• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, April 6, 2021

Microsoft released an ad on Tuesday that pits the Surface Pro 7 against Apple's iPad Pro.

The campaign continues Microsoft’s tensions with Apple, which began years ago with regard to the companies' device -- PC vs. Mac. A previous campaign focusing on each of the companies' devices ran between 2006 and 2009.

Continuing the Surface Pro 7 vs. MacBook ad campaign that began earlier this year, Microsoft starts by pointing out that the iPad does not have a built-in kickstand option.

“This is the iPad keyboard,” says the actor. “It’s a lot heavier.”

The Surface has all kinds of ports, says the actor. The Surface has all kinds of ports. The iPad has one.

“You want to be this guy?” he says, while holding up an ‌iPad‌ with a dongle attached.

The actor also points out that the Surface is a computer and a tablet at about half the price of an iPad.

This ad doesn’t compare the Surface touchscreen vs. the Touch Bar, suggesting the touch feature makes it a better gaming device.

Last month, Microsoft released a video ad focusing on the Surface Duo, with two high-resolution touchscreens. The Duo, with a 360-degree hinge, sports Microsoft 365 and every Android app in the Google Play store. It offers multiple modes and new dual-screen enhanced apps that let marketers, for example, run and view two apps simultaneously or span one across both touchscreens to optimize campaigns.

Marketers can run Teams and Outlook at the same time, for instance.