even made in the same factory. However, if you buy a Mac you'll get this good build quality if you by a baseline Macbook or a high end Macbook Pro. The same cannot be said for Dell or HP.

 

[Streeteh]

I also think the Mac build quality argument is a valid one. Yes, you can get some very well built PCs, some which are just as good as the Macs. I think The Dell XPS range are equivalent - they're even made in the same factory. However, if you buy a Mac you'll get this good build quality if you by a baseline Macbook or a high end Macbook Pro. The same cannot be said for Dell or HP.

True, but the Apple products will always be more expensive than the bog standard laptops/PCs due to that build quality. It all comes down to the fact that you get what you pay for, but at least with PCs the option to go budget is there. I'm sure my PC is better built than most Macs, but it probably costs as much/more so the argument is then turned on its head, it goes both ways because it's just a fact of life basically.

My sister uses her laptop for about an hour a week, because of that the superior battery life and better screens available on a high end laptop/mac just aren't required. In fact, i bet you'll find a huge proportion of the market actually don't need really high quality computing products, hence why this advert is proving so effective; some people just want to browse on a budget. As it stands, Apple don't cater to the budget computing market very well, but then maybe that's why they have such a good reputation, it's difficult to get a reputation for unreliable hardware when all you sell is quality, expensive products (good value, but still expensive).

 

[Burnsy2023]

I can't disagree with any of that. That's probably why I use both.

 

[Ninja Please!]

This article makes sense. Apple wanted to be trendy, well guess what most people think? Trendy = more $$$.

I mean the smug mac dude doesn't exactly scream value. I think anyone that falls for this mac commercial really needs some help. I'm not saying nobody should buy an apple, just not from their commercial. Now I can see how the m$ commercial could actually make a lot more sense to base a purchase decision from.

 

[Ninja Please!]

True, but the Apple products will always be more expensive than the bog standard laptops/PCs due to that build quality. It all comes down to the fact that you get what you pay for, but at least with PCs the option to go budget is there. I'm sure my PC is better built than most Macs, but it probably costs as much/more so the argument is then turned on its head, it goes both ways because it's just a fact of life basically.

My sister uses her laptop for about an hour a week, because of that the superior battery life and better screens available on a high end laptop/mac just aren't required. In fact, i bet you'll find a huge proportion of the market actually don't need really high quality computing products, hence why this advert is proving so effective; some people just want to browse on a budget. As it stands, Apple don't cater to the budget computing market very well, but then maybe that's why they have such a good reputation, it's difficult to get a reputation for unreliable hardware when all you sell is quality, expensive products (good value, but still expensive).

This!

Just because we are geeks on here does not mean the whole world is willing to spend more than they should on a pc they don't really need.

Your not going to convince the masses that they should pay more money for a bmw, when a ford takes you to the same place. (I think someone used a car example earlier.) If you tell the masses that these cheap laptops take you to the same internet for a fraction of the price, how do you think they will respond. I think people are getting smarter now as far as living beyond their means, what with this recession America is having. As a citizen I'm noticing more and more people admitting they can't afford something fancy where as before they felt entitled to luxury without having an income to justify a purchase. All high dollar items will struggle over their cheaper competitors in this current global economy if you ask me. I think that's the way it's always been if you look at the history of things. Louis Vuitton purses for example, sure rich will buy them, but didn't you notice how many more fake ones were bought once made available? You can argue quality all you want, doesn't change the fact the fakes ones still sell more and most people would rather replace something cheap than buy something expensive. Same could be said about PC world. Anyone who is buying their second or third laptop may be less likely to spend high amounts of money knowing how quickly tech becomes obsolete anyway.

 

[V4NT0M]

Maybe I just get annoyed by adverts that prey on peoples ignorance but I think they are pretty poor form. So are the apples to be fair but I dont think they dupe people to quite the same extent.

Are you kidding, Apple's adverts are 10x worse than this Microsoft one. It merely points out that macs are expensive and PC's are much more varied and cheap. A point hat can't easily be argued against. Where apple's ads basically spout tripe about crashing and viruses. Apples crash and there are many free antiviruses.

 

[Raumarik]

Nothing of value to add to the thread except - great signature Skyfall Shame we're not allowed animated ones, yours is gagging to be animated!

 

[Streeteh]

Nothing of value to add to the thread except - great signature Skyfall Shame we're not allowed animated ones, yours is gagging to be animated!

Which one? He has like, a billion. I like the achievement one

Oh and, he's right, when it comes to preying on the ignorant the Apple adverts are far worse. But then, as i stated previously, the best adverts are those that are most effective at persuading the ignorant to invest in their product within the duration of a 10 second advert so kudos to Apple i guess.

 

[Gerard]

Slogan i never thought twice about who that could be in your Sig until just now!

Only thing he has in his sig is the ultimate spinmonkey . I usually watch the apple shows and laugh my ass off as they talk like theyre the platform thats dominant in the market place. The attendees must leave their brains at the door and just sit and dribble through the whole show. Wonder whats next on apple's list to make microscopically thinner and then talk about it like its the second coming.

 

[BlueHat]

funny they want to strike others and they don't want them to stand up for them selfs

ironic

 

[Slogan]

If Apple contacted Microsoft at all (something I doubt as I said before), it was probably to point out that one of the prices mentioned in the advertisement was now wrong as they had since dropped it.

And shock of all shocks, that's exactly what it was - Story Link

Not exactly what was being put across in the conference. Looks like Jobs has a spinmonkey rival