All about Microsoft's "Lauren"
Her hair is red, her eyes dark brown, her physique slim. She stands 5'2" in her stocking feet and weighs 113 lbs. in her birthday suit.
Her name is Lauren De Long, and she set a million geek hearts aflutter with her spunky performance in the now famous "you find it, you keep it" PC ad, in which she chose an HP (HPQ) Pavilion running Microsoft (MSFT) Windows Vista Home Edition over any computer in the Apple (AAPL) store.
She also set off Apple 2.0's hottest flame war — 402 comments and counting — with the line "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person." (See How Microsoft put Apple owners on the defensive.)
She was supposed to be an ordinary American who answered a Craigslist ad for a market-and-research job and to her surprise found herself starring in a multi-million dollar Microsoft advertising campaign.
But a little inspired sleuthing by the wife of a Seattle-based investigative reporter turned up her film and television credits, her Now Casting bio and resume, her IMDB listing, her MySpace photo gallery and her official website.
Before donning dorky glasses and a green scarf to go laptop shopping with Steve Ballmer's money, De Long played a feed store clerk in a 2001 TV movie called The Retrievers, Darla in a 2003 film called American Grace, Grace in The Answer Yes (2006), head nurse in This Hollow Sacrament (2006), Samantha in 99 Pieces (2007), jacuzzi girl in 7eventy 5ive (2007), Molly in Ladybugs (2007) and Emmy Kyle in Hatched (2008).
She "provides the terror hottie mojo" in 99 Pieces, according to TerrorHotties.com. (link)
Her next gig, according to Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog, is a 7-Eleven ad. "This is the perfect shoot for me," she says, "because I LOVE junk food."
She has also been booked to play Jessica in Humdrummer, a feature film. And in Zig Zag, a short pitched for the film festivals, she plays Amy, a "sexy and passionate criminal who's double-crossing ways backfire on her."
A few more things about Lauren: She loves to eat. She has a puppy named Bruce. She enjoys dark chocolate and a good glass of port. She loves the winter because she gets to stay inside by a fire. She prefers walking to running. She loves the lake and laying out in the sun. One of her favorite things to do is host a great party. She is awesome at the BBQ. She enjoys deep conversations and good debates. She is stubborn as hell but quick to apologize if she is wrong. She is a romantic. She hopes that someday she will be as accomplished as her mom. She has six brothers and no sisters. She still sleeps with her Teddy Bear. And holding a baby always tears her up. (link)
For more headshots and stills, click here.
Below the fold: the 60-second ad that made her Internet famous.
Photo © 2009 Greg Nystrom. Posted with permission.
[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @ philiped]
I am guessing that this:
"Macs are overpriced, especially since most people use their computers to do little more than just visit websites, a PC shouldn’t be more than 400 bucks."
is explained by this:
"I’d rather have a Kia than a Mercedes or BMW"
Mr. RI obviously never used a Mac, a BMW or a Mercedes.
I'd rather have a Kia than a Mercedes or BMW, though I'd rather have a Toyota or a Lexus….. Macs are overpriced, especially since most people use their computers to do little more than just visit websites, a PC shouldn't be more than 400 bucks.
@Eric in Montreal – that 3-month-old MacBook should have been taken into an Apple Store. To me, this sounds like a failed system battery – not the main one, the small one that keeps a little bit of power going all the time for settings and clocks and things. Should have been an easy fix, and like someone else posted, at this level a Mac is no different than a PC – they're the same components and can still fail.
However, sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and so it is with a Mac in general.
BOTTOME LINE: You get what you pay for. Fortunately, I can afford a MacBook Pro…lucky me! PS – Cute girls buy Macs, too (and many of them are not paid actresses!!)
A redhead in dorky glasses, that has a job. Sounds like my dream girl. I can overlook choosing an HP I think… maybe… ok fine, no I can't. It will be the rift in our relationship and after many sleepless nights on the couch she'll kick me out on the same night my dell crashes and I ironically have to receive her breakup twitter on a backup HP tablet she had lying around.
Mr. Mojave:
Mac OS X is a modified BSD in which a microkernel is implemented. This means it is not monolyhtic.
Vista is not monolythic in the same sense Windows versions prior to Windows 2000 were monolythic. Starting from Windows 2000 (or even NT, if you wish) the architecture of the system was made modular, thus not monolythic.
Linux (the kernel, not the distros) is also modular in that sense, but the kernel is still monolythic.
GNU Hurd is another example of a non-monolythic kernel.
Andrew Tanebaum's and William Stalling's books are both good references to get more information on Operating Systems.
Microsoft's ad campaign is SO FREAKING STUPID.
They completely botched the analogy.
When the guys in the Apple ad say, "I'm a Mac," and, "I'm a PC," they are not supposed to represent individual users. The actors are supposed to represent the ACTUAL COMPUTERS THEMSELVES, not their users. They chose actors who looked like Steve Jobs and Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder and, lets be honest about his best role: Portland Trailblazers owner).
But in the Microsoft ads, M$ completely misinterpreted the analogy by having the actual users themselves say, "I'm a PC." Ugh! No, no, no. Broken analogy! YOU'RE not a PC, you're a PC USER.. duh! Gawd!! STUPID!! IDIOTS!!!
The worst part is that Macs ARE PCS. They can all run Windows Vista natively; I have a copy of it installed on my Mac right now. What makes Macs better is the same thing that makes a BMW or Mercedes better than a Chevy or Kia. Overall quality, customer support, design, everything about the product that matters. Yes, you pay more for this… but you get what you pay for. My Mac laptops have lasted me an average of five years before I felt the need to upgrade. I wonder how many PC users could say the same.
You know, I could be mistaken but I saw someone who looked like the Mac Guy in that last Die Hard movie! And I think I saw that same guy years earlier in Galaxy Quest. And to top that: PC Guy was on The Daily Show *and* his doppelganger (must've been!) was on TED Talks a while back. I think you need to investigate!
to mr. mojave mac doesn't steal from linux. they steal from debian. mac is debian for dummies. To all ubuntu supporters download and install gentoo and slackware you'll be much happier
What we all need to do is buy a Windows based laptop then install Linux over the operating system.
For anyone who is new to Linux or thinks it can't look just as cool as OS X check out beryl (currently compiz-fussion) on linux:
You're paying for OS X, which is fine. If your time is worth nothing, use Vista or XP. Otherwise, either buy a Mac or have a friend show you how to use Linux.
I love my MAC and always will. I picked up my MacBoook.. taught myself the operating system which was SOOO easy. Nothing to it. I hate PC and always will.. my Dell and HP both failed me. XP is fast at first then flaws. As long as you can use OSX you will be fine… if you act dumb and don't try. there is no use. And don't most VW drivers associate themselves with MAC… I'm sure there is a marketing study out there.
I don't ever recall hearing a PC user claim the hardware is "superior". It has always been a MAC claim. And, at the price, it better be . . .
The MAC OS is superior… but their market penetration isn't.
Apparently there are some of us on here who agree this debate is laughable. And alot of us on here agree technology isn't perfect. With that said everyone has to have a level of patience with technology. Not every computer built will be perfect and stable. Sometimes a manufacture could build a whole stock of bad computers. Than you have the unlucky people who end up getting stuck with technology that becomes nothing more than pure headache. Most people are quick to blame the manufacture and say there product isn't worth much. However, I disagree with that. Just because 5 out of the 20 laptops in stock where bad doesn't mine that brand is worthless. It just means it was built by machines that apparently glitched during production. The phrase 'you get what you pay for' is not always right neither. I've paid thousands for technology just something that didn't meet my expectations. I have Mac friends, and they've told me personal stories how they had to exchange their computers for another because something was wrong with it. So no company is or will ever be perfect unless they built computers by hand and even than I still think you'll end up with bad machines…. Stop the brainwash, Just because you may like a product doesn't mean the world needs to follow you. And I still stand by what I have said before.. To each his own opinion.
@Matt, Camp Hill, PA
Are you seriously going to compare 1366×768 and 1440×900 for resolution and call one superior to another? Do you honestly think you will be able to see a difference? Playing that 720p movie can you see a difference? Oh wait…they can both playback 720p.
As for RAM speed it is apparent you haven't done your research on DDR2 versus DDR3. DDR3 offers NO benefits over DDR2 with Intel C2D, Intel C2Q, or AMD Phenom II processors. DDR3 only offers benefits with the new Intel Core i7 chips because of their specialized IMC and even then that's only in certain instances because nothing makes use that memory subsystem to its full extent yet. DDR3 at this time is highly overrated and nothing but a buzz word praying on the uninformed who think DDR3 must be better then DDR2 simply because it has a higher number. A simple Google search for reviews on DDR3 versus DDR2 will prove this to you. Keep in mind that DDR2 had the same adoption problems over DDR when it was released as well.
And are you seriously using a backlit keyboard as an excuse for a Mac being superior? Do you really have to look at the keys when you type?
The NV 9600M and 9400M graphics subsytem is only there for power savings because NV can't get their 9600M to be power efficient due to the size of the die. If you're on 9400M you save power but your graphics power is subpar to the Radeon HD4330. Oh wait…the 9600M is less powerful then the HD4330 as well. Not to mention the HD4330 uses Powerplay to reduce its power consumption greatly which can be further reduced by setting profile defaults in the Catalyst Control Center.
As for Bluetooth that can be added to the Inspiron 15.
Gigabit ethernet is nice but highly overrated currently as your DSL/Cable/FiOS connection cannot even hit that speed. You can't even cap out the 100Mbps NIC on a normal home Internet connection. So how can you poossibly use that as an excuse for superiority? Plus how often are you even going to use that wired NIC if you have a Wireless connection?
But OK: After adding Internal Bluetooth 2.1 and even adding a built-in Webcam to the Inspiron 15 with 4GB RAM, 2.53 C2D, and the HD4330 with Vista 64-bit the total cost is $1,039 before the 20% off coupon. After coupon it is $831.20.
So which is "vastly inferior" there Matt when comparing 15 inch Macbook Pro and the 15 inch Dell Inspiron 15?
Not only is Inspiron 15 far more powerful then the 13 inch Macbook it's still CHEAPER then the 13 inch by $168.79. As for the Macbook Pro 15 inch with 4GB of RAM you're looking at $2,099. A price difference of $1,267.80 and the Inspiron 15 is a faster machine.
Can you honestly tell me that a slower machine with Gigabit ethernet, DDR3, a very minimal increase in resolution and that backlit keyboard are worth $1,267.80?
Oh and I love reading comments like "you get what you pay for." You do realize that the components except for the CPU in that Mac and that HP and that Dell are all coming out of the UMC and TSMC fabs in Taiwan? When it comes to hardware sometimes you just get lemons. That's just the way it is. Or will those people tell me that last years NV 8800 mobile series GPU issue that plagued every vendor including Apple was something that you paid for as well?
(Having posting problems – sorry if this is a duplicate)
Mike in LA: Near as I can tell she's driving a convertible Beetle. I looked up the base MSRP.
And the key here is: convertible. Like that's a basic necessity of driving.
So, you know, why not spend another $7.7k on a soft top that you don't strictly need when you're getting a free computer from Microsoft? It's not like convertibles are "cool" or anything.
Eh, what's the point arguing: it's probably not her car anyway.
In the meantime we here in the real world have to spend our own money.
HP Hardware sucks. I have a HP PC with Vista which is a piece o crap with 4 gb memory.
I have MacBrook Pro which is awesome. I never had any issue with this hardware.
In 6 months i had to replace keyboard, harddrive on my HP.
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR.
I find the entire Mac vs. PC debate laughable. A capable person can set up either machine to work well (and set up a Unix/Linux workstation or server as well.) None of the technology that has been introduced in the past or present is perfect, knowing the bugs and workarounds has always differentiated those who use computers 9or anything else) as effective tools from those who complain. sometimes we do get stuck with locked and buggy machines at work we can't configure, but other than that each of us has to set up our machines as we would a toolbox. Who has the messy toolbox and whose is orderly and read for work ??
This article makes is seem like a surprise that she's an actress. Did anyone really think the ad was "real"?
I had to return the HP laptops 3 times totally as I was fed up with them. Now I am happy with Dell with Linux on it.
@JustAGuy: Jetta has a starting MSRP of $17K not $26K
Mac users, one question: what do you use your Macs for? Just curious.
I recently purchased a Macbook Air for my girlfriend. She loved it. It is truly an amazing piece of hardware engineering. It weighs next to nothing and is just easy to carry around. I bought MS Office for it and she liked that too.
But after 3 months, all is not well with the OS. The time keeps resetting to a few years back. The machine routinely forgets the wifi network password (my friend has the same issue with his Macbook pro), the cursor thing spins round and round all of the time and the machine just becomes un-responsive.
So while it's true I do not get a blue screen of death, silly errors with complex numbers, I find the lack of anything very frustrating. I don't even know where to begin to fix this!
One thing everyone should know is that Mac OS/X is not better than Vista. It's just different. It has just as many issues, problems and frustrations. I am not saying go Vista but don't tell me Mac OS/X is easier and more stable. It's not (compared to Vista SP1 on a certified platform from a vendor like HP).
Yet another debate over which hardware is better, Wait did I say debate? This looks more like a war zone with everyone taking shots at each other trying prove their hardware is better. Lets be honest every person will have there opinion and never agree with the other. For example AMD followers will never see eye to eye with Intel followers. Even if AMD made the best Processor in the world, Intel followers would still pick a flaw in it and fight it to its death. PC users also will never see eye to eye with mac users. Even though I've research this and found that both systems are virtually the same. Example a PC has a motherboard so dose Mac. a PC uses intel Chips so does mac, a PC uses DDR3 ram, so does Mac, a PC uses high end graphics card.. so does mac. A PC works with Linux. Dig deeper and look what the mac OS is built on.. Wow Linux… So my point being they are the same. I'm not trying to add fuel to the fire but simply stating facts in which pc users will fight tooth and nails with mac users on. Even though really the system is virtually the same thing. I know someone is going to disagree with me even though I'm not saying much and thats fine. To each his own opinion. But its worthless putting up these fights because at the end people get no where. And others reading these comments trying to determine what system to upgrade to will only get a headache and be upset.
She's not such a bad choice for this ad campaign as actresses go. But her "creaky voice" accent are just awful. Why can't young American women return to the full voices they had before the 80s?
This is hilarious, this freakin $700 ad captured more eyeballs that $700B stimulus. Oh well, i guess the $B is way affordable than this M$ ad 
To Matt, Camp Hill, PA
Backlit keyboard? Is this really a good decision point when buying a computer?
Learn to type.
LinuxGuy, where does Mac OS X borrow from Linux? It's kernel is Mach BSD UNIX which started it all.
This is why the OS is soooooo much better than Windows which is a hodge podge monolith.
What Apple has done is take Unix (not Linux) a very robust OS and make it user friendly.
man…this is funny. I think MS hit a tender spot…to them, this is probably a successful ad.
my 2 cents. everyone is entitled to what they like. just cause i like sushi doesn't mean you have to. Same with a mac and pc.
My boss asked me, when I first joined the company, if I wanted a mac (would've been whatever laptop was top of the line at the time). I said no. Why? cause i used them at school for a few years (art school btw) and didn't like them too much.
Does that mean I think they are inferior? no…they have alot of good points. I preferred a PC cause i was comfortable with it enough that it would have a significant impact on my productivity. If I were doing alot of Audio (think Pro Tools) or traditional video editing…I would've probably told my boss to get me a Mac because I think I would be more productive on it for those purposes.
So, what is the ROI on your machine?
She got just what she wanted but also just what she deserved. A free $500 headache. Natural selection is fun to watch.
She's too cheap to afford a Mac, AND she's admittedly not cool enough. How/Why should this put Mac users on the defensive? Seems to me like another MS ad with a bad focus. At best it is a good ad for cheap HP hardware. I don't see how it makes a case to buy Windows though.
All that being said, I hope she actually got to keep the laptop, and that it wasn't staged like her performance.
To Henry. I looked up that Dell Inspiron. Compared to the 15" Macbook Pro.
You get a worse graphics subsystem (1 card vs switchable), worse screen resolution, no Bluetooth, no gigabit ethernet, no backlight keyboard, faster RAM (DDR2/800 for the Dell vs DDR3 for the Mac).
I'll take the Mac, thanks – it's a better spec'ed system.
So I'd say the Dell is a vastly inferior machine to the Macbook. And it's $1,124.
@Roger, Irvine, CA
How does it hurt them? In the commercial she states she wants a 17 inch laptop not a 13 inch laptop.
You can get faster PCs then that BestBuy $999 Macbook anyways.
Right now a Dell Inspiron 13 with 2GB RAM and a 2.4GHz C2D and a 160GB HDD is only $809. I also upgraded Vista to Home Premium, added the Wireless-n card, and a bigger battery for that cost of $809. So faster processor and bigger hard drive and still $190 less then the Macbook. But wait…there's a coupon for 20% for Inspiron 13s and 15s if you know where to look. Grand total: $647.20. $999-647.20=$351.80 saved.
Now if you really want to play hardball here's the Inspiron 15. C2D 2.53Ghz, 4GB RAM, Vista Home Premium 64-bit, 15.6 WLED widescreen. 160GB HDD and Radeon HD4330 video card. Intel Wireless-n, and a 6-cell removable battery. $994 before coupon. So it is a bigger screen and much faster across the board and it STILL costs less then the $999 Macbook. After 20% off coupon we're at $795.20!! Savings of $203.80 and you get a larger viewing area and a MUCH faster system.
Oh and food for thought: 15 inch Macbook Pro starts at $1,999 and it's slower then this Inspiron 15.
This commercial does more harm to Microsoft than good in my opinion. She says she did find an Apple for under $1000, yet mysteriously they jump scenes over to Bestbuy without ever comparing that sub-$1000 Mac to the HP. Hmmmm. Last time I bought a computer, I took a notepad and compared the computers side by side. So let me ask Lauren: what were ALL of the specifications of that Mac? Did you actually demo it and compare it to the PC? You might want to include that in your little biased commercial. The public is no where near as stupid as you portray us to be Mister Ballmer.
(for the record, I own both a PC and a Mac, and I use them about equally)
Wow, she really is absolutely adorable. Although, I'm an apple man myself, so she'll have to be converted before we wed. Lol!
- James, Resveratrol Researcher
I find it interesting that she drives a compact car that has a starting MSRP of about $26,000 (as opposed to a Chevy Aveo, MSRP $12,000) yet when buying a computer the only thing that counts is price.
Smart shopping there, Lauren. Cool enough for a rag top, but not for a Mac?
OK, whatever.
I'm a Mac guy (owned a Lisa with 2 MB of Ram and a Fat Mac as soon as they came out) and she still looks way cool to me.
Look up the $699 Pavillion at Best Buy.
Junky.
2.5 hour battery life, at best.
Isn't that half the point of a laptop?
It's funny how Mac fans like to compare their computer to BMW. BMW makes its own parts and has unique engineering, which justifies premium you are paying for the car.
And Macs? Well, Apple doesn't make any of the parts but buys from suppliers, which also sell the same parts for PCs. Mac's architecture is almost exactly the same as PC's and Mac's OS borrows heavily from Linux.
So, if PC is a Chevy then Mac is also a Chevy but with BMW's sticker price.
This just in the 17" Macbook is still more $$$$ regardless if an actress or some turtleneck wearing, wire rimmed glasses wearing noob hawks it.
Hard to hide from the truth of that. Maybe the next commercial can be even more honest and show that many Mac users actually wind up running Fusion or Parrells so they can run the programs that *gasp* don't work on Mac or even better show the repair on a Macbook averages 7 business days.
Knock cheap pc's all you want – Windows will always command the huge market share as anyone can tell you the basic thing about consumers:
They are cheap.
RE: All men posting here arguing about computers…. Interesting. Get out much? Girls? Women? Hello?
Well said. Loserville!
@Jim, Winnipeg MB
Once again somebody from the iCult compares the Macbook Pro against something it's not supposed to compete with as the XPS is geared more towards gaming and workstation based use. But if you want to play that I can get a XPS M1730 with 2.6 C2D, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD for $2,159. Same stats and $600 cheaper. That is also without any special coupons from Dell right now which would knock off 10%-25%.
A XPS M1730 with a 2.8 C2D and 6GB RAM for $2,784. So it's faster, more RAM AND it's cheaper then the base Macbook Pro.
Oh and what cost for an anti-virus are you talking about? Avira, Avast, AVG all offer free anti-virus and Avira just happens to be the best on the market right now (av-comparitives.org).
And why buy photo editing software? Plenty of great free ones out there. Irfanview, GIMP, and others.
With the money she is making now – she will get a Mac – and an iPhone – and put the pc aside. BTW – @PED your work is good read
Feel free to head over to dell.com and price out a Dell XPS with the same features as a MacBook Pro. Don't forget to add in the virus software you will need for the PC plus Photoshop Elements (MacBook Pro includes iLife which includes iPhoto). Pick Vista Ultimate as OS X comes in only one version with all features included. Once you're done you'll see the PC is actually more money than the MacBook Pro. There is no "Apple Tax", Apple just does not sell cheap, stripped down computers
That's more personal detail than I cared to know. But does she really use a Mac, because she is way too cool for a PC!!
Does somebody remember one single number given in this ad, apart of the price ? So, who cares ? When you buy a Mac, it's just a Mac, you don't need to bother with all this technical stuff. If you have enough money you take a wide screen, if not it will be smaller. Just like a screwdriver, you know what it is meant to do, and you can use it right out of the box. This is why I have switched three years ago (after having begun with MS-DOS and Windows 2.11) and why I agree to pay a little prime for this comfort.
Overlooked in most comments is the novelty of a company commanding 91% market share defending itself against a company with 8%.
The long-held belief in advertising is that comparisons must be made carefully, so as not to elevate a competitor. This ad fails in the same way a Chevy ad would fail in comparing against a BMW.
This reminds me of all those crazy "Switch" ads Apple used to have.. with Ellen Feiss and all those other supposedly "real people". Real person or professional actor.. they still had an approved script from the advertising firm. Get over it, $2700 for a 17" laptop is a little ridiculous.
This just in! Apple Fanatics think commercials which depict real-life are actually real-life! Wow, if you're gullable enough to pay an extra $2000 for a 17" laptop you're gullable enough to believe anything!
It's a commercial. I figured she was an actress. I suppose that the fanboys think that those are real Macs and PCs who have come to life in the Apple commercials.
How bout the Commercial when she comes back 6 months later and has to buy another computer because that HP is crap… cant spell Piece with out PC… Quality over quantity folks..
According to the Now Casting bio page you cite, she is 5'2".
ex ped: Oops. I must have been thinking of my wife. Fixed. Thanks.
LOL
I love how the iCult is looking for a smoking gun and all they've done is proven that the commercial is just that, a commercial.
The commercial still tells the truth about the cost differences and the Apple Tax.
these ads are all stupid; both mac and pc ads… I bought a mac because I wanted to try a new OS after being used to windows all my life, not because it was cooler or better than a Windows-OS based PC.
Why choose when you can just have it all and utilize it according to your wants and needs?