Microsoft keeps 'Lauren' incognito |
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Microsoft keeps 'Lauren' incognito
When last we saw "Lauren," the office manager and actress was bubbling over with enthusiasm about her new HP Pavilion laptop, purchased with Microsoft's cash as part of the latest installment in the company's "I'm a PC" ad campaign.
It's quickly shaping up as one of the most high-profile purchases in the history of the PC industry. So what happened next? What did Lauren think once she got it home and cracked it open and did whatever it is she likes to do with computers? Did she wish she had spent the extra money on an Apple MacBook Pro, or compromised on a MacBook with a smaller screen?
For now, at least, those questions are going unanswered. Microsoft says the situation shown in the ad was authentic, but it turned down my request for an interview with Lauren this morning, giving the same response to the Houston Chronicle's Dwight Silverman. And I haven't been able to find any other information online that would help me get in touch with her independently. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.
In the meantime, as long as Microsoft features "real people" in its ads, the company should be prepared for an extra dose of skepticism if it doesn't also make those people available to talk about their experiences.
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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