Wow…. In the game of “who will blink first” ads, I never thought I would see this from Apple.
Even though Apple presents a cool ‘above it all because we’re better’ attitude to the world, that doesn’t seem to be the case behind closed doors. Case in point is the Laptop Hunters ads that Microsoft has been hitting Apple with. Although Apple responded to the ads back in May, it seems that the ads have gotten under their skin. According to Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner, who stated during the Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference today, that Apple called him with what he states "was the greatest single phone call in the history that I've ever taken in business". He states that "two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying [...] 'Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices.'" He also notes that "they took like $100 off or something,"
He did ask "Is this a joke? Who are you?"
I am shocked that Apple would ask Microsoft to stop running the Laptop Hunters ads, considering that “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” ads have been pummeling Microsoft for years now. Obviously Microsoft is getting some traction from these ads, and rightfully so. But if you’re wondering if Microsoft will stop running those ads, Turner states that Microsoft is "just going to keep running them and running them and running them."
[Ars Technica via Engadget]
