14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft this week aired a new Windows 8 commercial featuring the ASUS VivoTab running its touch-based OS. The Redmond company took a number of cheap shots at Apple’s iPad, despite seeming accurate overall.
The ad is admittedly pretty cool in and of itself, but certain assertions are obvious cheap marketing blows, while one reference to the screen size of each tablet is a blatant lie.
As Elliot Temple writes over at CURI (via Daring Fireball), the 10.1 diagonal inches touted by Microsoft versus Apple’s 9.7 inches don’t constitute an overall bigger display.
Temple explains it best:
“This is not to scale. Microsoft has drawn a 10.1 inch tablet 36% larger than a 9.7 inch tablet (140x78 pixels vs 102x79). This is so far off you can visually see it's wrong.
“The iPad screen is 7.76 by 5.82 inches. The ASUS screen is 8.8 by 4.95 inches. ASUS is larger in one direction but smaller in the other direction, and has 3.55% less area than the iPad, not 36% more as Microsoft depicts.”
He also notes that Microsoft changed the webpage after his discovery.
For those wondering how a larger diagonal measurement can still depict a smaller display, it’s all about the shape of the screen. Basically, the ASUS tablet is longer/wider. That doesn’t necessarily translate into more screen real estate.
And let’s not even mention Microsoft’s marketing stunt that claims the iPad can’t run Powerpoint. How could it and, most importantly, why?
There’s also a rather misleading price comparison, where Microsoft conveniently mentions the high-end 64GB version of Apple’s tablet, which retails for $699.
(Editor’s note) But there’s more to Microsoft’s uninspired marketing than meets the eye.
Allow me to direct your attention to exhibit A, the actual web page where Microsoft attempts to cast a gloomy shadow over Apple’s hot-selling tablet by comparing the technical aspects of the ASUS VivoTab versus those of the Apple iPad.
The specs sheet starts off with the thinness of the two devices, followed by a comparison of battery life.
As the screenshot shows, Microsoft downright admits that the iPad commands the ASUS tablet on both aspects (as well as in several others down the road).
iPad thinness: .37” ASUS thinness: .38” iPad battery life: 10 hrs ASUS battery life: 9.5hrs
In what parallel universe did Microsoft test its advertising and concluded that it was OK to start a specs comparison with the advantages that the competitor has over your own product?
You may regard this as honesty on behalf of Microsoft, but it's not the way to go to build a strong argument about the superiority of the ASUS device over Apple's iPad.
I'll tell you what I'd do in this situation. Seeing how my product can't compete on certain levels with my competitor's offerings, I'd use that one aspect where mine fares better and stick to marketing that.
That's honest marketing, and I'm sure the customers would appreciate it too.
Of course, you actually need to have that winning feature before you can start promoting it.