Posts Tagged: windows phone 7

advertising / microsoft / observatory / windows phone 7 — 6 Comments
19
Nov 10

The Microsoft festival of comedy

The comedy writers at Microsoft have really been working overtime this week. There is much to be delighted with.

First, we have Microsoft’s entry into the zombie genre with the Return of the Kins. Yes, the very same Microsoft phones that died before the packaging was even dry, just 60 days after launch. The Kin One and Kin Two phones are back, courtesy of Verizon. They have curious new names (Kin One-m and Kin Two-m), fewer capabilities and they’re now billed as feature phones instead of smartphones. That oughtta work.

Laugh #2 comes from the video above. To be honest, I did not believe this was real when I first saw it. Not even Microsoft could be this inept. But lo and behold, there it is proudly playing on their official YouTube page.

Obviously this spot isn’t meant for broadcast — but that doesn’t make it any less of a criminal act. It’s one of those ads that leaves you aghast that so many people in the approval chain could possibly give it the thumbs-up. Not just because it has all the class of a Pee Wee Herman production, but because its strategy is so misguided.

The big advantage of Windows laptops? They can play Blu-ray discs. Like (a) you’ll really appreciate Blu-ray on 15-inch screen, and (b) you’d rather carry discs around than just download high-def movies onto your Mac.

More stunning than Microsoft’s strategy are some of the comments I’ve seen where this ad is posted. Some commenters believe Microsoft is “really fighting back now” after Apple beat them up for several years with the Mac vs. PC campaign. Must be a fine line between fighting back and total surrender.

Add to this the fact that Microsoft’s own chief XBox man in the U.K. recently said “actually Blu-ray is going to be passed by as a format.” Hopefully word will get to Microsoft’s marketing department soon.

The last laugh comes from Bellevue, WA, where a mega-Microsoft Store opened to a large and raucous crowd, complete with an appearance by Steve Ballmer. Not wanting to mess with success, Microsoft used its well-proven method of manufacturing large and raucous crowds — they offered free Miley Cyrus concert tickets. Guess those Blu-ray-enabled laptops weren’t quite big enough a draw.

See the festive opening video here. And don’t miss the 2:30 mark where Steve Ballmer actually does his famous tongue-sticking-out act as he welcomes an eager customer. Scary!

Anyway, good work Microsoft. If the whole technology thing doesn’t work out, at least you have a future in entertainment.

advertising / creative / microsoft / observatory / windows phone 7 — 11 Comments
14
Oct 10

Microsoft tries the “Lemmings” approach

And now, Windows Phone ad #2.

This one will be more polarizing than the Windows Phone launch ad, because it doesn’t just have some fun with current smartphone users — it judges them.

That first spot poked fun in a kind-hearted way. It said, “Hey, ya gotta laugh at yourselves.” In this follow-up spot, our happy host turns into Mr. Hyde, saying, “You’re all a bunch of zombies.”

This isn’t too far off from Apple’s famously misguided moment, when they ran a commercial that said, “You’re all a bunch of lemmings.” Coming just one year after its historic 1984 commercial, Lemmings bombed horribly because it insulted the very people Apple was trying to impress.

This new Windows Phone ad portrays iPhone and Android users as lost souls living in a twilight world, enslaved by their phones. Oblivious to the consequences of their addiction. Connected to the world yet disconnected from each other.

A first-time smartphone buyer might be spurred to action by this approach. Current iPhone and Android users, not so much. The message Microsoft sends to them is, in effect, “You’re doing it wrong” — which is either insulting or naive.

There’s no mystery why people are so engaged/mesmerized by their phones. It’s because they’re enjoying the hell out of them. They feel no need to be “saved,” especially by a phone that has only a wisp of an app library.

“Getting in and out” quickly, as Microsoft suggests, is not the point of having a smartphone. Accessing rich content is. And every smartphone user already has the ability to get to their content quickly and efficiently.

Okay. Now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest, how schizo would I appear if I said I really liked this spot? Well, I do. I love it purely as a creative effort, removed from its strategy. The one-take staging, the slo-mo mood, the Donovan soundtrack — it’s hypnotizing and delivers its message well, ill-conceived as that message might be.

This, of course, is the problem. Creative alone won’t make the world beat a path to Microsoft’s door. A compelling strategy would come in handy.

Remember, Lemmings was a creative gem in its day — but it generated more hostility than love.

microsoft / observatory / windows phone 7 — 6 Comments
12
Oct 10

Windows Phone 7 has its day

Can Windows Phone 7 really carve out a piece of the smartphone market? Can it save Ballmer’s job? Unknown. But it has given me a couple days’ worth of blog fodder, and that’s the important thing.

Some random thoughts from yesterday’s WP7 launch event:

Getting the press. The WP7 launch coverage was surprisingly low-key. By evening, the front pages of CNN, NY Times and MSNBC had no top-level story about Ballmer’s event. A bit of a contrast from the front-page headlines and photos Apple gets for its launches.

A different kind of phone. Those are the words with which Ballmer began his presentation of WP7. Lame. Google “a different kind of” and you get over 20,000,000 results. Maybe the phrase is more unique on Bing.

Was the writer on vacation? Following those opening words came something far more horrifying. The WP7 overview: Always delightful … wonderfully mine. Following the launch, perhaps they can sell the line to Chanel No. 5.

Missing the memo. Apparently Microsoft didn’t notice that Apple was slammed for three years over iPhone’s lack of copy-and-paste. With all of its software skills, Microsoft couldn’t get copy-and-paste into its 1.0 product? Coming “some time in 2011.” Stunning.

Multitasking. Gee, look at that. No multitasking either. When “pressed” by Engadget, WP7 head Joe Belfiore wouldn’t say when multitasking was coming. Which leads one to believe it’s even farther off than cut-and-paste.

Flash. Et tu, Microsoft? No Flash in WP7. Not even Silverlight. Add that to the list of future enhancements. I’m not hearing a lot of complaining about this. In fact, you really have to search the reviews to find any mention of the lack of Flash. Bias!

Verizon MIA. Welcome to the good ship AT&T, Microsoft, where you will find Apple as your fellow passenger. True, there’s a plan to expand to multiple carriers by next year, but early adopters face the same sad choice that iPhone users face: AT&T or AT&T.

The Microsoft App Store. Oops, there isn’t one. But there will be. Current status: “working with developers.” The idea of being one of the first on a new platform will appeal to some developers. Most, however, are already deciding between two big, established money-makers — iPhone and Android — or spreading out their resources to support two platforms. Adding a third to the mix? That’s one very large hump to get over.

The TV spot. The final version of the ad appeared on launch day. Definitely more polished than the one I commented on last week. View the finished spot here. Again, I congratulate the creatives on a nicely done commercial. Fun to watch. Much better ending now. Strategically, however, I stand by my initial reaction. People are absorbed in their smartphones because they can use them for a zillion different things, and go as deep as they wish to go. That’s easy to laugh at, but it’s not a negative. Good news for WP7 users: with the lack of any real app library, you’ll be able to get in and out of a WP7 phone real fast.

The message. The commercial now ends with the line, “Designed to get you in … and out … and back to life.” (Note to editing team: the word “designed” is totally lost in the music.) This is a valid message to those who don’t already own an iPhone or Android phone. They’re the ones who might laugh heartily at those who are so absorbed by their phones. It’s a silly message to those who already own an iPhone or Android. The ability to go as deep as they wish is the reason they love their phones, not the reason they care to ditch them.

Top secret. In an interview, one of the Microsoft people mentioned that versions of the commercial had leaked out on YouTube prior to launch. Whether you do the editing at an editing house or in an on-premises edit room, it’s hard to imagine a near-finished version of your spot “leaking out.” If it did, you’d have a really good idea of who did the leaking. In the Apple world, you’d be executed for this offense. Major scandal. In Windows-land, it doesn’t seem to be an issue. (At least publicly.) No commentary, just an observation.

WP7 by the numbers. According to Engadget, ”By specs alone, WP7 is slightly behind the edge that Android and Apple’s offerings are riding.” One would think that the company joining the revolution-in-progress would arrive with features that at least achieve parity with those driving the revolution.

Quote of the day. Joe Belfiore said in an interview with Wired: “The success of the iPhone certainly had an impact on the industry and an impact on us. And we said there were a lot of things we could do to deliver a solution that’s different from the iPhone but have some of its benefits.” Only some? Guess it’s a good idea to set reasonable goals…

Final take: Windows Phone 7 is a product that isn’t quite ready to do battle with iPhone and Android. It’s missing too many key features. It can’t make up for those features with an interface that “gets you in and out” faster. Personal opinion: Microsoft launched WP7 because they couldn’t afford not to. It had to be available for the holiday season or face certain death. With a $500 million marketing campaign and lots of partners, it gets an upgrade to uncertain death. We’ll be watching!

advertising / microsoft / observatory / windows phone 7 — 1 Comment
7
Oct 10

Microsoft suffers relapse of silliness

I have to admit, Microsoft’s latest marketing ploy has legs. Lots of ’em.

Unfortunately, they’re the kind of legs that leave you more aghast than enticed.

On the Windows Phone home page, your favorite app icons have been transformed into mini-Rockettes to demonstrate “your Windows stuff can go where you go.”

Like the alcoholic who can’t seem to stay on the wagon, Microsoft again succumbs to that irresistible urge to be silly. These repeated lapses indicate a belief that you need a “shtick” to win over an audience. Not exactly the most sophisticated take on advertising.

Only Microsoft would feel it necessary to jazz up Office with Clippy

It’s hard to say where this nonsense started, but it comes and goes throughout Microsoft’s history. Office’s Clippy character was one widely-maligned embarrassment. Another was the childish mini-Mac character who served time as the help icon in Word for Macintosh. Then came those wacky dinosaur-headed office workers. And in real life, the more recent smartphone funeral parade.

With a trail of embarrassments spanning many years and multiple agencies, one can only conclude it’s something in the water at Microsoft.

Steve Jobs once famously said: “The problem with Microsoft is, they just have no taste … I don’t mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way.” We can safely say there’s little doubt of that anymore.

Though Steve was talking about products, taste is every bit as important in marketing. You can’t produce efforts like Microsoft’s unless good taste is muzzled or nonexistent.

Another laugh riot from the marketing minds of Microsoft

Clearly Steve Ballmer doesn’t have a passion for, or understanding of, great marketing. That’s okay. There are plenty of CEOs in the same boat, and there’s a simple solution for his problem. He must (a) accept what he lacks personally, (b) hire somebody who’s got it, and (c) give him/her full authority to make decisions. It’s the authority part that’s usually the deal-killer.

Microsoft has enough problems trying to catch up to a revolution that left them in the dust three years ago. The last thing they need right now is a marketing group with a special talent for shooting itself in the foot.

advertising / android / creative / iPhone / microsoft / observatory / windows phone 7 — 7 Comments
5
Oct 10

Windows Phone 7: super or superficial?

They’re bubbling with excitement in Redmond, as Microsoft prepares to release Windows Phone 7 into the wild.

Happily, we can start our own celebration early — as two commercials have already popped up on YouTube. One of which I’ve posted here.

Just in case it gets yanked (which seems to have happened to similar links already), here’s your executive summary:

In a series of clips, we see a variety of people so consumed by their phones that they are oblivious to the world around them — often with amusingly tragic results. It all builds to the ending, when Mr. Voiceover says:

It’s time for a phone … to save us from our phone. New Windows Phone. The first phone designed to bring you the stuff you need — and get you back to what matters.

What matters, of course, is the traditional family dinner we see at the end.

As always, it’s important to note that there are two ways one can react to commercials — as an innocent member of the mass market, or as the technology-obsessed types we are.

For the innocents — it’s a pretty good spot. Nicely produced. Fun soundtrack. The better commercials somehow capture a human truth, and this one does. We can all nod our heads as we see people glued to their phones. So the line It’s time for a phone to save us from our phone will resonate. It’s a nice piece of writing.

Like I said, that’s for the innocents.

For those who look one level deeper, well … it’s a spectacular display of wishful thinking.

The reason people are absorbed by their iPhones and Androids is that they’re actually getting all the stuff they’ve been craving. They’re being more productive, better informed and better entertained. The ability to do these things is the very essence of the smartphone revolution. It’s the reason why the phones that can are killing off the phones that can’t.

So, after years of watching the revolution from the sidelines, Microsoft’s big contribution is a phone that allows us to just “glance and go”? That bit of superficiality is delivered by Ms. Voiceover at the end of the second commercial.

Hate to burst their bubble, but if glancing and going is your thing, there’s an app for that. With iPhone’s 250,000 apps and Android’s 80,000 apps, you can be absorbed to whatever degree you wish.

It’s condescending for Microsoft to tell us we’re spending too much time with our phones, or suggest that we’re missing what’s really important in life. Many of us use our phones precisely to stay on top of what’s really important — including getting closer to our families.

The real problem is that Microsoft has missed what’s important in the phone market. Had they joined the fun in any meaningful way two or three years ago, they wouldn’t have to dream their way into the party today.

The odds don’t look good.

Just yesterday, the tech stocks took a beating because a Goldman Sachs analyst lowered MSFT from buy to neutral, citing “concerns about the company’s mobile-device business.” Not exactly a vote of confidence on the eve of the Windows Phone 7 launch.

So, now that the engineers have had their way with Windows Phone 7, the marketers will take over. If these commercials represent the official company line, it won’t be surprising if most consumers take one glance … and just go.

[Thanks to Nate for the tip.]

iPhone / microsoft / observatory / windows phone 7 — 6 Comments
14
Sep 10

Group dementia strikes at Microsoft

Is it Photoshop? An inmate uprising? One stretches for explanations when gazing upon the unthinkable.

In this case, we must accept the truth, now documented by several sources: last week, Microsoft really did celebrate the developer release of Windows Phone 7 by staging a mock funeral for iPhone and Blackberry. (No word on Android’s fate.)

Presumably, they used the hearse left over from the Kin launch earlier this year.

Photo: Trioculus (Flickr)

It should be noted that this wasn’t the first time someone pulled the ol’ funeral shtick out of the closet. Steve Jobs performed the same stunt in 2002 by putting his own beloved Mac OS 9 in an onstage coffin to celebrate the ascension of Mac OS X.

Think about that one for a moment. Steve was putting his own product in a coffin, simply to make a dramatic point. He wasn’t sticking Windows in a coffin to proclaim its doom. Sitting there with 3% of the market share, that would have made him look ridiculous. Microsoft, with a 0% market share for its all-new Window Phone 7, has no such qualms.

But I don’t mean to make this a story about Steve Jobs vs. Microsoft. It’s really just a story about intelligence vs. stupidity.

When the world is watching, and you’re playing catch-up with the big boys, you simply don’t go out and embarrass yourself. When you get all dressed up, you think twice about putting on the clown nose.

I’m not suggesting that Microsoft employees be locked in their offices. (Well, maybe one.) A new product launch is exactly the right time to celebrate all those months of hard work. People should be excited. Dreams of success should be dancing in their heads. If I worked at Microsoft, I’d be drinking the beer and partying with the rest of them.

It’s just that normally, a grown adult approves the celebration — and prevents employees of questionable taste from giving the whole company a black eye.

Fake funeral parades, giant phone models, costumes and hearses don’t just happen by themselves. Sometime, somewhere, a Microsoft manager looked at this brainless plan and said “sure, let’s have some fun” — instead of “you’re fired for even suggesting it.”

I can only imagine how the guys over in PR must feel. They must have steam coming out of their ears. Then again, this is Microsoft. It’s possible they were out there driving the hearse.

advertising / creative / google / iPhone / microsoft / observatory / strategy / technology — 16 Comments
9
Sep 10

Alert! The smartphone revolution is coming!

This just in: Microsoft is preparing a revolution in smartphones. It’s almost ready. Really.

I can only imagine the looks on their faces when they climb out of their news-proof bunker and discover that the revolution’s been going on for three years.

Does Microsoft honestly believe they can introduce Windows Phone 7 as a revolution? According to this video, yes — although (as reported by Kara Swisher at All Things Digital) it is unclear if this is their real marketing direction, or a one-time shot during a London event.

Let’s give Microsoft kudos for exuding confidence. Then let’s remind them that we’ve seen the Windows Phone 7 preview, and it isn’t exactly a revolution. It’s more like running after the train that left the station yesterday.

If they believe using the word revolution will somehow create Apple-like buzz, they’d better think twice. Everyone knows you have to use the word magic too.

If it weren’t for the laughable conclusion, I’d actually be crowing about the imagery and music in this spot. It has an elegant kind of power.

Senior citizens will recognize the desert image, soundtrack and typography from 1962′s Lawrence of Arabia. But most will probably just wonder Microsoft has been drinking — and what the heck that Arabian stuff is all about.

I’m anxious to see what happens when Windows Phone 7 actually does join the revolution-in-progress. Given the masses already in love with iPhone and Android, the market for a Windows phone may look eerily like that desert.

strategy / technology — 1 Comment
22
Jun 10

Dancing with Steve Ballmer

Confession: I have a secret fascination with Steve Ballmer.

Certainly not because he’s any kind of visionary. I just find it fascinating to watch the charisma-challenged CEO perform his dance with words, putting a spin on things that are no longer very spinnable.

I thought I knew the man pretty well by now, but I did have a revelation watching this CNN Money interview. Ballmer will spin his little heart out — but he does some serious cogitation in an attempt to avoid the big fib. In fact, he resists the temptation even when the Microsoft-friendly interviewer lobs a softball to which he need only reply, “Yes.” You can see his brain working hard not to say the thing that will haunt him later.

Here are are some of my favorite moments from his exchange with interviewer Poppy Harlow (who has one of the greatest names in journalism).

Poppy: You are pretty confident about where you’re going in mobile. Can you win in mobile?
Ballmer: We can do very well in mobile.

[Geez. The lady just said you had confidence. Show some!]

Ballmer: The first step is to go from declining to growing. I think we’ll do a nice job of that.

[One moment please. I’m having an inspiration overload.]

Ballmer: We have a very well, kind of, received at least, by, uh, what we call the blogosphere [ah, so that was yours — catchy!], a very well received product in Windows Phone 7 which ships this year — WHOOSH! — and we’ll take off from there.

[Right. “Well received,” but unshipped, and with no firm date set. Nice job with the sound effect too. Even Steve Jobs doesn’t do this.]

Poppy: Looking at making the technology behind the phones, but not the phones themselves — that’s the right move, that’s the way to go?
Ballmer: Well that’s where we are [this brazen talk must end!], and it certainly has served us very well in the PC business, and we’re driving ahead in phones.

[When in doubt, cling to the PC model. “The people” love that.]

Poppy: What’s your hope for phones that use Microsoft technology?
Ballmer: We’ll give people choices … one of the advantages of the PC ecosystem — PC and now the phone — is to give people a range of choice.

Well, Steve, you know I’m not going to give up on you. But honestly, you need to change a couple of things. First, you should drop this bit about phones being just like PCs. If they were, Microsoft would be leading the charge and Apple would be insignificant. Second, it’s not nearly enough to stand for “offering choice.” Apple offered choice to an existing smartphone market. The League of Android gave people umpteen more choices. We still have BlackBerry and others. We’ve got choices out the wazoo.

If you’d like to show up at the party (three years late), you’ll need more than a tired slogan. Try making a phone people can get excited about.

strategy / technology — 11 Comments
22
Mar 10

The curiously underfeatured Windows Phone 7

Close your eyes and think happy thoughts — you might not notice what's missing

It appears that Windows Phone 7 will soon be among us. During its incubation period, Android has come out swinging and Apple has continued to perfect iPhone.

Given how long Microsoft has been working on it (years?), and how far its competitors have come (very), it’s highly curious that Windows Phone 7 will ship with three noticeable deficiencies: no Flash, no multitasking for third-party apps and no cut-and-paste.

If you’ve been keeping score, those are the very same deficiencies for which Apple has been slammed by competitors and critics. Only in iPhone OS 3.0 did Apple finally get around to cut-and-paste.

Microsoft does claim that they’re working with Adobe to add Flash as a feature later (why this should take so long I don’t know), but the other items are omitted on purpose. This doesn’t exactly defang the argument that Microsoft copies what people like about Apple. Now they appear to be copying even the things people don’t like about Apple.

And so Microsoft must live with the consequences of its software design. Android will be emboldened because their “advantages” expand to include Windows Phone 7 as well as iPhone. Apple will be strengthened because the things they’ve been criticized for were just validated by the enemy.

One company who is threatened by Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft — which may have just designed itself into that awkward place between two sides of a vice.