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.

We have already talked about the companies that screwed up this past year. Now we want to talk about those companies that are using social media the way they should be – to interact with their customers.

Humor
In the 80’s everyone used sex to sell beer. Today they try really hard to be funny, check out bud.tv. Microsoft just announced that they will be doing a $300 Million dollar ad campaign featuring Jerry Seinfeld. Thanks to YouTube, Digg, and other social media sites you can do the same thing for $30.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Evolution of Dance – Almost a right of passage for new users on YouTube.  This video featuring comedian Judson Laipply cost nothing to make and has been viewed almost 100 million times.  Those are captive eyeballs that chose to consume the content, not interruption based media like the Microsoft commercials will be. I am not sure what he charges for his public speaking but I am sure it is more expensive than it was 2 years ago.

Will It Blend – Sure it isn’t laugh out loud funny but it is amusing and completely engaging.  How exciting can you make a blender? There are nearly 100 thousand subscribers to this YouTube channel. The videos have been viewed tens of millions of times.

B-Boy Stance – I thought it was funny

Sex Appeal

Dove Evolution – This isn’t what you would typically think of as “sexy”.  But this is the perfect balance of sex appeal and a relevant message.  I will talk more about the message in a minute.

Good Magazing Porn Video – This one is a little racy but it is still PG-13.  They run through all the stats of the porn industry by writing them on the nearly naked body of a porn star.  Good message, great use of sex. Oh and just in case you don’t make it this far it is an advertisement for Good Magazine – I have never read it but they have an interesting website and a good cause.

Shock Value
Dexter – Microsite – they have had to dumb this down and make it a little more obvious.  When this first came out it really scared people.  Really really scared them.  This little site was emailed millions of times and they never could get that same exposure buying advertising.  It is extremely engaging to see yourself as the next murder victim on a fake news broadcast.

Relevant

The most important thing about all of these video’s is they have a purpose.  They hold some relevance to the audience.  After all it is the relevance that makes you pass along a video.  You might start watching for the other factors but you keep watching or take an action because of the relevant message.

Warning you are about to waste an hour so you better be at work.

Just in case you missed the last couple years on YouTube here is a viral video roundup of must see web cinema