Crispin Porter + Bogusky fails again for Microsoft. PCs are cheap and (starts with n)
As we reported yesterday, Microsoft is back with a new ad campaign from Crispin Porter + Bogusky that pits PC’s against Macs on price.
The pitch is partially understandable: these are difficult times with a screwed economy and increasing unemployment, and every cent counts.
But here’s the issue: the ad doesn’t really make a value proposition outside of price. Screen size may be a selling point, but RAM and HD size? In a day and age where nearly every computer you buy runs what you want it to run, do consumers really care about that stuff any more? The sort of people who would care about those sorts of things aren’t going to buy an entry level laptop to begin with.
The big takeaway is that PC’s are cheap, and Mac’s cost more. Now lets put that into some more perspective: what do you think consumers would prefer?
Even if we do accept that price is an important selling point now, isn’t pitching PC’s as being cheap diminishing brand value for when the economy picks up again? While Crispin Porter + Bogusky challenged Apple’s ads with the “I’m a PC” campaign (and well I might add), these ads have the opposite effect, and actually emphasize the differences between the two brands, with Mac’s coming out as the premium brand.
When I think cheap, I normally think of the term “cheap and nasty.” Is this really where Microsoft wants to be?
