That's the best Windows commercial I've seen...maybe ever.
It takes the one thing that Windows clearly and demonstrably does better than Apple and advertises it. Microsoft has always had a bit of identity crisis...not realizing that Windows-based PCs are like Wal-Mart: a high volume business based on offering a lot of variety at a really low price.
Of course this could, theoretically, backfire. Really cost-conscious buyers might find the <$300 netbooks running Linux to be even more appealing, since they're $50-$100 cheaper than equivalent Windows-based units. $50 isn't much in a $1k lappy, but it's 15-20% of the price on netbooks.
If you were to compare Windows vs. Mac OS X on price, Mac OS is cheaper ($129 vs. $199.95 to $319.95). So the ad ends up comparing the hardware, with which Microsoft has not much to do...
Another thing they kind of hint at is that Lauren in the ad looks like she would buy a Mac vs. a PC if they were the same price. So, it's not saying that Windows is better than Mac OS, it's just saying that she can't afford a Mac, thus buys a PC. The fact is you can't buy a PC with Mac OS X, so she has no choice but Windows. (leaving Linux out of the equation here)
It takes the one thing that Windows clearly and demonstrably does better than Apple and advertises it. Microsoft has always had a bit of identity crisis...not realizing that Windows-based PCs are like Wal-Mart: a high volume business based on offering a lot of variety at a really low price.
Of course this could, theoretically, backfire. Really cost-conscious buyers might find the <$300 netbooks running Linux to be even more appealing, since they're $50-$100 cheaper than equivalent Windows-based units. $50 isn't much in a $1k lappy, but it's 15-20% of the price on netbooks.