Microsoft changes ad wording. Ho hum.

In yet another installment in the increasingly immature Apple vs. Microsoft advertising legal wars, Microsoft has “caved” to Apple’s “legal pressure” and altered some words in the ads.

The ads that we are talking about this time are in the series where Microsoft repeats ad nauseum how expensive Apple laptops are, as opposed to the ads where Apple repeats ad infinitum how hard Windows is to use. Apple, having changed some prices on the MacBook series of laptops, apparently had a lawyer contact Microsoft, pointing out that their ads were no longer accurate, according to an AppleInsider story.

Microsoft then played that up for all it was worth (and considerably more) by issuing press releases and quotes saying that their ads must be working or Apple would not be legally “harassing” them to make changes. Then came a round of replies from Apple, saying that the ads were simply misleading since they had changed their prices. In the end, Microsoft removed a reference to a “$2,000 laptop” from on of the ads.

A spokesperson for Microsoft said, “We slightly adjusted the ads to reflect the updated pricing of the Mac laptop shown in the TV advertisement. This does not change the focus of the campaign, which is to showcase the value and choice of the PC.”

What? There’s a focus? The surprising part of all this is that neither company is exactly lacing any of these ads with useful facts. Like most advertising, these ads are more “cute” innuendo than anything resembling useful information. They are the equivalent of the political sound bite: well chosen words and pictures that leave an impression without actually having said anything meaningful.

It is difficult to imagine that anyone bright enough to acquire $500-2,000 would also be swayed by anything that any of these ads say. They are barely acceptable when they are done with humor, tongue in cheek. When the involved companies start acting like this tripe is serious, they lose any semblance of charm. All of these advertisements treat consumers like idiots that can be easily swayed without presenting any facts at all. Personally, I find that offensive.

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