‘Mac Book’ Recommends Surface Laptop In New Microsoft Ad

In what appears to be a hilarious, or potentially trouble-causing, ad, a guy named “Mac Book” encourages people to buy the Surface Laptop instead of a MacBook.

A new ad for the Surface Laptop 2 has surfaced on YouTube, and it's either hilarious or not depending on whoever is watching it. Microsoft obviously gave a lot of effort to creating it: the ad stars a guy named Mackenzie Book, also known as “Mac Book,” and got him to endorse the new Surface device.

In the ad, a narrator asks Mac Book several questions about the Surface Laptop’s performance in comparison to the MacBook’s, and as expected, Mac Book will reply with answers showing just how “better” Microsoft’s device is.

The questions and corresponding answers highlight some key specs users will notice when they use the device. These include battery life, processing speed, and specific features like a touchscreen.

For example, the narrator will ask him, “which one has a better touchscreen?” Mac Book, the actor, will simply reply with “The Surface has a better touchscreen -- because it actually has a touchscreen.”

It’s worth noting that there’s some fine print written beneath Mac Book's answers being flashed on the screen. When the narrator asked the actor about the Surface’s battery life in comparison to the MacBook’s, the fine print read “Comparison of local video playback. Battery life varies with settings and usage.” Obviously, the actor’s answers are based on the details in fine print.

Watch the 30-second ad below:

Low blow

The Verge noted just how much of a “low blow” Microsoft’s latest ad is. The Redmond tech giant gave a lot of effort to search the world for anyone who would be named “Mac Book,” then hired that person to convince people to buy the Surface Laptop. By hiring that person, Microsoft is also able to create the punchline “Mac Book says get a Surface Laptop.”

What’s more, by hiring someone to do the job, Microsoft also gets to avoid getting chased by lawyers, The Verge noted.

This is obviously a direct contradiction to what Microsoft did years ago when it chased a Canadian teenager named Mike Rowe. The teenager, back in 2004, created a website with the domain name MikeRoweSoft.com. The Redmond giant took him to court, but eventually decided to settle with him, giving him an Xbox and some training in exchange for the domain, CNet reported at the time.