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HT July 2, 2009 at 2:30 pm

Video: New Microsoft ‘laptop shopping’ commercial

If I’m not mistaken this new Microsoft “I’m a PC” ad is only running in the U.S., but I found a version online to share with you. While it clearly takes a jab at Apple’s higher prices, I like the whole mother-and-son-out-shopping vibe and overall message about Windows PCs delivering more bang for your buck. What do you think of this ad? Laughable or impactful?


Microsoft Windows Shopping Ad If I'm not mistaken this new Microsoft "I'm a PC" ad is only running in the U.S., but I found a version online to share with you. While it clearly takes a jab at Apple's higher prices, I like the whole mother-and-son-out-shopping vibe and overall message about Windows PCs delivering more bang for your buck. What do you think of this ad? Laughable or impactful?



Filed Under: Computers & Software




Comments (8)

  • Dave says:

    None of the "I'm a PC" ads are impactful because they're just playing into Apple's hands. It's like acknowledging the annoying kid in the class, he loves it, that feeds him, he gets more attention. His plan is working. Just ignore him and do your own thing, which is what PC should do with Mac. PC ads essentially acknowledge that the Mac ads have struck a nerve so they're lashing back. Like the annoying kid in class, just ignore them, or at least be more creative than they are, and good luck with that…

    Not only is PC looking reactive and uncreative, they're just drawing attention to the competition. When I see or hear "I'm a PC" anywhere, it reminds me of Mac's because they started the whole I'm a PC, I'm a Mac thing. At the end of that commercial, what am I thinking about? Sure I'm thinking about PC's, and I may even be thinking, "hey, they're cheaper than Mac's," but in the end, I'm not just thinking about PC, I'm thinking about Mac as well. Positive or negative, it's in my mind.

    Bottom line, unless you have an incredibly witty jab to direct at the competition, it's best to leave their name and product out of your ads because otherwise you just look bad and you're kind of promoting their name at the same time. It can be done, but it's rarely done well. And in this case, it was not done well.

    For the record, I use a PC and I love it

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  • Marc Saltzman Marc Saltzman says:

    Great comments, Dave!

    Marc

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  • Mike says:

    I agree with Dave 100%. Microsoft is handling this in all the wrong ways. It's like the Mac commercial where the PC is allotting money between advertising and actually fixing Vista's problems. I think of this everytime I see a "I'm a PC" commercial. Microsoft is definitely behind the eight ball here and is trying to play catch up. Trying and failing.
    Everyday is seems that Apple capturing more of the market share. It seems though too that this is all Microsoft's fault. They have been so focused on being top dog, that they've forgotten how to be top dog. Now my Mac experiences have mostly been playing around with demos at the Apple Store, so I won't weigh in on which OS is better. But I have heard enough from Vista users (I myself am still happily using XP Pro) to know that there are an abundance of problems with Vista, and that Microsoft isn't doing enough to fix them. Only time will tell how Microsoft has dealt with some of the issues in the upcoming Windows 7.
    Personally, I have high hopes for 7, and hope that Microsoft will wise up before it's too late. But in the mean time, I will keep shaking my head at these "I'm a PC" commercials, because in the end, these commercials are just sad. Neither laughable or impactful, just sad.

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  • Nicole says:

    Some PCs are offering free upgrades to Windows 7 (aka Vista 7?). I'm getting a new laptop within the next week and mine apparently comes with the free upgrade once the new OS is released. Whether or not I'll use it is another story. I heard good things about Vista in the beginning too until the mistakes became more wellknown.

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  • brad says:

    atleast he will have some spare time to get other projects done wile reloading windows

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  • cleebie says:

    iI live in canada and I have seen 3 different ones, 1. A boy makes a video clip of a tiger catching a zebra I think, 2. A little girl editing a photo to email it to her parent or grandparent one of the two' 3. A woman that looked to be a student wasw told to find a mac under a 1000, and could't so she got a pc laptop, those are the ones I have seen.

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  • Monique says:

    I agree with dave on this issue. Its definitely got everyone thinking not only about the pc but also about the mac too. Stop giving the annoying little brat the attention he seeks and he'll stop.

    As for this "vista has got issues" thing, I've had my hp pavilion dv9730ca laptop for a year and a half almost and haven't had one issue with vista! I've pleasantly enjoyed my experience with vista and PREFER it over xp!

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  • Bob says:

    I agree with Dave on this one too.I would also like to say that there is almost no problems with Vista now, since it is on SP2(Service Pack 2) which means that it has gone under 2 major bug fixes.

    The first problem with Vista was driver support (I’m looking at you Nvidia). The second problem was the whole Vista capable campaign. In the Vista capable campaign the minimum system requirements were for Vista Basic not Home Premium, Business or Ultimate.

    What happen was that people dished out extra money for Vista capable machines, but found out it would only run Basic. That really annoyed a lot of people, to the point that a class action suit had been filed.

    Personally I like Vista 64bit because the 64bit OS allows me use more RAM(I have 8GiB of DDR3) than say a 32-bit OS(Vista 32bit and XP). I also don’t expect Windows 7 to be the be all to end all OS. It’s just like any brand new product; it will have more bugs than an older product. I purchased a new computer and I am getting the free Windows 7 upgrade but I am not going to install Windows 7 until the first Service Pack is released.

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