Microsoft’s ‘Laptop Hunters’ Campaign Stresses Value

by Xavier on March 27, 2009

Microsoft’s kicked off an advertising campaign that stresses value. They’ve recorded a series of videos that show notebook buyers shopping for notebooks that meets their requirements for under $1,000. The campaign takes swipes at Apple MacBooks for being too expensive and offer PC brands as more affordable.

The first ad features Lauren, who wants a notebook with a 17″ display and a comfortable keyboard. She goes to the Apple store, but sees that the only sub-$1,000 notebook is a 13.3-inch MacBook. At Best Buy she finds a couple of 17-inch PCs that meet her requirements and ends up getting an HP Pavilion dv7 for $699.99.

I’m not a fan of many of Microsoft’s ad campaigns, but I think Laptop Hunters is a great campaign in this economic climate. While it’s obviously staged to favor PCs vs. Macs, it gets people talking about something we’re all worried about these days: money.

There’s no question that Apple offers an excellent user experience and well-built notebooks, but they’re pricey and the number of configurations offered are very limited. If you have a strong preference towards OSX and other Apple-only software, then Macs are the only way to go. But if you’re considering switching to a Mac you should really evaluate the cost differential. Lauren’s 17″ HP notebook cost her $699. Apple’s 17″ MacBook Pro is overkill for most users and costs a whopping $2,799.

There are dozens of PC notebooks of all sizes and form factors that cost under $1,000. No, you don’t get OSX, but the operating system is becoming less and less important as users spend more time using Web browsers.