SmithWeb Blog

With the recent buzz over Microsoft’s release of Windows 7, Apple has released two new Mac vs PC ads. Both of these ads have me, as an avid PC supporter, furious because they strike seemingly low blows at Microsoft.

The first ad is just a low blow. Apple decides to show their audience that Microsoft has broken its promises too many times before when it comes to operating systems. Take a look:

Wait a minute… I thought this was a product war, not a contest to see which company’s integrity is the best… Seriously Apple.. you go after Microsoft’s integrity rather than the product itself? I would say that they are scraping the bottom of the barrel this time but I’ll save those thoughts for the last paragraph of this article.

Alright so the first ad took a shot at Microsoft’s broken promises… Now we look at the second ad:

Ok this one has me puzzled even more than the first. As a PC user, I see so many problems with this ad.
1. Cost- Alright if I’m an average XP user that does nothing more that use my computer for basic functions and I see this ad, I’m thinking alright well everybody else seems into this Mac thing, maybe this cool looking dude on the commercial is right. So I go and start researching these Macs. I find out that the cheapest iMac is- wait what?- $1199???!? That’s a lot for a new computer. I know I’ve seen PC’s at Wal Mart for a lot less money than that. Well since money is tight right now, I think I’ll wait on this Mac thing.

Now I look into this Windows 7 thing. Wow Microsoft seems to be stepping it up here and wow they say I can upgrade my XP for only $199- still a chunk of change but if Microsoft’s claims are good (and assuming I don’t believe the first new Mac ad), it may be worth a try.

Now at this point which seems more logical for the everyday user? Spend $200 on an upgrade to a much better OS (opinion here since I have been using it for a while), or $1200 for a brand new computer? I think you can see why an upgrade seems logical here.

2. Functionality- Now the next problem for an XP user is that most all XP users have only ever used XP. This means they would have to learn how to use Macs. (Now I know they aren’t too hard to learn how to use, but still there are some major differences and any average computer user will have to take some time to learn Mac OS X)

3. XP’s status as the Norm- Most XP users may not even decide to upgrade. They know Microsoft’s claims with Vista failed, so they figure why should I upgrade to anything? The fact of the matter is that XP works. Microsoft did a great job with it. In fact, I am using it right now. If I’m an average user, I think I would stick with XP before I would buy a Mac or even upgrade like Microsoft is trying to get me to do.

So as you can see, I think Apple has advertised toward the wrong audience with this commercial. Most of us are unlikely to upgrade to Windows 7 just because we know XP works. Therefore; Apple should have attacked Vista since many people are using it and would be glad to get it off their backs and start all over. XP users should be the firmest standing PC users since they know that what they have works.

So my final thoughts on the matter?

If you’re reading this and you’ve never read anything by me before, you should know that I have spent a long time as a firm biased PC user, however due to recent circumstances, I now own and use a Mac daily. Having used a Mac, I know they have some great qualities that PCs and Microsoft cannot touch, however I would still not go out and buy another one simply because of the price. So my opinion in this article is driven by what I believe to be bad marketing, not necessarily by my hatred for all things Apple.

Secondly, Apple has shown me something with these two ads. Obviously by attacking Microsoft’s integrity and promoting the easy to use OS X, Apple did not target Windows 7 directly in these ads. Sure they implied it was going to be just as buggy as Vista, but they never came out and said Mac OS X is so much better than Windows 7.  This either means that the marketing manager decided to go in another direction than the ads that came out targeting Vista, or that Mac can’t really say anything bad about Windows 7 at this point because so far Microsoft has kept its promises. Only time will tell if Apple decides to go another direction and attack Windows 7, but for now, Windows 7 is a great alternative for XP and Vista users and from my use of it already, I can highly recommend it for anyone.