New Apple ads focus on support, TCO
You've got cheap computers, huh? Good luck getting support for them.
That's the message behind a new television commercial from Apple in the company's "I'm a Mac" series released yesterday. In Customer Care (embedded above from YouTube) Apple attempts to shift the focus from price to the quality of support that's available after the sale.
In the ad, the hapless PC attempts to get technical support only to see that classic finger pointing that happens in the Windows world where the software vendor blames the hardware vendor which blames the OS vendor in a vicious circle. Anyone who's tried to get support for a Windows PC is familiar with this dance and it's a excellent choice for Apple to focus on, knowing that it can't win in a price battle.
The latest Apple ad is an obvious response to Microsoft's recent spate of "Laptop Hunter" ads that focus on the lower prices that PCs offer. Rather than compete on price, Apple's message is that "you get what you pay for" and that buying a ultra-cheap PC will cost you more in the long term in terms of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Is the ad effective? I think so, but then again, I'm biased. Discuss it in the TalkBack.