Another Awkward New Microsoft Ad Campaign

Odd new Microsoft commercial, which purports to show a real person named Lauren trying to find a new 17-inch laptop for under $1000. She goes into “the Mac store” and comes out disappointed, because — and this is true — the only sub-$1000 laptop comes with a 13-inch display. But then she says, “I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person.” One can only assume that it’s intended as an anti-elitist insult, but the bottom line is that Microsoft is explicitly reinforcing the idea that Macs are cool, which strikes me as a very odd tactic. The theme of the commercial seems to be “PCs: Computers for Losers”.

But here’s my favorite part from Andrea James’s report on the ad campaign for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Lauren is, apparently, a “real” person and not an actress. She works as an office manager but is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

I’m sure all sorts of people who aren’t actors are members of the Screen Actors Guild. Some people join unions just for fun. Update: AP reporter Jessica Mintz says Lauren is an actress.

★ Thursday, 26 March 2009