‘I’m A PC’ and Why Steve Jobs is Laughing Uncontrollably

After looking at the latest Microsoft Windows ad, I am unsure whether to call it lame, or inept, or both.

Does Steve Ballmer think that his type of advertising is swaying anyone?

I know that I was never moved by this type of advertising, and my son, 19, is not the type to get much from this type of ad.  (I’ll check with my daughter for a female point of view, but I doubt she will be buying it  - on this kind of thing, she usually falls in line with the men in the family) So who will be influenced by this?

The very first problem with the commercial, as I see it, is Gianpaolo’s self-expressed ‘knowledge’. If he really knew what was going on, he would be checking things out in person, for look and feel, and then purchasing online. Since he is not, he obviously is not that price conscious. He is thinking that since he isn’t paying, it doesn’t matter what he ‘pays’. Do we, as consumers, function the same way?

The next thing, and I’m certain that it is not shown for good reason, is what happens when Gianpaolo gets it home. Clearly Microsoft doesn’t think that the customer’s time is worth anything, because not only will this ’satisfied customer’ have to remove much of the extraneous garbage included on the hard drive, he will also have to obtain other applications that will make the system useful. (They have to come from somewhere, and if no internet connection is available, free or open source applications are going to be a problem.) Once again, the complete disrespect for the customer’s time is right up front. With an Apple, the ability to start work is immediately there. With a PC, it is going to take some time, and will never be completely free.

The reason I say that Steve Jobs is laughing uncontrollably is the other side of the coin. When a claim is made, most would ask about what is not stated, and why. In this commercial, it is clear that the Apple machines cost more, yet it is never questioned why that is the case.

Is it a value judgement that we are supposed to know already? You know, such as why gold is automatically deemed to be more expensive than lead. Platinum more expensive than copper. I think the answer is yes, but clearly Mr. Ballmer is not advertising to the intelligent audience – they have already purchased their Mac, or have bought a laptop online, or better still, realized that they don’t need a laptop at all, and bought a $750 home PC, pocketing the rest for another day’s problems.

(I don’t own a newer Mac, and I build and repair PCs daily. I see a need for both types of machines, and I prefer the choices that PCs give, allowing a much greater number of peripherals to be used. But within the parameters of these commercials, and those shown as making the choices, the commercial is both inept and stupid, and anyone paying attention to them should note that Microsoft insults their intelligence from beginning to end.)

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`addendum

(Right after writing this, and before posting, I read an article by Harry McCracken, at Technologizer, who makes some points different than mine, but I agree with them as well – Windows is not considered as a plus, or a minus, it is not consciously considered, period.)

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