Microsoft is Keeping on the Offensive with another "Laptop Hunters" Commercial

No one has been more critical of Microsoft's first attempts at responding to Apple's "I'm a Mac" ads than myself, and I still contend that those quirky commercials featuring Jerry Seinfeld missed the mark wider than Brett Favre in a critical game (you Jets fans still steaming over a 3-interception, 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins know what I'm talking about). Judging by the comments in those earlier blogs (see here and here), either expectations were disparingly low, or other PC users really did find a certain charm in talking about chewy computers or watching Bill Gates do a geriatric robot.

This time around I'm more than willing to give credit where credit is due, and it belongs to Microsoft for its latest offensive against Apple. Microsoft has finally zeroed in on the high price tags that accompany Macs, and it isn't letting up. The first ad featured a woman named Lauren on the hunt for a 17-inch laptop under $1,000, and not surprisingly, she wasn't able to find one in an Apple store. "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person," she concluded. Not long after, a second ad emerged, this time upping the ante to $1,500 and featuring a member of the opposite sex who surmised that "Macs, to me, are about the aesthetics more than they are the computing power. I don't want to pay for the rent, I want to pay for the computer."

Now for the third time in only three weeks, Microsoft has released yet another "Laptop Hunters" commercial, this time with the camera crew following a mother-and-son duo looking for a sub $1,500 gaming notebook with a large hard drive. Talk about being at a disadvantage from the outset, and predictably, neither one finds what they're looking for in the Mac section of a local Best Buy.

"Whoa, these are way more money, dude!," the mother exclaims as the two check out a MacBook, while the son is quick to add "It's a little too small. Maybe we'd rather go with PC."

You can guess how it ends, or view it for yourself here.

Anyone else like what Microsoft's doing with its latest ad campaign?