Never thought I’d be saying that…
But I ran into a couple of different intertube posts that talk about the new MS ad campaign that says “Macs=expensive”. (Here’s Engadget’s.)
I’m a huge Mac lover, and were technology company/human marriages legal, perhaps I would’ve married it (sorry Nicola…). But they can actually make a valid, salient, understandable point here, so more power to ’em.
Now, the real point here is the value for what you get – yes you can buy a computer for $1000 or $5000, the same way you can buy a car for $10,000 or $50,000, it depends on what you’re looking for and what value you’re getting. But, that’s a complicated argument and isn’t going to compare to: “Teh Macs are Expensives!” There’s also an undercurrent of “Macs are for latte-sippers!” and that’s pretty subtle, and also valuable.
I kinda feel like Apple has grown a little…comfortable, perhaps, lately. So I like the idea of MS really breathing down their necks to keep them from becoming too complacent.
I mean, we are in a down economy, letting people buy cheaper stuff becomes a good idea.
Most of MS’es advertising attempts have either left Apple completely unmentioned, or been just completely pointless. This is the first one that actually seems like it has a message, and could cause a little motion in the marketplace. Good on ’em. About time they did something right.
Now let’s see Apple’s response where they come out with some more ‘everyman’ style pricing.
It’s a true argument when its an unqualified “Macs are more expensive.” Yes, yes they are. But if you go pound for pound, spec for spec, the Mac is cheaper. Apple just doesn’t make cheap hardware.
That “expensive” thing has been going on since the Mac was introduced. This campaign is pretty lame for using that tired old tact. It’s been shown to be false over the lifetime of the box ad nauseam.
I think the biggest mistake is that they show an Apple logo in the ad and then imply that “Macs are cool” with the “I’m not cool enough for a Mac” line. It’s like Burger King showing McDonalds in an ad and having someone say, “I don’t like delicious food” and then going and buying Burger King because it’s cheaper.
I agree with Beckley, It seems like Macs always were “The Mercedes” of personal computers.
You can get a comparable PC laptop for maybe half the price, but it’s only cost effective if your time and sanity are worthless.
Has Apple ever actually responded to competitive pressure?
As a counterpoint, I’ll just throw in that I’m a big Mac fan.. consider myself a “Mac Guy” all the way… buuuuut….
the last 2 computers I’ve bought were 2 PC’s I built at home… for somewhere between 1 and 1.5 grand each. All top of the line for the time, or damn close to it. I would have loved to have gotten Macs, but, they’re just too expensive.
I think it makes sense for me cus I’m primarily doing 3 things… games, web surfing, and Adobe studio apps ( in that order ). And those 3 things are pretty much all identical on Mac and PC… or one could even argue that PC has the slight edge, considering more games and maybe more web sites assuming you have PC IE/Firefox over Mac Opera/Firefox. The edge may be *slight*, or even imaginary, but it surely isn’t inverted.
But yeah, I love Macs. I just wish I could buy the parts for cheaper than the whole and build one myself.
Of course the standard Value argument can and has been made.
But there are some people who cannot drop $1.5 grand or $2grand where they _could_ drop $500. Those customers are not being services by Apple.
Now, maybe Apple doesn’t _want_ to. Maybe that will cannibalize too much of their high-end sales. Maybe the profit margin is so tight that it’s not worth it. I’m not answering those arguments, which may be valid. I’m just saying there’s money they’re leaving on the table. There are customers whose needs are not being met. And it’s Apple’s choice to not do so, and a valid point that MS can hammer on.