microsoft

advertising / android / creative / iPhone / microsoft / observatory / samsung / strategy / windows phone — 22 Comments
1
May 13

Microsoft & Nokia groom their comedy act

Let’s give credit where credit is due. An ad associated with Microsoft is making people laugh.

Not that this hasn’t happened before. The difference is, this time viewers are laughing with Microsoft — not at it.

It’s remarkable, because for many years Microsoft has been the older guy at the party trying to prove he’s cool or funny. Mostly, it’s turned out awkward (the Gates/Seinfeld buddy series), lame (“I’m a PC”) and/or befuddling (Surface dancing ads).

Given this track record, I’m assuming that the creative spark in this ad originated with Nokia. (Although Nokia hasn’t exactly behaved like a creative powerhouse in the past either.) But the branding here is heavily Microsoft, which has obviously opened its wallet to put the concept of “Windows Phone” front and center. Continue reading →

advertising / creative / microsoft / observatory / steve jobs / tablets — 24 Comments
18
Feb 13

Microsoft’s uncool quest for cool

In the technology biz, “cool” is a very good thing to be. Ask Apple. Its past revolutions were fueled by the ever-present aura of cool.

But where exactly does cool come from? One thing is for certain: it doesn’t come from standing on a mountaintop and screaming “we’re cool!”

This is apparently one marketing lesson Microsoft has never learned. Because just a few days ago, it stood on a mountaintop (The Grammys broadcast) and screamed its coolness with the above Surface Pro commercial.

Let’s start with the obvious: it isn’t cool. If I had to categorize it, I’d say this spot falls somewhere between “retro” and “embarrassing.” Continue reading →

advertising / creative / iPad / microsoft / observatory / tablets / technology — 17 Comments
21
Dec 12

Microsoft goes for the gimmick

Back in the days of NeXT, Steve Jobs taught me a lesson in technology advertising. As you might expect, it wasn’t very complicated. It went like this:

“Be important.”

At that point in time, Steve had a particular need for importance. Sales of the NeXT Computer weren’t exactly on fire. The company was struggling to survive.

Steve wanted the world to believe that NeXT was a relevant force with a message that deserved notice. He had no interest in an ad that was cute or inconsequential. He wouldn’t pin his hopes on a marketing gimmick.

I can’t help but think of Steve’s direction when I see Microsoft’s advertising for its Surface tablet.

“Important” it is not. Continue reading →

advertising / microsoft / observatory / windows phone — 20 Comments
9
Nov 12

Winning their hearts with Steve Ballmer

Would you buy a phone if it were endorsed by Barack Obama? Lady Gaga? Ben Affleck?

How about Steve Ballmer?

I’m still having nightmares over this one. If you’d asked me weeks ago to guess who might be the “celebrity” voice in a Windows Phone ad, I can guarantee I’d never have guessed Ballmer.

That’s because there are blatantly obvious reasons not to go that route. Though I know people who have personal experience with Ballmer and swear that he’s a brilliant man, his public persona is what it is. And it isn’t all that appealing.

Putting a CEO out there like this isn’t something that’s done lightly. It normally involves a spirited debate between client and agency.

How likable is the guy? How believable is he? Will viewers identify with him? Will they even like him? Continue reading →

iPad / microsoft / observatory / tablets — 11 Comments
26
Jun 12

The joy of demo crashes

In a world where competition is often seen as combat, there’s nothing more delightful than watching the other guy squirm.

This video is a good example. Microsoft Windows president Steve Sinofsky’s mid-demo crash of the Surface tablet during the “big unveil” last week now has garnered 3 million views in a week. That’s over three times as many hits as the presentation itself — and over twice as many as Steve Jobs’ iPad 2 presentation has accumulated in over a year.

Good moments just don’t attract a crowd like good moments gone bad. But then Sinofsky added to the allure with his own little bit of performance art. Note how he does a little bunny-hop to the back of the stage to pick up a backup unit — almost as if no one would notice. Continue reading →

iPad / microsoft / observatory — 26 Comments
20
Jun 12

Microsoft delivers its opening argument for Surface

In the last 15 years, I don’t think I’ve ever given Microsoft more than 10 consecutive minutes of my life. Which is sad, because long ago I was actually a fan.

But yesterday, curious about the Surface tablet, I sat myself down and watched the entire video of Monday’s Surface unveiling in Hollywood. I found it fascinating on many levels.

First, I have to say that I was drawn to the video because two of the Surface’s features seemed very cool — the 16:9 format screen and keyboard built into the cover.

So, despite my mostly negative views of Microsoft, I started the video being somewhat impressed. Continue reading →

advertising / creative / microsoft / observatory — 5 Comments
4
Aug 11

Microsoft’s “PCs for Dummies” campaign

Oh, you devilish marketers at Microsoft. I see the game you play.

You zig when other companies zag. They try to win by making customers feel smarter — but you’re going to win by treating them like idiots. Clever!

Back in May, I put up an article poking fun at what was then the newest Microsoft ad. It featured a rather dim customer whose home is turned into a PC store, exposing her to today’s amazing choices in PCs. Her big discovery: “So there’s no more tower? Wow!”

It was such a shallow spot, I never really imagined it would blossom into a whole campaign. But since then, a number of these things have popped up, each featuring someone you’d never want to be, learning something you don’t need to learn: new PCs are better than old ones.

I’m stirred to action only because this new one seems to be getting a lot of air play of late.

In this ad, we meet Cheryl, apparently the victim of a break-in. A gang has built a PC store in her home without her permission. (Unlike the original  spot, there’s no spouse in on the surprise here — it’s just a home invasion.) Cheryl too is a bit on the dim side: “Where’s the tower for this?” she asks. Heh heh. That one never gets old.

Where I come from, agency people get into fights about these things. Some believe it’s important to do a smart ad vs. one that appeals to the lowest common denominator. They believe in building brands vs. going after the low-hanging fruit.

Unfortunately, when you aim for fruit that’s hanging this low, you look pretty silly to customers who are a heck of a lot smarter. Which is probably 98% of them.

To see more people you can’t relate to, view more ads in this campaign here and here.

microsoft / tablets / technology / windows phone 7 — 10 Comments
26
May 11

Ballmer: making the wrong kind of mistakes

Yes, you

I have a new theory about Steve Ballmer.

Maybe earlier in his life, or in a previous life, he did such wonderful things, he earned himself a guardian angel.

Really, how else does one explain how a man can remain employed through one planet-sized bungle to the next?

Many companies make mistakes in the pursuit of greatness. Apple makes some doozies.

But Microsoft, under Ballmer, consistently makes the kind of mistakes that can easily turn the company into the type of case study you don’t want to be: the “rise and fall” type.

I don’t pretend to understand the dynamics inside Microsoft. However, this is business. Very big business. No amount of loyalty, favoritism, appreciation or whatever can possibly rationalize the company’s poor showing since Ballmer assumed office.

How Microsoft, formerly the most valuable and profitable technology company on earth (“formerly,” thanks to Ballmer), with virtually limitless resources, could fall into its current state is almost impossible to comprehend.

After failing miserably with Vista, Ballmer has completely missed the two biggest technology revolutions in recent times: smartphones and tablets. And let’s not even talk about the $8.5 billion he just sunk into Skype.

The smartphone failure alone should have earned him his gold watch. It took Microsoft three years to come up with a viable alternative to iPhone. Even then, “viable” is probably being generous. Now, after Android, Microsoft must fight to be a distant third.

His public statements have become laughable, from predicting that iPhone can’t possibly succeed to passionately defending the PC as other technologies make it less relevant.

This week, Ballmer’s theater of the absurd redefined absurdity. First he blurted out that their newest OS, to be called Windows 8, will be released in 2012. Shortly thereafter, a Microsoft “spokesperson” issued a clarification: “It appears there was a misstatement.” Turns out, there is no timetable yet for the new OS, and there is no confirmation of its name.

Honestly, can you imagine this kind of screwup taking place at any other company?

It’s not like there isn’t a growing chorus of calls for Ballmer’s retirement. The latest came yesterday from the president of Greenlight Capital, David Einhorn. He describes the Microsoft CEO as being “stuck in the past.”

The good news for Microsoft is that Ballmer doesn’t have to be stuck in its present. It’s not all that hard to send a CEO packing.

Though I have no current fondness for Microsoft, I’ve often wondered how things might change if they actually had a visionary CEO. I imagine Microsoft’s stockholders have been wondering the same thing.

advertising / microsoft / observatory — 8 Comments
12
May 11

Microsoft perplexes again

Many years ago, I was actually a fan of Microsoft.

There, I’ve said it. I’ve been holding it in all this time. I feel much better now.

Yes, as a writer who loves technology, I used to anxiously await each new release of Microsoft Word for Mac. I enjoyed exploring the labyrinth of buttons and menus. The more, the merrier. I couldn’t give Microsoft my money fast enough.

But it gets even worse: I was a stockholder too. I rooted for them to succeed.

So it’s not like I slam Microsoft out of some genetic hatred. I do it because I find them absolutely perplexing. I like smart companies — and Microsoft, once a symbol of smarts, now so often plays the fool.

I wonder how a company with practically limitless resources can go MIA when revolutionary changes are afoot. I wonder how a CEO can keep his job when all those lapses take place under his watch. I also wonder what they’re thinking when they approve many of their ads — the latest example being the one above.

It appears to be an encore performance of their I’m a PC campaign, which was a timid comeback to Apple’s Mac vs. PC campaign. Where I come from, encores happen when enthusiastic audiences demand more. This campaign’s end was met more with relief than disappointment.

More perplexing, though, is the content of this ad. It’s hard to believe that creative directors, strategists and finally, the brain trust at Microsoft, would ever approve such a silly “let’s build a PC store in your house” idea.

The coup de grâce comes when our hero experiences her grand revelation: “So there is no tower anymore? Wow!”

Yikes. Who’s going to break it to her that we now have smartphones and microwave ovens? Way to make your customers look smart, Microsoft.

Then again, maybe this explains why Microsoft was so willing to overpay ($8.5 billion) for Skype this week. “We can actually make audio and video calls on our computers? Wow!”

advertising / creative / microsoft / observatory / windows phone 7 — 3 Comments
14
Apr 11

Windows 7 Channel: visit to a ghost town

Call me a renegade, but sometimes I like to sit down at the computer and visit places where few dare to venture.

Yesterday, I followed a link to the Windows 7 YouTube Channel. I didn’t see tumbleweeds blowing through or vultures gathering in the sky — but I didn’t see much evidence of life either.

The number of views on the videos there seemed almost absurdly small. Especially for a monolith owning 90% of the global PC category. 4,000 here, 20,000 there. Heck, a kid in my neighborhood got more than 300,000 views for his Bar Mitzvah video.

The lack of traffic here seemed puzzling until I started looking at the videos. Let’s just say they’re not exactly show-stoppers. Hard to imagine any of them going viral.

The ad that follows, You spoke, we listened, is for Windows 7 Pro. It’s been up since March 22nd, having gathered only 10,000 views. The “we did it because you asked for it” approach is as old as the hills, and entices viewers accordingly.

The biggest crowd-pleaser seems to be the next one, but it’s only drawn about 30,000 in a month. (Technically, it’s an Asus ad subsidized by Microsoft.) It seems to have generated about as much excitement as the idea of Windows 7 powering a tablet.

After that, things really go downhill. Behind the Design of Windows Phone 7 has attracted 3,800 views in two months.

Another Windows 7 Pro video, What do you want from your PC? — one of the most mediocre videos I’ve endured in some time — has 2,900 views in a full year. You’d think they’d do a little cleanup around here once in a while.

Dig deep enough in the dust and you can find a few videos with decent numbers. An ad unveiled at a Microsoft developers conference has about 172,000 views, but then it too has been mellowing for a year. (Side note: this ad depicts a series of people, all staring at their phones to do their thing — even though last year’s Windows 7 Phone campaign ridiculed people who were glued to their phones.)

How does this compare to the action over at the Apple Channel?

There’s a long list of videos well up in the hundreds of thousands, and one over a million. Only down at the bottom of their list, when they get into app-specific videos, do the numbers even begin to resemble Microsoft’s.

Of course, it isn’t exactly a shocker that videos about Windows 7 would generate less interest than those about Apple’s i-things. And that’s Microsoft’s problem.

Until they start making products that capture people’s imagination, or start making ads that do the same, the Window 7 Channel will remain a very lonely place.

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