Actually, I just figured it out…

…a couple of different people have made a point and I have finally determined what’s wrong with that ad:
It’s not selling anything Microsoft.
It’s selling an HP (and a pretty crap-ass HP at that apparently). No mention of Vista, or WIndows 7, or even XP. Sure, it runs Windows, but it could just as easily run Linux, and with a little scuffling, maybe even Mac OS X (though I doubt anyone involved with the purchase could hack that).
Thing is, though, so will a Mac run Windows, right on the metal – and I believe a boxed copy of Windows makes more money for Microsoft than the licensing fee for a single OEM copy on a new machine.
I think the point from the last post is the same. Microsoft doesn’t have anything that goes along with the current hotness in personal computing – more to the point, nothing in the current hotness depends on Microsoft. And while their market share still dwarfs that of other OS makers (Apple or otherwise), their mindshare is shot to hell.
And oh yes, I am well aware that the redhead is actually an actress. So what? Did you actually think John Hodgman was a personal computer? Grow up.