The whole PC versus Mac debate is really starting to get old. Sure, it was fun for while, and whether you’re a Mac person or a PC person, there was at least some twisted pleasure in poking your finger in the other guy’s eye; but frankly, it’s just been done to death, and it’s time to move on.

But who can forget the popular, “I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac” commercials? As entertaining as the series was, it was also an effective marketing tool for Apple, who managed to stereotype PC users as clueless and “uncool.” But now, Microsoft is fighting back with a vengeance. The company’s new ad series attempts to attack Apple where they are most vulnerable — on price.

The newest Microsoft anti-Mac commercials equate buying a (traditionally more expensive) Mac computer with being pretentious, ostentatious and wasteful. During these tough economic times, it could be a message that resonates loudly with many consumers. After all, the pricing difference between a new PC laptop and a comparable Mac laptop can be significant. And in these lean economic times, who can afford to blow an extra $300 to $800 when buying a new computer?

Obviously, Microsoft is hoping that this message gets through to consumers, and that an association is made between the higher-priced Mac computers and some of the ostentatious, over-the-top spending habits that got us into all this economic trouble to begin with. For once, Microsoft’s counter-attack could actually work; especially as it comes at a time when Wall Street traders are taking undeserved bonuses, all financed by the American taxpayer, of course.

The mood of the country is not exactly sympathetic to big spenders and high rollers these days, and obviously, Microsoft is looking to equate buying the “cooler” but more expensive Mac computer, with being frivolous, irresponsible, or downright unethical. But will it work?

One of the new commercials in particular, features an artsy looking woman (the type you might often see using a Mac) attempting to buy a new laptop computer for under $1000. Obviously, she strikes out where the Mac laptops are concerned, and ends up buying a PC instead. The tagline for the commercial has her saying, “I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person.”

The subtext is clear: the “cool” people are pretentious and wasteful, buying more expensive computers than necessary at a time when many Americans are struggling just to get by. It’s a cheap shot, to be sure. And no doubt, Apple will fight back with a new series of it’s own attack ads. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned about the PC versus Mac debate, it is a proverbial war without end.