Microsoft unveils a new Lauren the Laptop Hunter ad
Through its Laptop Hunter campaign, Microsoft has proved there are so many people in Los Angeles looking for a laptop that I am surprised Apple has not responded with an exclusively LA version of its own ads.
You know, 60 seconds of people just talking about themselves and eating wheatgrass, while Justin Long looks on, mesmerized.
So let us celebrate Redmond's takeover of America's cleanest-living city by meeting another Lauren.
Yes, there is more than one Lauren in LA who needs a laptop and scours Craigslist for acting opportunities. This Lauren is about to be a law student. She therefore wants "speed, portability, and battery life". For under $1,700.
Lawyers, you see, must take their vast, fast, infernal brains with them at all times and expect them to sock it to a jury without a socket.
Lauren's mom, with a stern face that suggests she might favor hanging and flogging, becomes most concerned when Lauren wafts over to those enticingly evil Apple laptops. Lauren gingerly fingers a Mac that costs $2,000, even before you add anything on it.
Mom cross-examines Lauren: "Why would you pay twice the price?" Lauren, who has clearly not been coached for the witness stand, replies: "I wouldn't."
So we lurch towards the happy ending, already sensing that this movie, featuring the blonde, bubbly Lauren's quest for student satisfaction, will be entitled "For Whom the Dell Tolls."
And the toll is so cheap for this Dell XPS 13: $972. That's less than the cost of all the law books she'll have to buy in college.
Thankfully, there is still one left in the store. These things are popular. Who amongst you knew that?
Lauren gets exactly what she (and the highly neutral market research company for whom she thinks she is filming the ad) wants. Mom smiles as she tells us that her little girl usually gets what she wants. I am sure her future college sorority sisters are looking forward to meeting Lauren.
In this case, what Lauren wanted was for the Mac to get six months in solitary (at Best Buy) for price gouging, as she takes the first, important step towards her rightful place on the Supreme Court.
And may I just make it entirely clear that there is nothing funny at all in the fact that Lauren's mom is called Sue.
I did hear a rumor that this may be the last of these beguiling Laptop Hunter ads. I'm not so sure. Now that we are being aggressively informed just how cheap PCs are (and especially now that Apple has been moved to respond), I can see more LA demographics being plundered in order to keep the fun going.
I wonder if we soon might see "Lauren Bacall, Laptop Hunter". I'm not sure she'd be quite so easy to please.
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
"Apple's aluminum unibody MacBook costs US$1,299, not "$2,000," (little miss future lawyer is looking at a 15.4-inch MacBook Pro and inexplicably comparing it to a 13-inch Dell laptop which actually costs $1,099 on Dell's website). Apple's MacBooks all feature 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen displays (1280x800). Lauren's bottom-of-the-line Dell XPS 13 comes with only a 13.3-inch WXGA LCD screen (1280x800). In an attempt to more closely match the MacBook's screen, if you bump it up to a 13.3-inch WXGA WLED LCD (1280x800), it costs another $125 which brings Lauren's "deal" up to $1096.99 (or $1,224 if you use Dell.com's pricing). So she saved very little upfront, for which she most certainly will pay much more later - if not in cash, in time and frustration - and she'll always be stuck with an OS-limited, Windows Vista-mired, Dell-quality POS."
The ads don't even mention that the shoppers want to run Windows.
But then, the whole point of the ad is to create a contrived scenario with only one outcome (that is, buying a Windows-based computer and not an Apple). Problem is, the scenarios they present are far too contrived to fit reality.
I would care about stuff like that, but I don't see the average consumer caring about that.
It's funny when you're comparing LCD screens, you say Apple's is 13.3" 1280 x 800, then you day that the Dell "is only" 13.3" WXGA 1280 x 800. Other than the backlights, they sound exactly the same (because they ARE exactly the same). Please don't bother telling me how much longer LED backlights will last. The hardware in the laptop will be obsolete, and the entire unit replaced long before the back lights go bad.
Of course, being a lawyer she can have thousands of software programs that are not available on the Mac.
Naturally you'll say "She can install both operating systems on a Mac", but then she would just end up using Windoze all the time, but will have had to of paid for the Mac O/S as part of her purchase price.
Why would anyone want to pay for two operating systems when they only need one? Unless you Mac people are PIRATING the Windoze o/s to get it for free. Tisk tisk....
Please, you shouldn't call Windoze machines POS just because you don't know how to use one right, and can't seem to install it properly. Windoze has it's problems, but used correctly and installed correctly it works pretty good. 90% of people who buy them don't have many problems, why can't you do the same?
Bottom line is she got a comparable Windoze unit for less than a Mac, she saved money, and she's happy with what she purchased. Go cry in your beer about it.
Before you argue, Mac/PC ads are not about Mac or PCs their about the OS. When you get down to it a Mac is just a PC made by Apple. They lost any differentiating features when they went Intel, which was mainly to run Windows.
When you get down to it a Mac is just a PC made by Apple. They lost any differentiating features when they went Intel, which was mainly to run Windows.
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Mainly to run winblows? Wow, your flavor of excrement smells most foul! Where do you M$ prostitutes pull excrement like that from anyway, it can't come from a living being.
Ah, but that assertion becomes patently false when you step outside of the Windows world.
"Of course, being a lawyer she can have thousands of software programs that are not available on the Mac. "
List some.
"list some"
Pretty much all of them; here are some that you can look into though: http://www.alphalegal.com/softrev.htm#Bankruptcy%20Software
Not that anyone showing you facts will change the way you feel about anything MS related...
To be fair you can find similar programs for the MAC but bear in mind that since most businesses still use PCs there might be compatibility issues.
http://www.macattorney.com/
Personally, I fail to see the difference between a PC and a MAC, they're both tools that have good points and bad points; getting worked-up over which is supposedly better is pure sophistry and schoolyard childishness. I do have to admit a guilty pleasure in seeing the MAC and PC people ripping into each other though.... :-)
Indeed... hence why I asked him to list some of these apps to which there is allegedly no equivalent whatsoever, which is what he stated (apparently you've failed to do so as well, even by your own admission, quoted above :) ).
Bottom line, Apple is not moved to respond to these ads. Their new ads are a Nelson-like "Ha ha" pointing at the pathetic loser ads that have no connection with reality.
...and they compared a 15" MacBook Pro laptop vs. a 13" Dell cheapie? Man, talk about desperation...
and many college students are perfectly fine with netbooks
the OS is probably Home Premium 64
With how much you spew out battery life claims one would think you own all these laptops? Until you own the laptop in question you can't judge the battery life.
my unibody Macbook easily get 3.5-4 hrs of battery life on daily use
with Power saving settings I can get even 5+ hrs sometimes
Eitherway you'd be lucky to get even close to 2 hrs with the Dell !
Its not Dell vs. Mac people its PC vs. Mac. With PC you have options! and I'd take the options any day!
Oh and look, there's a sale at Dell right now for minus $400. That "Apple equivalent" laptop is just under $900! (Configure your own!)
Wow, amazing, y'all Apple fanboys are making Dells look good.
The message is not sponsored by the Church of Steve Jobs.
Someday I hope the Apple fanboys can get a grip on the idea that it's not the Apple products that are being dissed it's the fanboys themselves. Just reading this talkback you can see their ludicrous of their state of mind. It's kind of like how the Republicans are freaking out and spewing hate speech because they are losing to the Democrats (keep in mind ALL self-serving politicians suck in my books)
How exactly are they equivalent?
The Macbook Comes with Double the Battery Life, half the thinness, lighter better Screen
and better build quality too !
not to mention a faster ,more efficient ,better designed resource friendly Operating system
which unlike Vista doesn't slow Down every Few months
you can thank the registry and all the numerous Security Problems of Windows like spyware adware etc. for that
plus Windows Works too if you need !
I have no idea how you Win Fan boys consider them Equivalent
Oh yeah they have the same Clock speed and screen size So they must be Equivalent right
Macs don't even run databases-- which are the brains behind _EVERY_ company.
...there's also Oracle for OSX:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/macos/index.html
PostgreSQL for OSX:
http://developer.apple.com/internet/opensource/postgres.html
Sybase on OSX:
http://www.sybase.com/partner/mac
...and of course, you can use JDBC to connect to MS SQL Server from a Mac:
http://www.razorsql.com/articles/sql_server_mac.html
Macs don't even run databases-- ...
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Thank you for not knowing when to shut up. Now we know exactly how much "knowledge" you have (or don't have, as the case may be).
Dumb blonde bimbo who is totally clueless about computers in a white trash megabox store in a white trash strip mall looking at a " Pretty In Pink " PC laptop so she can go to college & become a lawyer.
THAT is the perfect demographic for a PC POC WINDELL LAPTOP!
MS + Dell have always aimed at the lowest common denominator & this is proof of it.
Apple MacBook fits the bill perfectly sister, but you are too stupid to read the card next the MB & only look at the MBP. Mom is dumber than a fence post on Michael Dell's ranch in Texas.
Wait till you go to college & see all the smart women using Apple laptops in college which WAY out number the Dells.... Now who's the popular one sister?
You get what you pay for.
LAME AD # 4.
Because daddy and mommy are fitting the bill or they are digging themselves in loans wait till the banks want their money back xD
Get the facts before you open your mouth & prove you have no idea of what you are talking about.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=2378
ZDNET : Mac Laptops make a huge surge in the college market / education sector.
Also, MONKEYBOYZ:
No body goes to college from a white trash family ( as in the video) without college loans dude, & thet got PAID to do this commercial / get the DEll.
Tip to Bimbo, take Dell back, get your refund, go to college, get a MacBook with an education discount ( WAY Cheaper than a Dell ) then you will be able to work on Mac OSX + Windows on one laptop.
Take a look @ the laptops that Arts majors/ social science carry "vs." Engineering, Physics, Math (Flash vs. Functionality)
Its called wearing the apple brand to look cool!
man you'd be surprised @ how many of them don't even know how to use simple features of a mac properly! Honestly it doesn't do macs justice! because GUESS WHAT even as a windows fan I can see some cool features of a mac over PCs! = difference between a fanboy and fan
not it's not to look cool
it's because they work better for Education purposes
plus they almost always have better batterylife than the average PC laptop !
Macs are like appliances they work and keep working without the need for constant maintenance
unlike PCs which slow down ,are Virus prone ,require constant updates and scanning of all kinds to keep safe
and not everyone in college is into gaming so windows holds
no advantage whatsoever
I see, well you should tell that to:
the majority of software or programs provided by colleges that's only PC compatible/ Parents who cant afford to spend $1000 or more on a laptop each of their kids/ all the kids who want to download majority of programs online!
And Lauren appears to be too dumb to realize that Apple, as I am sure a lot of PC vendors as well, offers student discounts on their products if you buy online. Not to mention that most colleges also have stores on campus that also offer discounts. I don't think I would want this moron to be my defense lawyer in the future.
Every time I see these ads, what comes to mind is what applications are provided with that Dell? Should truth in advertising be considered that once they gets home, they will be off on another buying spree for MS Office and assorted other programs? Some of which can be quite pricey. Doesn't the Mac come with some applications so you can get started, or for that matter buy a package for $79 to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations all of which are compatible with office. Sure if they were savy, one might say they can find an open source package for free somewhere.
Then I think, good for them, just like the oriental 4 year old toddler that is a PC too. I wish them great success.
Dell:
2GHZ
8400 M
13.3 inch
4 hour battery
To a:
Macbook pro
2.6 GHZ
9600 GT + 9400M
15 inch
5 hour battery?????
lol, Microsoft was making stupid commercials in the past. This was probably the WORST commercial yet. Honestly, why didn't they compare it to a $999 macbook with the same specs? lol, microsoft as usual.
On a related thought, I think Best Buy should open a Genius bar in their stores.
http://movies.apple.com/media/us/mac/getamac/2009/apple-mvp-elimination-us-20090512_480x272.mov
"On a related thought, I think Best Buy should open a Genius bar in their stores."
Geek Squad?
which she most definitely doesn't get with the Dell
Speed ? Duh it comes with Vista
and secondly slows Down with Time ! Due to awesome Design of Windows
Portability ? yeah A 13" Boat anchor
Reliability and Build quality - Dell is almost always last on Surveys
while Apple has topped it For many many years and counting !
So wat Does that Leave Price , well the white macbook starts at 999$
so yeah she saved a whooping 70$ , great job Lauren !
you got just wat you wanted alright !
I dare any of you M$ zealots to compare spec to spec. We have a 2GHz Dell laptop with 2GBs RAM and a 1.66GHz 1GB RAM Mac Mini. The kids fight over the mini. The PC Laptop can NOT keep up. WoW runs WAY better on the mini. The pc has the better specs and memory yet the mini runs circles around it.
Windows will never run better than a UNIX box. End of story.
The biggest problem with these windows adds is that they compare cheap crap PCs to better mac hardware and say that the PC is better. You get what you pay for.
Another challenge for you. Go look at what you can get for your used mac compared to what you can get for a used PC. Macs hold their value better!
50% of MAC buyers are switchers... how many people EVER switch from MAC to windows?
You can debate and fight this issue all you want but the truth is Windows is crap in comparison to just about every other OS out there.
So enjoy your little temper tantrums where you ultimate answer is to call mac fans fanboys in attempt to try and feel superior. The fact that Y'all stoop so low and to try to insult someone for being a fan of a product that just plane works. Explain to me the huge differences in customer sat scores between those cheap crap PCs when they need service..... Now that is a fanoi who desperately needs to feel justified in clinging to a product that just plane sucks.
So go back to your M$ temple... we don't give a rats ass if you buy a mac or not... your probably not smart enough. If you doubt that go look at the demographics for people who own macs... like maybe the percentage of post grads that own macs. Might make your head spin so be careful.
No, I'm probably all wrong. I'm sure Macrosloth is all over this out of the goodness of their hearts. Just as I'm sure these ads are totally unbiased....oh wait a minute, that first girl was an actress, it turns out, wasn't she? Hmm.
I'll bet dollars to donuts miss Lauren has herself a shiny Mac laptop before she gets to the bar.
- by kelmon May 17, 2009 5:45 AM PDT
- I'd very much like to see a follow-up with these 'real' people in say 6-months or so to see how happy they are with their decision. Ultimately, this is what counts. This is not to say that I believe they will be unhappy and that the Mac would have been a better purchase (I am a Mac user but realise that they aren't 'right' for everyone) but it is this information that is more useful to people, whatever the result.
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