Number crunchers question Apple anti-Vista ads
Apple is continuing its series of TV commercials accusing Microsoft of emphasizing marketing over fixing problems with Windows. However, several sources have pointed out the financial realities aren’t much different to Apple’s own spending.
As we reported last week, Apple debuted a new episode of the ‘I’m a Mac, I’m a PC’ series in which the PC character was shown dividing a pile of cash, the vast majority going to advertising Vista and only a small proportion devoted to “fixing Vista”.
The firm has since run a follow-up which makes the point with an equal lack of subtlety. ‘PC’ is now running a bake sale and explains that he needs the cash to fix his problems because the marketing team spent so much on advertising rather than fixing Vista.
(Admittedly it’s probably overly-analytical to criticise continuity in adverts, but it’s a little baffling that ‘PC’ should be complaining in this way when he’s the same character we saw making that budgetary decision…)
Several sites have now made a similar point, which the Baltimore Sun picks up on: not only does Microsoft spend far more on developing products than on advertising, but Apple actually devotes a bigger chunk of its spending to marketing than its rival does.
Based on each company’s most recent annual figures, Apple spends $467 million on advertising and $782 million on research and development (so advertising is 59.7% as much as R&D). Meanwhile Microsoft spends $1.33 billion on advertising and $7.12 billion on development (so advertising is just 18.7% as much as R&D).
Of course, there are other ways to spin this. If you believe Apple products are superior, you could argue that Microsoft isn’t using its development budget as efficiently. And if you look at the sheer numbers (which are obviously higher given that Microsoft is much bigger), it’s certainly a credible argument that the $300 million spent on the latest Windows marketing campaign would get you some pretty serious usability testing or pay the wages of a large army of software developers.
But given how many arguments Apple could make for why its products are better, it seems strange to have to resort to an arguably misleading tactic to produce adverts which appeal more to dedicated followers of the tech industry than ordinary consumers.
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