In the same vein as "false indignation" let's add the term "false misunderstanding" to the lexicon. In this bizarre and silly editorial/blog post, PC World's Nick Mediati (whoever that is), pretends he doesn't "get' Microsoft's latest ad:
With this latest ad, I'm confused. While the meat of the ad focuses on how Windows PCs come in more shapes and sizes than Macs do and can be had at lower prices, Lauren, the woman portrayed in the ad, quips at one point, "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person."
So, Microsoft, if this is the message you're pushing--that your prospective customers "aren't cool enough" to own a Mac, what does this make your users? Losers?
No, Nick. That's not what it means. And no, that's not what you believe either. Duh.
First, watch the ad.
It's about a girl who (artificially) has $1000 to spend on laptop with a 17-inch screen. She traipses into the Apple Store (called "The Mac Store" in the ad) first and then encounters sticker shock: Apple only has a single $1000 laptop and it has a woefully small screen. "I would have to double my budget, which isn't feasible. I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person," she says.
Controversial, eh?
The message, obviously, is that by "cool enough" she means "rich enough."
OBVIOUSLY.
Case closed. End of discussion. Anyone who claims pretends otherwise is doing so for show.
PS: Most people, of course, do get it. Here's a good example. Someone who goes by the humorous moniker "CheeseMan42" apparently has more common sense than Nick here, noting in an Overclockers Club post that the new ad "points out what everyone already knows: Macs cost more than PCs ... This commercial should help Microsoft at a time when most people are trying to cut spending across the board." If PC World is ever hiring again, maybe they could look the CheeseMan up.