Here’s that commercial we told you about earlier – the first in the series of ads for Microsoft’s $300 million campaign to help prop up Windows Vista. I just grabbed it off my TV while watching the Giants/Redskins game.
While this ad doesn’t really tell us anything about Microsoft or its products, it does tell us that someday computers will be edible. So there’s that. Gates is kinda funny, too.
Wild, it looks like it got pulled in less than 15 minutes after you guys posted it!
“…the first in the series of ads for Microsoft’s $300 ad campaign…” I hope they didn’t pay more than $300 for that stupid commercial.
Uh… what the hell was that? I laughed at Gates’ ID pic – which is his mug shot from way back – but… uh… THIS is supposed to sell Vista?
I want to know why gates gets big top points for buying discount shoes? I buy a lot of his expensive software and don’t even get a free tee shirts. Where is the justice?
Jack Kornfield, who was head of Tandy’s (Radio Shack) marketing was fond of saying, “If you run an entire ad as an inside joke without getting to the point of benefits of the products, you lose credibility.”
Funny ads are remembered for being funny, not for the products they are trying to get you to buy. Products with numeric designations have no identity (Toshiba BD25210) vs. products that have nameable identities, i.e. iPod, Walkman, Frigidaire, Nosy Wipes, etc.
They (Microsoft) have so lost this war, that they are being talked into a cute campaign by marketing charlatans. They don’t need cute and funny, they need facts. The most recent Vista / Mohave, you are a stupid user campaign is so misguided, that I was speechless when I saw how condescending it came off.
This is a company without a branding rudder – it’s a good thing that their market entrenchment prints their money no matter how incompetently their brand and product management falters.
Let’s see where they go with this before you jump on them.. This is a *campaign* not one commercial. If anything, it makes you want to hear more, it makes you wonder what are they talking about….
Yes, one ad like this would be pointless. A campaign that starts off with an idea of PC being “delicious”… well, we’ll see, I have no idea where they are going with it, but they’ll go somewhere.
It’s like a bad TV pilot episode where the next time you see it you change the channel. I don’t think your theory works in commercials
This is still a “classic Microsoft mistake” against Apple. The Apple’s ads are simple the best ever against Microsoft: Sharp, clever and so fun. And more important: Short. Apple does not need Steve Jobs selling a Mac.
Microsoft lose his “Tao”. With the 90% of the PC market the still have fear against the a creative and innovative company near 2 times smaller.
“The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste.”
- Steve Jobs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upzKj-1HaKw
Apparently, they do now. And that taste is, if embarrassingly horrible TV commercials are things to be believed, “Delicious.”
wow. dumb.
I am not anti-Microsoft or anything, but the thing that makes the Mac vs. PC ads effective and entertaining is their simplicity. When I heard about Seinfeld being involved with promoting Microsoft I was accepting something that could counter the Mac ads…well, it was way too long, had no purpose and was a little humorous. I am disappointed, I want something really smart and witty, not something that I am supposed to enjoy and laugh at just because Jerry Seinfeld is in it.
Wow! This site sure gets a bunch of M$ haters.
This ad reminds me of Seinfeld humor and makes me wonder if BillG is going to be the George Costanza in this series. Im looking forward to the humor.
Dont really care about whether or not the ads dis A$ or G$. I will laugh at A$ ads regardless – as I will if these ads are funny.
Who cares if it was effective as a marketing tool. Shoes in the shower! Come on!
Microsoft is not competing with Apple they are competing against Microsoft. Needless to say Microsoft has 1000’s of revenue streams and vista is only ONE. Microsoft is very stale in many areas mainly in the consumer arena with OS, online service, music, and Zune. They are doing well in the enterprise, small business and SOHO. True that Apple is kicking ass with the justin long ads (even though a MAC is a PC- personal computer and a windows machine is a PC too) they are only effective currently for the younger folks. BUT younger folks grow up and usually like to stick with what they know and keep buying for many years to come. Thus Microsoft has to change its consumer image for ALL of its services quickly in order to keep current consumer customers.
I use Vista and OSX both are superior operating systems but due to the fact that Microsoft OS’s have to run on so many different hardware configurations there will be problems due to crappy hardware and bad drivers. This is not exactly Microsoft’s fault but it should be theirs to clean up EX: Is there any reason to still have drivers for 10 year old hardware, upgrade it for goodness sake.
I think it’s cute. The ad is clearly targeted at middle America — the 90% of the market that don’t care about the blow-by-blow of MSFT vs. Apple.
They’re using Gates as a metaphor:
- Loyal to quality at low prices
- Fun and “human” future (i.e. the edible cake)
I’m tired of all of the people who claim that The Mojave Experiment is insulting the intelligence of consumers.
Seems like you’d have to be pretty damn insecure and close-minded to be offended at even the mere suggestion that your perceptions MIGHT change if you had different information.
If anything, Apple’s commercials are the ones that insult people…you’re so stupid we’ll “keep it simple” for you. Since you can’t understand something as complex as the differences between operating systems, we’ll dumb it down into small little packaged sound bites wrapped in cutesy jokes and a kindergarten jingle.
Whatever.
As for as the Microsoft commercial is concerned…eh. It’s not bad, it’s not great…but it’s supposed to be part of a long-term campaign about Windows, not a Vista-specific or a PC-vs-Mac commercial…so let’s hope this is building up to something better.
This is obscene! There are poor starving creatives with heaps of talent out there working off small budgets in dimly lit, under air conditioned studios and they’re producing innovative and engaging ads whilst some leather-clad, diamond-encrusted monkey has spanked a massive wad of cash producing this steaming turd – must have cost an absolute fortune!
Wow….Epic fail… :/
i have still have high hopes for jerry. even if vista fails, there’s always MOJAVE!
I enjoyed reading your blog, and I agree with everything you say…
what an awful commercial, just goes to show money can’t buy you taste!
hey Sheridan,
it’s not that obscene if you consider that the video editor was most likely working on a Mac running Mac OSX & Final Cut Studio–an industry where Apple has about 98% of the market, then the ad & possibly the rest of this campaign becomes even funnier–LOL
Microsoft Vista, for middle-aged, pear-shaped white male losers like you.
Ahem! No one?! Okay…
[Best Jerry Voice] “Ya ever notice those blue screens? You know the ones I’m talkin about, Bill. There ya are in the middle of
jackin’ offworking…and all of a sudden…poof, blue screen. Am I somewhere in the clouds?…Maybe on a ship in middle of the ocean?…Did someone just shoot a smurf on my pc? I mean really, what, is the deal with the blue screens!…I think its amusing. Not exactly viral material, but there it is. I saw it during the game and it sucked me right in. Of course, being 50, I actually know who those two guys are; my 13 year old Mac-using daughter did not. But anyway. It lightens MS’s image. Not bad. I think the campaign will be effective to that degree. I don’t think they made the ad to win the Best Ad Contest, or to necessarily “compete” with the Apple campaign. And look: we’re talking about it.
The thing about $300 million projects is that “there’s always more to come!” While this first intro to the campaign’s essence was not exactly amazing, the important thing is that, in the coming months, you will not be able miss the brand. It’s amazing what deep penetration can do…Ahem.
What was that?! What were they trying to tell me about anything? I do not care if this is a campaign, if the first commercial in it does not make any sense. I think it will be proven to be a huge waste of money when everything is said and done.
This was ugly and painful to watch…man what horrible ad.
That’s the brilliance of it!!! A commercial about NOTHING. Perfect way to gain brand awareness…who says they need to be blatant?
I think that the brand awareness that the commercial is presenting is BILL GATES & JERRY SEINFELD as celebrities not Vista.
Unbelievably awful. Seemed like it was 20 hours long.
Yes, I’m looking forward to the humor too. Maybe the next ad will have some.
hmm. seems the objective is to humanize gates the way apple has personified itself with the mac guy. so far, gates is quirky enough to buy discount shoes and likable enough to befriend jerry seinfeld. i’m reserving judgment till we see the next installment…
Funny commercial. However, VISTA is still a POS. Also, the beta of IE8 just screwed up my machine, so I’ve backed it out and am back to IE7.
duhhh…I don’t know about everybody else but the aspect was way off in the commercial to me? I don’t necessarily mean the dimensions of the actual video! lol!
Parodying Apple Products
JS – Is this your feet?,
BG – No
JS – Then, what is it?
BG – Leather
JS – And, inside of it?
BG – Nothing.
Just a nice wrap and nothing inside?. If this is your counter attack to Apple, is wrong. Apple computers are a little bit more expensive than the consumer products, but they are good relationship of utility – price (think how many hours have you loosing of productivity for interruptions in your work doing in MS OSs). OS X is a winner, I have more than 15 years working with computers, in the office I have a PC with XP, and tree Macs, which never have viruses, applications or “frozen” problems.
With MS OSs there is a lot of trouble with all the applications needed to keep the machine “working right” (AV, Anti Spyware, Firewalls, Browser protections, … etc.. you name it), and all that complexity is above the average windows users.
OSX in the other hand, is not intended to retards, but is more integrated, with sand boxing applications, meaning that is one app crashes it will be the only that fails, the same scenario in MS OSs on the other hand could froze your machine or send you a blue screen of death.
The hidden messages in the commercial are not intended for the common people. Let´s see how this evolve.
If Bill Gates’ goal with this initial ad was to spark interest and stimulate conversation, I’d say he succeeded in spectacular style. Indeed, I’d compare it to Hurricane Katrina.
Earth to Bill Gates: Get help.
This commercial would have been relevant in, like, 1997.
I’ve been saying for months now that we’ll know Microsoft is in trouble when they start airing commercials. Microsoft hasn’t felt threatened by anyone in a long time, and had no deed to air commercials. When Apple found out about this ad campaign, they probably had a huge celebration.
Combogalis,
Microsoft has been airing commercials for a better part of this decade. Don’t you remember the, “You’ve got Microsoft Office. Time to Celebrate” campaign? The had running in 2004.
Come on. It’s classic Seinfeld humor. It’s an ad about really … nothing. Isn’t that what his show used to be about: nothing? Thought it was hilarious.
From a PC and MAC user … whatever works
That’s all well and good Marie, but don’t you think they could have picked a pop culture phenomenon more relevant to this decade? This is the campaign they should have run in ‘98.
I loved it. Of course, I have an entire blog dedicated to shoe-related humor and trivia.
I somewhere in the clouds?…Maybe on a ship in middle of the ocean?…Did someone just shoot a smurf on my pc? I mean really, what, is the deal with the blue screens. They (Microsoft) have so lost this war, that they are being talked into a cute campaign by marketing charlatans. They don’t need cute and funny, they need facts. The most recent Vista / Mohave, you are a stupid user campaign is so misguided, that I was speechless when I saw how condescending it came off.
I hope my PC is chocolate, or some kind of marshmallow flavour…that would be awesome.