Full FeedMicrosoft’s new commercial; epic…fail
Microsoft gave Seinfeld the boot and has released two new commercials: “I’m a PC: Pride” and “I’m a PC: Not Alone.” In just these first two commercials, Microsoft still isn’t talking about the benefits of Vista? Instead, after viewing the commercial, I now realize anyone can own a Microsoft computer, regardless of your race, gender, profession, political views, or country. Like we didn’t know that before? Why is Microsoft not telling us why we need Vista?
You would think with the beating Apple has given Microsoft in its Mac vs PC commercials that when Microsoft, the sleeping giant, finally roused itself to take swipe at Apple, it would actually come out swinging. At least, that is what many thought when Microsoft announced that it was sinking a cool $300 million on commercials. Thus far, we haven’t seen it.
In the first two ads we find Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates meeting up in Shoe Circus, and they are talking about shoes. What the ...? The next commercial showed Seinfeld and Gates connecting with “regular folks” by setting up residence (although temporarily) in a family home. They quickly became involved with the family politics (got to connect with regular folk, remember), but we still had no clue about the benefits of Microsoft Vista.
It would have been great if Microsoft’s commercials showed us how the PC users used Vista to enhance their work. We didn’t see that. Or, how about telling us what outstanding features Microsoft Vista offers that clearly outperform Apple? We didn’t see it in this commercial (number three), nor in number four (I’m a PC: Not Alone), but I guess we still have time to see what Microsoft has to say, right? Microsoft still has money to burn, so hopefully it will finally get around to telling us why we should own a PC. Then again, perhaps Microsoft doesn’t think they have to try as hard. When it comes to computers, Microsoft is still king of the hill.
I’m a Mac and a PC and soon to be a Linux. What did you think of Microsoft’s commercial? Are they effective? Let us know in the comment section.
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I guess the ads show that misery loves company. Doesn’t try to make the claim that Windows is a better computing experience, because it’s not.
on September 19, 2008 at 01:25 PM - LINKYou completely… missed the point.
on September 19, 2008 at 03:56 PM - LINKJeff,
I was expecting a lot more from Microsoft than what I’ve been seeing in the commercials.
Adam,
on September 19, 2008 at 04:21 PM - LINKI get that the ads are about unfair stereotypes. Did we really need a commercial to let us know that? The majority of my friends/acquaintances are Windows user. They are all different. I don’t need a commercial to tell me that. :-) I would have liked to see Microsoft write about the benefits of Windows Vista, but we aren’t seeing that (at least not yet.)
I don’t think the Mac ads were stereotyping users to begin with, but the systems themselves. The commercials don’t start, “Hi, I’m a Mac user.” “And I’m a PC user.” They start, “Hi, I’m a Mac.” “And I’m a PC.” The actors refer to themselves as as if they’re the systems, not people who use the systems. Both are likable in their own way, and they actually get along quite well. Nothing in the commercials is mean spirited.
Apple’s point is that the Mac is all about ease of use and no errors. PCs, on the other hand, are clunkier, and spend more time working through (or, more accurately, around) problems. The Mac just works. That’s the point of Apple’s commercials, not that all Mac users are casual and hip while all PC users are dorky and confused. I mean, if Apple wants to get PC users to switch, are they going to do it by insulting PC users? That interpretation just doesn’t make any sense.
So, I think Microsoft missed the point with their retaliatory ads.
on September 19, 2008 at 04:34 PM - LINKThey are not retaliating. This is the point that everyone misses.
This is not a defense campaign, it is one of brand repositioning. Explained in the link.
http://adamfishercox.com/blog/2008/09/19/microsofts-300-million-message/
on September 19, 2008 at 04:39 PM - LINKBut it’s brand repositioning based on Apple’s I’m a Mac campaign. How can that not help but be seen as retaliating? I mean, they open up the commercial with the claim that Apple has been stereotyping them.
on September 19, 2008 at 05:26 PM - LINKIt’s not retaliation unless they attack back. They haven’t mentioned Apple once. Get A Mac is losing it’s edge… I hope Apple can come up with something innovative, because the Get A Mac ads are predictable and these ads are something new.
on September 19, 2008 at 05:48 PM - LINKOkay, fair enough. It’s not a retaliation, it’s merely a reaction to Apple’s campaign. I think Microsoft would’ve been better off to drop the “stereotype” bit with the fake Hodgman at the beginning, though. Plus, the whole thing feels a bit to me like Apple’s earlier “Think Different” campaign. Not so much “think” different, but “we’re all different.”
on September 19, 2008 at 05:59 PM - LINKAdam,
I believe it would have been much better for MIcrosoft to focus on the problems surrounding Vista first. After the issues had been resolved then come out with a commercial admitting this, following it up with releasing commercials that talked about the benefits of the improved Vista.
Driver and software compatibility problems still seem to be an issue I use Windows computers along with my Mac computers so yes I’ve experienced some problems. Several companies who use Windows computers have talked about their issues also. Obviously, this is something that isn’t going away so it needs to be resolved.
Creating feel good commercials are great but I think they are only effective when the product is working correctly. The commercials I don’t believe will make a person want to purchase the OS because the problems are still there. Microsoft has fixed issues before so I it is capable of correcting the issues that has plagued Vista. I just want to see them actually do it.
Yes I am tired of Apple’s Get A Mac ads too. I do think they were effective but I would like to see Apple use a different approach.
@Kirk,
on September 20, 2008 at 04:48 AM - LINKThe last two commercials did remind me of Apple’s “Think Different” ad campaign. I remember Seinfeld made an appearance in that one.
I think the new Microsoft ads are spectacularly stupid. The abortive Gates-Seinfeld campaign was just like Seinfeld’s old show - it was about nothing. It made no sense. How was this supposed to “sell” Microsoft? The “this is Vista” ads don’t impress anyone who’s actually used Vista. But then, I also despise Apple’s “I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” ads, which I think are smug and obnoxious. I happen to own both a PC and a MacBook, but not on account of any advertising - I have them because I’m a Web designer and I have to develop for both platforms.
on September 20, 2008 at 10:46 AM - LINKFor those people that claim that Microsoft needs to come out and talk about why Vista is worth buying, here’s a response:
- They already did - in the Mojave Experiment commercials. Check out the site here: http://www.mojaveexperiment.com/?fbid=9mY5szNom-1 Go install SilverLight first - the picture cluster is freakin’ awesome.
For those people that say that Vista is bad, here’s a response:
- Yes, Vista did have a lot of problems when it was introduced and for the last year or so. However, Microsoft has publicly apologized for it and they have talked about why there were problems. Since then, they released Service Pack 1 a couple months ago which fixed 99% of the problems. The majority of crashes they had were due to other companies creating bad drivers or bad programs. The reason why this doesn’t happen on Apple computers is because Apple controls what types of computers the Mac operating system runs on. They control the hardware so they know exactly what few driveres/software will go on they system (this is why Apple wouldn’t let Dell sell the Mac operating system on their systems). Microsoft and other companies have to design their software to work with millions of different combinations of hardware/software. It is a daunting task.
- Anyways, those companies that released the early drivers/software for Vista have finally got their acts together and released stable ones that work great. The Service Pack also fixed the performance issues that Vista was having.
-Lastly, a lot of computer manufacturers were installing “bloatware” on systems - this is like Dell installing Yahoo toolbar, google desktop search, dell updates software and more on a brand new computers. So, when you turn your PC on for the first time, all these extra programs bog your system down. Computer manufacturers do this because they are paid by the software developers. Microsoft has talked with the computer manufacturers asking them to stop doing this.
In response to the Ads themselves:
- The first set of ads, featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld did what they were supposed to do - they got your attention and made you interested in what Microsoft was doing. Gates and Seinfeld are two of the most popular people in the world - you put them into a commercial together in some bizarre situation which is out of character for them - well, that’s just funny. It was odd, but very interesting.
- As for the new “I’m a PC” ads - whether Apple intended to do so or not, they did in fact stereotype users of PCs as boring business men while Mac users are hip, young, and cool. Microsoft’s new ads are helping to repair an image of PC users. They are trying to build a relationship with their customers. This is one of the classic marketing techniques of Holistic Marketing.
Lastly, Windows 7:
- For those that are not aware, Microsoft is trying to push out their new version of Windows, code-named Windows 7, at the end of 2009, or 2010 at the latest. Earlier, they said too much time passed between Windows XP and Vista, and they don’t want that to happen ever again.
A little about me so you can see where I’m coming from:
I’m a computer network technician with many, many years of experience. I am currently in charge of 500 Dell computers and about 30 iMacs. I can tell you right now, that both types of computers have problems. I have crashed many Macs and had them lock up on me - they are not perfect. I keep up to date on the latest technologies. I’ve built my own home computer and triple-booted it with Windows XP, Vista, and Ubuntu Linux. I have a laptop with Windows Vista. I have never had Vista crash on me. In fact, I think Vista is pretty good - except, I don’t like how they organized the menus. I do like Apple hardware - I think it looks pretty slick - but I’m disappointed that all the USB ports for an iMac are on the back and there’s only 3 ports. I think the iPhone is a pretty sweet phone. Although I like the Apple hardware, I’m not a fan of the software - as a “power user” I find the Mac operating system to be clunky and too restricting. I would say that both operating systems have their flaws and benefits. You know the whole 4 desktop thing that Macs do? Linux did that like 8 years ago.
Okay, that’s it.
on September 24, 2008 at 06:12 AM - LINKIt would have been good if Microsoft showed the benefits of Windows Vista for productivity?
on July 14, 2009 at 03:06 AM - LINK...You could ask your self the same thing watching every Apple ‘attack’ ad. Seriously, if Apple computers were ‘that’ good - everyone would be using them like PC’s. What just about everyone is using.