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Microsoft Adds ‘Apple Tax’ to PC Rhetoric

Microsoft must be feeling the heat from a growing acceptance of Apple Mac products, as a new campaign by the Redmond, Wash.-based company is pushing the concept of an "Apple tax" for non PC-users. The campaign, which Microsoft began last fall, claims that non-Microsoft users pay more for Apple hardware and have fewer peripheral and […]

Written By

Charlene O'Hanlon

Jan 6, 2009

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Microsoft must be feeling the heat from a growing acceptance of
Apple Mac products, as a new campaign by the Redmond, Wash.-based
company is pushing the concept of an "Apple tax" for non PC-users.

The campaign, which Microsoft began last fall, claims that
non-Microsoft users pay more for Apple hardware and have fewer
peripheral and software choices than their PC brethren. Microsoft even
created a chart proving the increased cost. (Ironically, the chart does
not include the after-purchase costs associated with downtime and
repairs that Microsoft users experience far more than Mac users.)

The idea of non-Microsoft users paying added costs in their computing
experience is not new to Microsoft’s marketing department. In 2004, the
company launched a similar campaign aimed at Linux users, claiming that
Microsoft Windows Server System was much more cost-effective than a
Linux-based solution. It even funded research to support that claim and
built a Web site around it.

In discussing the so-called "Apple tax," Brad Brooks, vice president of
marketing for Windows, said the economy will force many people to
rethink how much they want to pay for a new computer.

"More and more people are going to be scratching their head and saying, ‘Is that a tax I am really willing to pay?’" he said.

Brooks also noted that the "Apple tax" campaign may show up in online marketing campaigns and future Microsoft commercials.

Microsoft Adds ‘Apple Tax’ to PC Rhetoric

Charlene O'Hanlon

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