Windows: Life without Walls

What was the point of the Seinfeld ads?

Can't wait to see what they've come up with. So far, I'm really liking MS's approach to humanize the Windows PC.

Here's to the crazy stuff. This marketing copy is paper thin. There is no organic reality behind it.

Sorry for the double posting. I thought my comment was more appropriate here: @Mike: "The amount of press material at Microsoft's press pass shows this is well coordinated." Also all the celebrities that they've signed up. The likes of Ina Freid may pat themselves on the back for having derailed the old campaign, but it does look like this has been planned for a while. Of course, facts are not something that many of these tech reporters and gossip sites like Engadget and Gizmodo really care about. Someone said the other day, "the plural of anecdotal is not data." Well, for many of these reporters, that does seem to be the case. I like the third image from the top. :-)

This is kinda saying whats already known ---> given that Apples marketshare is >5%.

Interesting - it seems that Microsoft will take the "high road" and not directly slam Apple (like Apple slams Vista), but simply say "this is what we're about". Bravo. The Seinfeld/Gates ads kept me saying...'uh...wha'?"

OT: Pogue gave the new Zunes the thumbs up: >>Clearly, what Microsoft spent the year working on was software. Generously enough, it’s giving a free upgrade to owners of earlier Zune models — all six of you. -- Yet for hard-core music lovers, it’s a gem. The Zune blows the iPod off the map in music discovery and downloading.<< Speaking of the FM tag and download he says: >>It’s addictive, awesome and completely natural. What better way to discover new performers and songs than listening to the radio? << http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/technology/personaltech/18pogue.html

Big ooops. Given that Apples marketshare is <5%.

Yep Sharkster, media will jump all over MS if they did negative ads. It's smart to portray the high road, and improve image. Somebody friggin write the ad company and tell them to show a friggin doctor using MS products to save lives and improve health!! You can also tell them that you know this handsome well built, seasoned doctor that will do it for free, or for two more Vista Ultimate licenses:)

So the Seinfeld ad was not, as Paul put it, "Obviously, ... just the first of many"? Good Lord. Ten Million to Seinfeld for those two lame ads. Unbelievable. And, mikegalos, I thought Microsoft paid very little attention to Apple? Looks like those Apple ads got under their skin after all. You know what they say...if something someone says gets under your skin and bothers you, they're either really right or really wrong. Why would Microsoft care what the "Mac Guy" says about "PC Guy"? None of it was a lie, so I guess it must be the truth that has them so upset. The only reason those ads have been such a success is because they have the unmistakable ring of truth. Or as Gruber put it today, "Directly responding to Apple’s campaign is weak. It’s playing Pepsi to Apple’s Coke, Burger King to Apple’s McDonald’s. It’s an explicit acknowledgment that Microsoft is the second-place brand." Yeah. "epic struggle" indeed.

For just half a million, I will disconnect all the driver cables for my Pro Tower, giving the gray screen, and do a commercial saying 'What again, back to Vista'. I'll do it, please tell them. OK, just for $250,000. Please Billy, hire me!!!!!

@Raaj. Don't know whether you are agreeing/or disagreeing. I have hardly ever mentioned Vista cause I don't use it. Organic reality is when the products grow out of a real human passion and spirit in a natural way and guides the company in everything it does. As Apple would say, it's in our DNA. In general organic refers to that which occurs and grows naturally. This kind of marketing says this is what we want people to think we are even when the culture within the company bears no relation to it. And. We are going to spend $300 million dollars until they damn well believe it. Come on, we've all been on corporate induction days where they describe the core values of the company only to later discover that when push comes to shove they are not quite so core after all.

"For just half a million, I will disconnect all the driver cables for my Pro Tower, giving the gray screen, and do a commercial saying 'What again, back to Vista'. I'll do it, please tell them. OK, just for $250,000. Please Billy, hire me!!!!!" I'd pay $10 to see losta do it. ;)

lotsa's response is a typical case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" that's also evident in the mainstream "tech pundits". The Seinfeld ads were were called weak because Apple had nothing to "fear". Where do they mention Apple in the ads, they asked. And now that Microsoft is unveiling a phase 2, which targets the image that Apple has tried to create of Windows, they call the campaign "weak" because Microsoft is responding to Apple. Doc, maybe you should have Mike or Paul put in a word for you. :-)

"The only reason those ads have been such a success is because they have the unmistakable ring of truth." Is that why political attack ads work? Wow! So, all of them must have an "unmistakeable ring of truth to them". Apple's ads work because the media is not taking them to task for lying or pointing out the hypocrisy in their ads.

Umm yeah those Jerry/Bill spots were mildly funny and but a complete disaster unless you wanted to sell conquistador shoes. Every media outlet I read, even non-technical ones said the same thing. Even if MS planned this all along (fire that person now) no one is going to believe them. This will go down as a failed ad campaign that MS pulled. That said the print adds look great, especially the pictures showing an object moving across multiple platforms. Now Apple could so easily play off these new adds with "and I am Mac" and go on to show all kinds of people using Macs in all walks of life, to include many famous people. The could also put out a print add showing something going across a iMac, Macbook and iPhone/iPod. Good luck MS. I would have held up a sign that said "Windows rules and Mac drools" for 1/10th of what they paid Jerry:)

@lotsa Nice try. Apple ads got under their skin? Yeah, often times when others flat out lie or horribly misrepresent you, it does get under your skin. It would be completely understandable in my opinion. And yes, Apple lied. Also, I must echo others on here that MS was criticized for not mentioning Apple at first, and now criticized for being weak and addressing "I'm a PC". Which is it? Can you anti-MS zealots make up your mind? I love this new campaign. Makes it seem like Apple has a little-d*ck complex and is lashing out to compensate.

@ Lindy - "Now Apple could so easily play off these new adds with "and I am Mac" and go on to show all kinds of people using Macs in all walks of life, to include many famous people. The could also put out a print add showing something going across a iMac, Macbook and iPhone/iPod." Oh great, I'd love to see an Apple "me too" campaign. That would be hilarious. Except that Apple's "platform" cannot match the breadth of the Windows platform.

@ kirrk - "Microsoft copying Apple again... with the "original" PC Guy (John Hodgman) making fun of this sad imitation." Is it copying when the intent is not to imitate, but to expose the idiocy of the original? @Master3 - "By using Apple's negative stereotype of a PC user as a bridge to show how silly it is, Apple fanatics now are once again flying off the deep end, and Im sure will spew righteous indignation the minute they get video of this ad." Well said, sir. Well said.

I like this angle of "i'm a PC, and I'm not a contentious cartoon of a businessman" Could be interesting. And, on the Doc's line, for a small fee, I'll happilly let them use images or video from one of our music or post production studios, which run an assortment of windows machines ;-)

This is pretty risky business. That ad copy is very nice and warm and fuzzy and all that. Great. That print ad is a beautiful bit of praise for the motivations of Microsoft's employees and a softball bit of brand work. But, I don't think consumers are going to buy into the notion of Windows as a human mission for them in their purchase. It's certainly not going to be effective for the audience of people with whom Apple's ads resonate. That is to say, people having problems with Windows. People looking for a change. That is who Apple has always been targeting and the fact that it has had such a large impact on Microsoft's brand perception (if the ads are in fact the cause) has been lucky collateral damage for their competitor in software. Still, if MS can succeed in getting people to feel warm and fuzzy, mission accomplished. That feeling won't survive the first call to tech support. Product is brand. Nothing can change that. This "I'm a PC" ad is both dangerous and clever. Dangerous because it is inherently an admission that Microsoft's brand is playing second fiddle to Apple's. Not the product marketshare, the brand. That's well known at this point and this ad will reinforce that. And though Apple's ads are funny and glib, they each carry a specific product message. Most are not fluffy brand bullsh1t. The clever thing about this campaign is the way it perverts the Apple ads and may reinforce the false idea that Apple is calling PC users dorky losers, instead of the PC itself. Many of you have made this incorrect claim as justification for your bizarre umbrage taking. But it is false. John Hodgeman's character represents he PC itself. A windows-based computer. The character is not a proxy for users. Period. But since this Microsoft ad is picking up that dork umbrage and running with it, it could magnify it. These people saying "I'm a PC" are really saying "I'm a PC user". The scooba diver isn't a metaphor for PC that gets used under water. He is saying that he uses a PC. So there is some subtly dishonest conflation here, but it is clever and could work to Microsoft's advantage. I can't wait to see the spot. It looks like softball, sappy montage stuff from these screen-grabs, but maybe it'll be great. I reserve final judgement.

I said on 9/12: "Some will dislike it no matter what, and MS knows that. What I find weird is that many say that they should have attacked Apple head on. Does anyone feel that would have been a good idea? Of course, they would have been blasted for doing that, probably by those same people that say they should be making attack ads." Dude, this is what I'm talking about. Plenty have asked for blood. Many of those same people will then chastise MS for taking blood if they were to go down that route. Having not seen the video yet, I'll hold my judgment until that time. However, it does not seem that they are mentioning Apple at all, but are more or less attacking the negative perceptions that have been personified by the Apple ads. That's fair game, because, they have stated repeatedly that a negative aura exists, and letting that aura fester does not improve the brand. And while I don't know the plans involved in the campaign, we have seen that the first two Seinfeld/Gates mini movies translate in to 5-10 different commercials. That's good to keep everyone (ie, not the tech press or geeks) occupied and hit them with the meat. I wouldn't be surprised to see Seinfeld and Gates to return, kind of as closure, saying something to the effect of, hey, we've connected to the people, with enough self deprecation to make it humorous and lighthearted.

@ LC21 "MS is preaching to the choir, the choir composed of MS devotees offended by the PC guy. The cash spent is insignificant, and if that crowd feels propped up and empowered, that's fine. But if you find the PC guy amusing on the Apple ads, and then see an imitation of same for MS, it brings you right back to the Apple message. I wouldn't feature an icon from a competitor in ads targeting that same competitor." Why not? The stereotype is offensive and dishonest. Exactly what is Apple going to do, run an add defending a stereotype? "Oh, oh, PC people really are dorks!" And who exactly do you think will respond to that other than Apple devotees? "That said, MS pumps out new products all the time, and does a lousy job of promoting them to the average user. This "ad campaign" feels more like a public service announcement trumpeting how virtuous and wonderful MS is." Ok. And? As long as they are positive , good for them. A good brand name creates a "halo effect" that sells that companies products. Remember? "Switch to Vista from OSX? Not in your life, and these ads, at least until now, provide no reason to consider doing so. Apple goes for the jugular. MS doesn't." Apple users amount to 7% of ALL computer users. This is after all of their ads that, need we remind you, dont actually give me a reason to like OSX. Who cares if they dont switch. Despite what they think, they are not more coveted than everyone else. That is just a myth that has been drilled into their head that they then project back at everyone else through their trademark smug arrogance.

@Lindy Marketing, eh? Well, in my opinion, these commercials had a dual purpose. One to get the regular old blind-leading-the-blind American a new look at the "straightlaced" Windows world. Second to have hidden connotations for us nerds commenting on the said commercial. Last time I checked, these are getting quite a bit of chatter on tech sites... Was it the best? Probably not. Are we still talking about it? Yep. =success.

lotsa It's hard to be condescending without being smug in the first place.