Where by "working" they mean "are making Microsoft look like a value proposition and Apple less so". In other words, they make Microsoft look cheap and Apple look premium ... this is not a message Apple is going to be upset by.

The entire campaign has struck me as strange. "Hey, we know you want a cool, desirable Mac, but you can't afford one -- so settle for us, we're cheap!"

Microsoft: Which second-best do you want to settle for today?

> Research firm NPD Group says Apple's April Mac shipments were down 1.8% year-over-year.

Isn't that well within the bound of random chance? 1.8% is not a tremendous difference, particularly considering the general economic slowdown.

I see other numbers are about some polling/brand perception thing, but sales are probably a more concrete measurement.

I don't see anything supporting the assertion that the shifts were due to Microsoft's advertising. Given the recession (and the media's mood regarding it), I'm not at all surprised that consumers are acting a bit more frugal.

I just find it sad that a stupid software monopoly positions itself to speak on behalf of all the PCs.

In my world Microsoft has nothing to do with computers: I don't use their stuff. And my Thinkpads+Linux don't present "value proposition" - they're far superior to Macs in every way that matters to me: build quality, their military styling, Linux superiority over OSX, their full size "spill-through" keyboards, 5-button precise touchpads with pointing sticks, huge batteries, etc.

I question their methods. First off, the Microsoft Ads suck. They aren't funny or interesting. I don't say 'ooh! A new batch of Microsoft ads' and run off to their website to check them out like I do with Apple's ads.

Second, their index says the index for Apple has fallen from 70 to 12.4? That's way too big of a shift for such a poorly executed ad campaign. As far as sales goes, haven't they noticed we're in the middle of a recession? Apple has been doing pretty darned well considering the skyrocketing unemployment rate and lack of consumer spending.

So Apple's perceived value dropped and "Microsoft's" perceived value rose?

There are two variables that need to be controlled for here:

1. Apple hasn't made any major product announcements this year. Apple is a company that lives and dies by its carefully controlled press releases and a sense of "newness" and "cutting edgeness".

2. There's no indication that the MS ads in question actually caused this shift. If they're talking to canny consumers, this switch could be around the perception of netbook sales alone. Those are skyrocketing, and a perfectly usable and incredibly portable machine for under $400 (after tax) is a great value.

Still, take this with a grain of salt. People love to provide reports that Apple is suddenly failing or did not deliver on sales promises, with all kinds of conjured "data" to back it up. In the end, Apple has consistently delivered or exceeded on their projections and they've held up their sales significantly better than everyone else in the market during the economic downturn.

So Windows is better, Apple computers are 'pretty but dumb' but you can put Windows on Apple hardware so...? - brain explodes - very Star Trek of you MS.

When it says "anecdotal" right in the article... There are no facts here. It's all just link bait and trolling.

frankly, I don't think the demographic that is buying Macs (mostly college-aged kids) hasn't changed and won't simply stop buying Macs because of some ad campaign by Microsoft. Windows Vista sucked before it was released, it sucked when it was released, and it still sucks at the point when Microsoft is trying to bury it. Macs offer a very different user experience from Windows, and it's like saying a Chevy is better than a BMW because it's cheaper. They are two entirely different products that both happen to have a screen and a keyboard.