Microsoft exec: Apple lawyers tried to squelch Windows ads |
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Microsoft exec: Apple lawyers tried to squelch Windows ads
Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer, made headlines today for saying that Microsoft will open some of its new retail stores "right next door to Apple stores this fall." But as we read the official transcript from Turner's speech at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, what really stood out was the story he told about a recent call he says he received from Apple's legal department.
It involved the "Laptop Hunters" ads that Microsoft has been using to compare the price of Macs and Windows PCs. Here's what he said.
And so we've been running these PC value ads. Just giving people saying, hey, what are you looking to spend? “Oh, I'm looking to spend less than $1,000.” Well we'll give you $1,000. Go in and look and see what you can buy. And they come out and they just show them. Those are completely unscripted commercials.
And you know why I know they're working? Because two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying, hey -- this is a true story -- saying, "Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices." They took like $100 off or something. It was the greatest single phone call in the history that I've ever taken in business. (Applause.)
I did cartwheels down the hallway. At first I said, "Is this a joke? Who are you?" Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we're just going to keep running them and running them and running them.
Of course, that is the story as told by a Microsoft executive. Rather than trying to stop the ads altogether, it might be reasonable to expect Apple to ask Microsoft to change the language to accurately reflect the new Mac prices. In the absence of a public statement from Apple on the subject, it's probably smart to take Turner's story with a grain of salt -- especially the part about the cartwheels.
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