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Contact UsMicrosoft has been hitting with a one-two marketing punch lately, trying to take advantage of the down economy to suggest once again that Macs are just way too pricey. Now Apple is starting to hit back — a little.
On the TV commercial front, Microsoft has produced a series of “Laptop Hunter” ads in which the company gives “average consumers” (actors) a set amount of money and asks them to find a laptop in Best Buy. All the commercials are the same — the consumer goes to visit the Apple section first, and say that the MacBooks are “pretty” but too expensive, and settles on a Windows laptop with specs way below the MacBook’s.
At the same time Microsoft released a poorly-researched “white paper” that claims that Mac users pay additional costs to maintain their machines, and those costs over the computers’ lifetimes constitute an additional “Apple tax.” The white paper has been widely rejected and ridiculed, with many critics claiming Microsoft stretched the truth to the breaking point — or made up facts outright.
“A PC is no bargain when it doesn’t do what you want,” said Apple spokesman Bill Evans, as quoted by Ars Technica. “The one thing that both Apple and Microsoft can agree on is that everyone thinks the Mac is cool. With its great designs and advanced software, nothing matches it at any price.”