Whatever era you call it, post-PC or simply PC plus, the Mac vs. PC war has ignited once again today "22 May". In a fresh Windows 8 ad, Microsoft is directly attacking Apple's iPad on price, an approach it took during the early Vista days with low-priced laptops. It's also doing it in a way that parodies Apple's own commercial, complete with Siri's voice.
Microsoft choses to highlight Windows 8's side-by-side apps with Live Tiles, PowerPoint, and the $449 price of the 64GB ASUS' VivoTab Smart as the benefits of Windows 8. It casually ignores any strengths of the iPad, while assuming consumers will purchase a comparable 64GB model at $699. "Should we just play chopsticks," quips Microsoft's ad, with a sequence that mimics the iPad mini commercial. Microsoft recently created an Apple vs. Samsung wedding fight for its latest Windows Phone ad, and this latest commercial feels all too similar to the "I'm a PC" ads that Microsoft crafted to counter Apple's "Get a Mac" campaigns years ago.
We've seen some crazy Windows 8 campaigns in Asia recently, and Microsoft's original Windows 8 ads focused on a mix of people and apps. Direct competition and comparison with Apple's iPad is probably something that Windows 8 needs right now as consumers adapt to Microsoft's new operating system with its hooks to the legacy PC past. With over $1 billion set aside for its Windows 8 marketing blitz, this latest ad won't be the last we'll see from Microsoft. With the Windows 8.1 release due later this year, and a focus on 7- and 8-inch tablets, we might even see Microsoft go head-to-head with the iPad mini in its commercials. It's Mac vs. PC all over again, but this time Apple has the market share advantage in the tablet wars.
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