Crispin Porter & Bogusky has done it again. I love these guys. They are always pushing the envelope in incredibly creative and unique ways. This time, however, their humor and creativity has caught the attention of the Mexican government.

Getting in trouble is nothing new for CP+B. Just a few months ago they were asked by Facebook to take down their “Whopper Sacrifice” application because it violated privacy policy. Most recently advocacy groups got in a huff about the “Spongebob” BK commercial. And then there was the “Whopper Virgins” campaign last December that was not very well received, but totally funny.

So what’s different this time? CP+B is actually altering their advertisement to comply with complaints, which will be the first time they are willingly making requested changes (Facebook forced them to shut down “Whopper Sacrifice”). But I guess when you degrade citizens and disprespect the national flag of a country, that just happens to be the second largest market besides the United States, something’s gotta give.

When I watched the commercial the first time, I didn’t see why anyone would find it offensive. I thought it was totally funny. Meaning that I am an insensitive jerk or I’m not Mexican – I’ll let you decide.  It reminded me of Nacho Libre and BrokeBack Mountain, which made me giggle. I thought the concept was clever and the copy was just cheesy enough. Who could be upset by that? Turns out a whole country.

Ambassador Jorge Zermeno wrote that the “advertisement denigrates the image of our country and uses improperly Mexico’s national flag.” He noted that Mexico has strict laws barring the defamation of the flag.

It wasn’t until I read this blog comment that I realized how serious this really was to people:

“And there’s something far worse, at least to anyone born and raised in Mexico, taught from a wee age that though there are few things genuinely sacred in life, one of those things is unquestionably the national flag. For better or worse, Mexicans have a thing about flags, and so…(here’s the part you gotta pay close attention to): In Mexico this “inoffensive” advert with the cute little wrestler and Texas cowboy would be in flagrant violation of federal law.”

In this case, it’s probably a good call that CP+B is changing their advertising in order to prevent any further offense. I’m thinking that this might also be the first time that CP+B wasn’t intentionally controversial. They’ve done some pretty crazy things in the past and not been bothered by negative feedback. I’m always impressed with how CP+B takes risks in their advertising despite criticism but I’m also impressed that they are willing to correct this mistake.

PC and Mac have been going back and forth for a while now with their advertising. Mac’s “Get a Mac” campaign has been running for a while now, which has been used to beat down the Microsoft name. Microsoft has been less consistent. They’ve had their “I’m a PC” campaign with random sprinkling of Jerry Seinfeld commercial, meant to reintroduce the brand.

Now Microsoft has unveiled their new campaign that is thought to rival Mac’s ad campaign. The premise of the “Laptop Hunter ” ads is to show people looking for laptops with certain specifications within a set budget. Microsoft offers to pay the price of the computer if they can find one within that range. This is definitely a departure from past Microsoft and Mac ads.

It’s obvious that Microsoft is taking into account the economic environment. They’re taking into account that people are more careful about how much they spend on new investments. Microsoft is showing consumers that they can buy a laptop that is personalized and unique for a reasonable price. Whereas Mac is still playing the cool card.

Apple unveiled a $2700 MacBook Pro at this year’s Macworld Expo. It might be time for Apple to shift their selling points to reflect what’s happening economically and socially. At the same time, they might be trying to maintain their status as the cooler, more expensive laptop. However, we’ve mentioned before that Apple is known for not listtening to their customers. Is this just another example of them ignoring what their customers in order to look cooler than PC?

Microsoft’s new campaign is definitely well-timed and it may prove beneficial for them to focus on price and value as opposed to the cool factor.