Apple Demands Microsoft Pull Laptop Hunter Ads

[tecno]

Apple Demands Microsoft Pull Laptop Hunter Ads

Well I see that both companies are quite comfortable in their own territories, I understand if MS feels a little intimidated by a company that has less market share but is starting to rise thanks to better focused decisions, I think that MS should focus on advertising the benefits of their new products and re-build the trust lost with vista, after all they are and always been at the core a software company, let Sony, Dell or any of the other hardware companies market their own products. Now it's stupid for MS to make that statement, why? do Apple fans care about what MS thinks or says? don't think so after all they are probably very comfortable with their system, and do MS fans care? probably not because they already love the system. So all this is just gossip and BS talking. The price issue? everybody knows that "You Get What You Pay For".

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

Hey, how come you're so sure?

You work at Microsoft? Or you're "industrial sabotaging" @ Apple's Legal department?

I feel that if this call wasn't true Apple would be saying something about it.

 

[sweetswirlingon]

dumb

I don't think Apple would 1. Call and ask to have a commercial removed without proper grounds, and 2. Give a care in light of Apple sales still doing so well, because 3. Apple knows its base has higher intelligence than that Microsoft which can't get out of its own way.

 

[slffl]

So, Apple wants Microsoft to stop some false advertising, and somehow this gets spun into Apple is scared of the ads and that the ads must be working?

 

[ShiftyPig]

So, Apple wants Microsoft to stop some false advertising, and somehow this gets spun into Apple is scared of the ads and that the ads must be working?

Explain how it is false advertising.

*gets popcorn*

 

[GoodWatch]

,
Word still has more spontaneous data corruption bugs than any other commonly used software package.

Reliable source? Any idea how many 'commonly used' software packages exist in the world?

 

[nikhsub1]

Dear Apple,
Good luck with that.
Did MS ask for the I'm a Mac ads to be pulled?

/end thread.

 

[Wikinerd]

I feel that if this call wasn't true Apple would be saying something about it.

They'll take their time.

On the other hand, evidence against it, phone vs mail, fact that Apple did not confirm it with a lawsuit might be an indicator, etc...

Anyhow BongoBanger said that "this call is true.", which makes me wonder, because noone outside would know,... After all, this is the company who also said the ads were "real" and "not scripted"...

 

[Yoyodyne2]

Chumps?

Very bizarre story. Sounds like BS to me. Maybe someone called with a very specific complaint about a particular claim? Even that sounds iffy.

I couldn't agree more. People are taking the word of MS's CFO that this phone call even occurred. Remember, he was speaking to Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference not a reporter from the WSJ or NYT that might actually research his claim.

"Rah, rah everyone. Apple is afraid of our ads"

 

[mntpng]

I for one hope Microsoft keep making more ads and running them regardless of whether this story is true or not. Obviously Apple dropped prices on Macbook Pro in response to Microsoft's ads. If it wasn't for Microsoft's ads I doubt that would have happened. I certainly don't remember the last time Apple lowered prices the way they did. Perhaps Apple will lower prices on next update of iMac and Mac Pro as well. I'd say competition is a good thing for consumers and I don't know why Microsoft haven't done it sooner. I'm thinking Microsoft should makes an ad about how Macs don't have a blu-ray drive. Maybe then we'll finally see blu-ray on Macs.

 

[coleridge78]

Explain how it is false advertising.

*gets popcorn*

The ad quotes a price that is not the price. Any new ad buys since the price reduction are an open-and-shut case of false advertising. In fact, I'd be surprised if any of the ads since the price drops have been new buys, because MS isn't so stupid as to not know this. I'm sure they're currently working on new ones, while they continue to buy time for the ones that do not mention a specific price.

This is the reason that the laptop hunter ads were so "unique" to begin with. For precisely this reason it is *extremely* uncommon for major TV ad campaigns to feature specific prices (or other varying details) on competitors' products.

That, and because competing on price is known by every marketer in history to be a bad long-term idea in a market like computers or cars. GM, to name one recent example, found this out after years of "well, Hondas are nice... but we're cheaper!" You can make money that way for a while based on volume, but unless you take the Wal-Mart track and use that leverage to actively force competitors into dissolution, it isn't sustainable. You damage your brand perception too much, and then when (inevitably) someone does it cheaper (re: GM, see Kia recently and others like Hyundai over the last ten years) you have nothing left to fall back on.

 

[ivladster]

Dumn Micro$oft

I don't think Apple cares about the ads at all, they just don't want the ads to have wrong info. Pricing are much different now than 3 months ago.

 

[Wikinerd]

Reliable source?

Fact that there was such a market... (Hope you don't hold me to "first hand research"...)

http://www.google.com/search?q=microsoft+word+corrupt+files

Any idea how many 'commonly used' software packages exist in the world?

Probably because Microsoft squashed them..

You know, they way Microsoft solved all "problems"... They threw money at it.. Lawyers, Subsidy, Embrace Extend Extinguish etc.

 

[armoguy94]

ROFL. If this is true then I pity the people that work at Apple.

 

[Gasu E.]

As someone who works in a Fortune 100 IT company in a very competitive segment-- no senior executive at a top company would ever approve making such a call, unless the competition was perjuring itself so badly that the calling company had a clear and winnable basis for a lawsuit. And even in that case, it would be approached very, very carefully-- and in writing. Have you ever heard of a corporate lawyer acting in as "unlawyerly" a manner as this COO describes? Every corporate lawyer knows to be cautious in external communication.

I look forward to Apple's response to this claim.

 

[kironin]

If Apple Legal department did make a call, it's really pathetic.
Apple really doesn't get it if they made that call.

For the typical consumer and what they use a laptop for, those ads are dead on accurate. It's the reason I would never recommend Apple to most people. You have to have very specific reasons to put up with Apple's extra costs in hardware. If you don't, the MS ads are right on target especially if you want a larger screen laptop.


Consumer Reports latest recommendations on Laptops, what they consider the best of in the category, prices are for the configs tested.

Best 12-13 in laptops

Apple Macbook $1100
Apple White Macbook $900
Toshiba $855
HP $700

Best 15-16 in

Apple Macbook Pro $1600
Dell $1185
Lenovo $1100
Dell $600
Toshiba $580
Toshiba $400

Best 17in

Apple Macbook Pro $2300
Dell $690
Toshiba $600

 

[thetexan]

It's The Economy, Supid

The ads are working because for the first time in a long time many Americans are taking practicality over premium. My uncle is a manager at a car dealership and he tells stories of many people trading in their BMWs, Lexus, Infinitis and other luxury brands for Fords, Hyundais, and Toyotas. It's a sign of the changing times.

Microsoft acknowledges this very well and almost subconsciously in one of their commercials. In one of the commercials the "hunter" picks up a Macbook and admits it's a very nice product but it comes at a premium. Microsoft isn't painting Apple in a bad light in any of the ads (Macbook sucks, it doesn't run X software, etc) all Microsoft is doing is saying it's more practical to get a PC. In today's economy, practicality is triumphing over premium. Less people are trying to keep up with the Jones family and just trying to deal with their own finances the best they can. Hopefully it's the beginning of a shift in American consumerism from materialistic attitudes and greed to one of buying within our means.

Now, if Microsoft were smart they'd team up with Apple and offer to sell XP/Vista/7 preinstalled in a VM on Apple products. It'd be a win/win for both companies.

 

[parapup]

Dear Apple,
Good luck with that.
Did MS ask for the I'm a Mac ads to be pulled?

Haha - if they would have, I can totally see it going this way -

"Hey, you need to stop running those ads [portraying Windows crashes and viruses], we stopped crashing and infesting Windows since XP SP2."

 

[coleridge78]

Reliable source? Any idea how many 'commonly used' software packages exist in the world?

White paper by one of the large data firms (my memory is saying OnTrack), which unfortunately I can't find at the moment. Anyone who's ever worked a general tech helpline can confirm this for you.

How many "commonly used" packages exist? Obviously it depends on what is "commonly used", and obviously I was talking about ones that deal with user manipulation of their data and are the MOST commonly used--not Bejeweled on your phone, or some text editor that 4k people use on Gnome. There are no more than a hundred or 150 that fit the bill, ranging from Word to the major OSs to AutoCAD to ProTools, etc.

 

[Gasu E.]

Consumer Reports latest recommendations on Laptops, what they consider the best of in the category, prices are for the configs tested.

Best 12-13 in laptops

Apple Macbook $1100
Apple White Macbook $900
Toshiba $855
HP $700

Best 15-16 in

Apple Macbook Pro $1600
Dell $1185
Lenovo $1100
Dell $600
Toshiba $580
Toshiba $400

Best 17in

Apple Macbook Pro $2300
Dell $690
Toshiba $600

Clearly CR is not comparing like features in judging what is "best". Else, why is a $1185 Dell being compared with a $600 Dell?

 

[ShiftyPig]

The ad quotes a price that is not the price. Any new ad buys since the price reduction are an open-and-shut case of false advertising. In fact, I'd be surprised if any of the ads since the price drops have been new buys, because MS isn't so stupid as to not know this. I'm sure they're currently working on new ones, while they continue to buy time for the ones that do not mention a specific price.

This is the reason that the laptop hunter ads were so "unique" to begin with. For precisely this reason it is *extremely* uncommon for major TV ad campaigns to feature specific prices (or other varying details) on competitors' products.

That, and because competing on price is known by every marketer in history to be a bad long-term idea in a market like computers or cars. GM, to name one recent example, found this out after years of "well, Hondas are nice... but we're cheaper!" You can make money that way for a while based on volume, but unless you take the Wal-Mart track and use that leverage to actively force competitors into dissolution, it isn't sustainable. You damage your brand perception too much, and then when (inevitably) someone does it cheaper (re: GM, see Kia recently and others like Hyundai over the last ten years) you have nothing left to fall back on.

Not a single laptop hunter ad mentions a specific dollar value for a Mac (except Lauren might have said something about a $1000 Macbook, which is still accurate). And beyond that, even if it did, the Macs pictured and the new cheaper Macs carry two separate serial numbers and are two separate products.

My popcorn is burning. Saying this is an open-and-shut false advertising case is an embarrassing statement.

 

[gloomcookie1]

I didnt really think this question was in anyway directed to me...but I'd ad my 2 pennys worth.

and it's simple...

I love gadgets and I love apple products, and imo they have good marketing. I've also been interested in design since school and was always told by professionals macs are industry standard bla bla bla.. I was taught on a mac.

so naturally when I was able to afford one, I bought my very first apple G4 imac in 2002..and it's been love ever since.

But what seperates me from the fanboys is that, I'm not obsessed with the Apple brand...plus Im quite open minded, hence why I dont see these laptop hunter ads as a personal attack on me! heck I use PC's at work everyday...but go home to a mac....its no big deal to me. Its just preference.

I prefer Mac OS over Windows.

However I do believe that Apple charges a premium for their products and software thats similarly available in other more affiordable top PC's.

oh and one more thing, my sister had a 13" vaio which i was using while my superior iMac was in for waranty repair...and I have to say depsite a few vista niggles, I loved it.

And I definitely agree with alot of what you say - my job is to support a windows enterprise - and with all the crap I've read about Vista - my work laptop has actually crashed less with vpn under vista than it did under XP - and I think anyone that has ever worked in tech support for a company gets the obvious question from people on whats the best laptop they should buy - and my suggestion is based on what they need to do with it - if they're just surfing the net and reading email I suggest windows laptops becuase I don't want to be the one to tell them to spend a certain amount of money on something when they'll probably turn it on twice a week - that's something you don't need a mac on...

I just don't like how being a fanboy is the root of all evil when you can be a fanboy but critical at the same time - I'm a huge fan of Apple and their products but it doesn't mean that I'm not critical of them - but also doesn't mean that I would just sit idle while someone makes statements that Apple sucks just becuase of this or that. And it definitely works vice versa and I'm not going to go to some Windows forum and hang out there to tell them that Windows sucks - but I seem to see that alot on mac forums.

It's like going to a Green Bay Packer forum and saying that the Packers suck becuase they chose a particular running back or something and the people on there are nothing but Packer fanboys.

 

[cms2]

This is a joke. Nobody in Apple legal is stupid enough to think that a call to MS legal would stop them from running their stupid little ads. They actually say almost nothing about the mac in them except to be dismissive at the cost.

Apple doesn't compete on cost anyway, so they could care less.


I myself would love to see an ad where the guy wants to run Windows and looks for the best built, fastest laptop at a competitive price and ends up with... an apple.

I completely agree with your first point. This would have to be the stupidest legal move in recent memory. I can't imagine that anyone with Apple's in-house counsel would make a phone call. I'm not an attorney (yet, one more year to go!!) but I know that if Apple had wanted to stop those ads they would have sent a demand letter. It's step one in any legal situation.

 

[scottfree4]

I wouldn't think that's funny

If my competition made better products AND lowered their prices, I wouldn't think that's funny. I also wouldn't help publish the fact. Oh Micro$oft.
The phone call wasn't a complaint you silly man. It was a warning. It was prudent advice. Now watch what happens.

One comment about advising people on what computer to buy. If they're asking you, it's because they don't know what computer to buy AND they don't really know what they want to do with it. To ask them "What do you want to do with it?" is just cruel and dumb. It's like asking a 5 year old, "What area of science are you most interested in?" They're not dumb, they just don't know. Invariably your friend will soon learn that they "under-bought" shortly after buying the machine you recommend. Once they understand all the things they could be able to do, but now can't, with the machine you recommended, will leave them unsatisfied. Never ask them what they want to do. They don't really know. Suggest to them the possibilities. Point out that it's the software not the chips that they will be more involved with. It's the software. Hardware is all the same. It's the software. The best PC? A Mac!

Never get computer advice from a person who does computer stuff. Get advice from people who do stuff on a computer.

 

[venasque]

I'm disappointed Apple actually did that. For years they have been doing the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" commercials and yet when the tables are turned (and not even in a humourous way) they do something like that?

Come on Apple don't be so lame. If you can't take it, don't dish it out. And I KNOW you can take it, your product is simply better.

Reading this made me lose a little respect for Apple.