• Fast Company, Ad Age, Friday, July 17, 2009 10:31 AM

Cliff Kuang writes that Microsoft's plan to open retail stores next to Apple stores is the "horrible idea of the day." Actually, it may be worse than that. He thinks the guys and gals up in Redmond, Wash., are just setting themselves up for public humiliation by once again trying to compete with Apple on Apple's terms. The concept store at Microsoft HQ, he says, "looks like the love child of a Circuit City and a Walgreens."

The only question is how epic Microsoft's failure will be, Kuang feels. If you want to beat Apple, you've got to pick a game it's not good at -- "duh," quoth he.

Well, it's not good at competitive prices, and that's exactly the point that Crispin Porter & Bogusky "Laptop Hunters" campaign has been driving home with some success. So much so, according to Microsoft COO Kevin Turner, that Apple's attorneys have privately demanded that the ads be pulled because it has lowered its prices. ("They took like $100 off or something," smirks Turner.) But Apple's not saying anything publicly, and don't expect it to file suit, an attorney tells Ad Age's Rupal Parekh, although it does appear to have a legal leg to stand upon.

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