5:38 May 12th, 2009 | Notes

Finally, another Microsoft ad!

I’m not going to bitch about this one! I like subscription music services. I wish that iTunes had one. For a poor, poor student like me, paying for every song is impractical and costly (which is what the ad says).

What I find funny is Microsoft saying “Filling an iPod costs $30,000”. Well, technically yes. But let’s look at the other blatantly obvious solution to fill an iPod that cost nothing. It’s going to be the first natural reaction of students to start yelling “LIMEWIRE AND TORRENTS!” when they see this ad.

What Microsoft has done by throwing such a large number at the viewer is remind them that there is an even cheaper way to get music, be it illegally. I know when I was watching this ad I was going “Holy crap $30,000?!” and not “Wow! Look at that! Only $15 a month to fill my Zune”. I was totally distracted by the $30,000 that my train of thought didn’t click over to their product, but went from one extreme to the other; bit torrent.

I admire Microsoft for using this method to try and sell music, but it won’t work. Sorry, My generation has been brought up with the idea in our head that music is just a file on our iPods. Microsoft telling us how much it would normally cost to fill them only ingrains our desire to get music the cheapest way possible.

Oh, and I love how the guy in the ad is labeled, “Certified Financial Planner”. Wow! Now I’m totally reassured!