“I’ll have the faster, stronger, cheaper, better PC.”

I get the Windows work to this point. It's about changing perceptions. It’s also work that seems to bring out the CP+B hate even though this is a tough assignment no matter who has it. Either way, it’s a challenge anyone would take on if it came through the door because you don’t always get to pick the client. Disclaimer aside, this new spot has a couple of things that jump out that feel wrong for me.

Apple will never own the cheaper proposition, I get that. But here, Microsoft does the one thing Apple did when it went after the John Hodgman embodiment of Windows: It attacks the power and style of the Mac. It worked in that case because Mac vs. PC was about the weak points of Windows as a system, not its users.

That’s like making fun of a Porsche when you drive a Kia. Sure you have a better warranty and more cupholders, but, um, you’re still driving a Kia. Apple for its part was right to attack Windows because at least they were coming from somewhere real: Macs work better.

That’s less an indictment of the hardware and memory though than it is the actual operating system because you can’t separate all those things into neat little compartments. More RAM is useless if you have a ton of spyware to deal with every day. The net effect makes perception what it is: Reality. (If you need, Apple Insider does a good job of breaking the power issues down further.)

Now, relative to price, you might make the argument that more cupholders IS actually better, but again, net effect being what it is, there’s still a lot of baggage associated with a PC to say it beats a Mac outright. Mac should just go comparison test them, video it let YouTube nation decide. One comment at AI seemed a fair assessment:

“What it comes down to is choices. Apple has made design decisions with their products and have given very few options to meet various needs. Meanwhile, their competitors continue to sell a lot of machines with a clearly inferior OS because they give people hardware choices at a reasonable cost. And for some, that is enough. It doesn't make them wrong or stupid. It just means that they want different things from their computing experience.”

I give the previous series props though; the one with Kylie showing how she was able to color correct photos. In that spot, she shows just how intuitive Macs are, even though it wasn’t an Apple commercial. That’s the executional tone Apple should’ve had in their spots all along. Especially when compared with the hyper-understated-smugness of Justin Long.

The spot also gives Mac users a little shot for being too cool. Okay, maaaaaybe I can see that if you base that on believing Apple was trying portray PC users as geeks. Thing is though, pretty boy Giampaolo comes off as borderline d-bag.

That aside, the main reason Mac users are Mac users isn't because they’re cooler than anyone or the machine looks sexy—it's because the shit just works. I've lost too many hours of my life with PCs and tech support, or software that was a nightmare to install/uninstall, all because it had the misfortune of having to run on a Windows platform.

But Windows needs to do something to flip people's thinking, and so even ad blogs contribute to the discussion. Guilty as charged. Because if I can help sell just one more PC, it’ll all have been worth it.

Tags: Windows