After Apple legal threats, Microsoft quietly changes ads
Last week, Microsoft bragged that Apple's legal department had contacted them and asked that one of their 'Laptop Hunters' ads be pulled. But now the Windows maker has modified the ad to reflect Apple's current MacBook Pro prices.
According to AdAge.com, Microsoft "quietly tweaked" the advertisement and removed a reference to a $2,000 MacBook Pro. In the modified version, the customer, Lauren, doesn't mention the computer's price.
"We slightly adjusted the ads to reflect the updated pricing of the Mac laptop shown in the TV advertisement," a Microsoft spokeswoman said in a statement. "This does not change the focus of the campaign, which is to showcase the value and choice of the PC."
AdAge.com continues: "There is precedent for marketers being forced to yank outdated comparison ads. In a classic case, Ford pulled commercials for its Freestar minivan in 2004 after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Chrysler's legal department pointing out that claims in the Ford ads were outdated."
Speaking last week at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference 2009 in New Orleans, La., COO Kevin Turner insinuated the advertisements, which portray Windows PCs as a better value than Apple products, have proven so effective that he received a phone call from Apple. Turner called it "the greatest single phone call in the history that I've ever taken in business."
"I did cartwheels down the hallway," Turner said. "At first I said, 'Is this a joke? Who are you?' Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we're just going to keep running them and running them and running them."
While Apple didn't comment on the matter, some at the time read into Turner's comments and hypothesized that Apple's problem came with one ad in particular -- the one Microsoft eventually changed. In that ad, Microsoft showed a MacBook Pro that cost $2,000. But, since early June, it has been replaced by a newer model that costs just $1,700. The advertisement, with old pricing, continued to run on TV well after the price drop.
For the past year, Microsoft has ramped up its advertising of Windows in a $300 million campaign with acclaimed advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. The "Laptop Hunters" ads play up the notion that PCs offer more choice and value than Macs.
According to AdAge.com, Microsoft "quietly tweaked" the advertisement and removed a reference to a $2,000 MacBook Pro. In the modified version, the customer, Lauren, doesn't mention the computer's price.
"We slightly adjusted the ads to reflect the updated pricing of the Mac laptop shown in the TV advertisement," a Microsoft spokeswoman said in a statement. "This does not change the focus of the campaign, which is to showcase the value and choice of the PC."
AdAge.com continues: "There is precedent for marketers being forced to yank outdated comparison ads. In a classic case, Ford pulled commercials for its Freestar minivan in 2004 after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Chrysler's legal department pointing out that claims in the Ford ads were outdated."
Speaking last week at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference 2009 in New Orleans, La., COO Kevin Turner insinuated the advertisements, which portray Windows PCs as a better value than Apple products, have proven so effective that he received a phone call from Apple. Turner called it "the greatest single phone call in the history that I've ever taken in business."
"I did cartwheels down the hallway," Turner said. "At first I said, 'Is this a joke? Who are you?' Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we're just going to keep running them and running them and running them."
While Apple didn't comment on the matter, some at the time read into Turner's comments and hypothesized that Apple's problem came with one ad in particular -- the one Microsoft eventually changed. In that ad, Microsoft showed a MacBook Pro that cost $2,000. But, since early June, it has been replaced by a newer model that costs just $1,700. The advertisement, with old pricing, continued to run on TV well after the price drop.
For the past year, Microsoft has ramped up its advertising of Windows in a $300 million campaign with acclaimed advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. The "Laptop Hunters" ads play up the notion that PCs offer more choice and value than Macs.
Comments
Wow. Mac, it just works!
What is the value of crap?
"the value and choice of the PC."
Wow. Mac, it just works!
What is the value of crap?
True, you can't polish shit
I still think the whole story about a phone call to Apple is bogus. Who these days (especially lawyers) call a rival company to tell them to please stop airing ads?
Turner you're a dick!
So these ads focus solely on price, and don't even mention the price of the Mac? Fitting, I guess, since they don't mention the price of security software, productivity software, additional multimedia software, repair costs, and lost time on the PC side.
Isn't that the way it is? Mortgage the future for the low up front price. I'm not saying it's right, but still, the reality is that we have big swaths of people that don't look much farther than the sticker price. It's just an individual-scale version of buying from the lowest bidder.
Apple aren't worried about the adds killing their sales, just stopping some customers who would otherwise buy a mac from going elsewhere due to microsoft's bulls***
So these ads focus solely on price, and don't even mention the price of the Mac? Fitting, I guess, since they don't mention the price of security software, productivity software, additional multimedia software, repair costs, and lost time on the PC side.
And don't forget residual value ... a three year old MacBook can easily sell for 50% of its purchase price. What is a three year old Dell worth?
MS is its own worst enemy.
First we see the Laptop Hunter ads fail miserably. Then we see COO Kevin Turner gloating over some call from Apple legal, as if it was a victory of some kind. And now we see MS actually change those ads, making Turner look like a complete tool and exposing MS as outright liars, now relegated to somewhere in the bottom-end of the market.
Is Microsoft fucking stupid? Seriously, it boggles the mind that a company of its size and value can display such collossal shortsightedness and outright ignorance about how their marketing will be received beyond the current workday. Do these people ever think ahead??
And don't forget residual value ... a three year old MacBook can easily sell for 50% of its purchase price. What is a three year old Dell worth?
It's worth about as much as it was from day one: A kick in the rear.
Dell shitputers asside, I think we're at a point right now where the core2duo cpu's of 3 years ago are still great processors, so pretty much a lot of PC's would hold their value better than those old p4 systems.
The big thing that has most recently changed is the introduction of USB 3.0, but that's very new and probably won't even be taken advantage of for another year or so.
What's in a Mac that holds it's value? OSX, period. The guts at the time are still similar to what PC's have.
So basically, i'll avoid a rant and state my point: Macs hold their value more because of OSX, and the fact that you can't just load OSX on any machine. OSX is what sets macs apart from PCs, and if you could simply grab a copy of it and load it on a cheap PC, macs wouldn't hold their value as much.
So these ads focus solely on price, and don't even mention the price of the Mac? Fitting, I guess, since they don't mention the price of security software, productivity software, additional multimedia software, repair costs, and lost time on the PC side.
So true. When I was using Windows I never got anything done because I was always running down error messages and bugs. Macs are worth the price just because they work so well.
I think Apple should hire Lauren to do one of their ads. She is a actor for hire! She could admit she is cool enough for a Mac.
Too funny.
MS is its own worst enemy.
First we see the Laptop Hunter ads fail miserably. Then we see COO Kevin Turner gloating over some call from Apple legal, as if it was a victory of some kind. And now we see MS actually change those ads, making Turner look like a complete tool and exposing MS as outright liars, now relegated to somewhere in the bottom-end of the market.
Is Microsoft fucking stupid? Seriously, it boggles the mind that a company of its size and value can display such collossal shortsightedness and outright ignorance about how their marketing will be received beyond the current workday. Do these people ever think ahead??
So he's a liar? He said Apple called him about the ads, then they changed them. I think the fact that they changed them is evidence enough that there most likely WAS a call. So how is he a liar?
And do you feel the price drop that Apple introduced was substantial enough for a large multi-million dollar lawsuit?
I don't understand why Microsoft wouldn't be completely covered if they simply put "filmed 4/25/09" or something at the start of the ads. It seems like such a waste of money to pull these. They didn't lie in the ads, Apple simply changed the price, now suddenly they are exposed to a lawsuit? Something doesn't make sense here.
"Where is your PC now?"
Go back and interview those people 4 years down the road.
I used my PowerMac well over 6 years.
So he's a liar? He said Apple called him about the ads, then they changed them. I think the fact that they changed them is evidence enough that there most likely WAS a call. So how is he a liar?
And do you feel the price drop that Apple introduced was substantial enough for a large multi-million dollar lawsuit?
I don't understand why Microsoft wouldn't be completely covered if they simply put "filmed 4/25/09" or something at the start of the ads. It seems like such a waste of money to pull these. They didn't lie in the ads, Apple simply changed the price, now suddenly they are exposed to a lawsuit? Something doesn't make sense here.
MS' changing the ads proves that they misrepresented the facts in the first place. The ads weren't accurate at the time, although MS passed them off as such.
If Apple changed the price in the middle of MS' ad campaign and MS still did nothing to change them, then the same idea holds true.
Of course, they're not the first ones to do this, and I'm sure Apple has gotten away with worse. I just find it amusing that Turner jumped up and down with glee, only to see his company buckle to Apple shortly after - the very company they're attempting to expose as liars, cheats, and purveyors of the now meaningless "Apple Tax" that no one ever believed in the first place.
But let's be nice and assume they didn't know any better.
Changing the commerical to reflect current pricing is pointless, Windows PCs will always be cheaper than Macs, and the commercials will cobtibue to have their desired effect on the masses.
While your point may or may not be true it was a valid request that they show the current price accurately so as to not mislead. It is frankly an obvious problem in making any TV ad (I do this for a living) to lock in anything that may soon change as you are simply facing a certain edit revision and media redeployment. Good news for the ad agency though
MS' changing the ads proves that they misrepresented the facts in the first place. The ads weren't accurate at the time, although MS passed them off as such.
If Apple changed the price in the middle of MS' ad campaign and MS still did nothing to change them, then the same idea holds true.
Of course, they're not the first ones to do this, and I'm sure Apple has gotten away with worse. I just find it amusing that Turner jumped up and down with glee, only to see his company buckle to Apple shortly after - the very company they're attempting to expose as liars, cheats, and purveyors of the now meaningless "Apple Tax" that no one ever believed in the first place.
But let's be nice and assume they didn't know any better.
wtf are you talking about? find me an ad where they say a mac cost something it didn't. Sure the people in the ads say stupid stuff like "macs are more about aesthetics and less about performance" but that's no stupider than saying a person will spend hundreds of dollars on their pc just to make it work.
I want to see a ad war.....
As one person has stated in this thread already, does not matter if they adjust the price in the ad, in the end PCs are just cheaper.
MS' changing the ads proves that they misrepresented the facts in the first place. The ads weren't accurate at the time, although MS passed them off as such.
I think you're misrepresenting the facts. They ads weren't wrong at first. Several weeks after they were first aired, Apple changed some prices and added a less expensive 15" model.
"I like this mac, but it's SEVENTEEN HUNDRED dollars"