There’s a new Microsoft Store in the new wing of Scottsdale Fashion Square. In the Republic this morning, there’s an ad that perfectly captures the company’s slightly askew approach to marketing.

It’s a big, noticeable ad-full page, all in blue. In big letters, we read:

Bring us your PC
and we’ll upgrade it
to Windows 7

Now, since the letters were so big, I perhaps could have been excused for thinking that there was a deal involved. I didn’t expect Windows 7 for free or anything. But we here at PHXated have multiple operating systems at our disposal beside the Macbook Pro that is our chief computer, and we considered, briefly, that if we were going to have to go down to check out the store.

Anyway, go farther down the page and we saw the bad news. Windows 7 is advertised for $119óand the installation is advertised at $50.

$119 is the basic price for Windows 7, so no discount there. And the store wants to charge you $50 for sticking a DVD in and following a few prompts.

In other words, the big letters in the ad should have read…