Microsoft to Try "Going Hip" with Seinfeld Ads
Those people say the point is to stress breaking down barriers that prevent people and ideas from connecting. The campaign, said to debut Sept. 4, is one of the largest in the company's history. The attempted image overhaul comes as Microsoft executives privately acknowledge that Windows -- the company's most important brand -- has grown stale and has been battered by Apple's "Mac vs. PC" ads.Personally, the message is more important than the spokesperson, IMHO, as it's not like the Apple ads used A-list stars. Obviously now many people know that the Mac Guy is Justin Long (dating Drew Barrymore didn't hurt), and that the PC Guy is John Hodgman, but in the beginning, they were pretty unknown.
"They are not seen as cool," says Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a New York branding firm. "Apple is cool. Can anyone even recall a Microsoft ad? No." Apple and its brand-obsessed CEO, Steve Jobs, have been producing distinctive advertising since its famous "1984" campaign, which debuted that year in the Super Bowl.
Of course not! Microsoft is definitely not cool. What Windows is, however, is ubiquitous. And perhaps that's something else Microsoft should focus on: Windows Everywhere.
Microsoft also plans to feature Bill Gates in the ad. While he's definitely an icon in computing, he's also definitely not cool. The campaign was created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, a Miami-based ad shop that has helped brands such as Burger King recover some of their mojo.
We'll see what happens, starting Sept. 4th.
Comments
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10 years too late. Literally. |
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Very true it would have made more sense to use a younger more in ouch actor to attack the younger demograph. That is why macs commercials work |
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Seinfeld probably already helped sell more Mac's than he'll ever do for Windows PCs anyway - since there was a highly visible Mac sitting in Jerry's apartment. |
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Maybe they'll make bill gates play Kramer........ |
LMAF! That would be sweet. |
rapid1:|
"Let's be honest: even if you use a PC you have to admit the Apple "Get a Mac" ads are hip, funny, and clever." |
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having used macs, they arent bad for creative stuff ie garage band, photoshop, but for gaming? cmon.... i think a good advantage of windows is that it supports nearly all software (macs need special software), and of course gaming! |
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>> "a good advantage of windows is that it supports nearly all software (macs need special software)..." << |
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>> "what i meant is that its harder to find software writen for macs, if you go into nearly any store they will have much more windows software usually." How about at the Apple Store? Mac (http://www.finkproject.org/) and Linux (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adept_Package_Manager, http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/ , http://wiki.mandriva.com/en/Docs/Basic_tasks/Installing_and_removing_software, etc.), users don't spend a lot of time in software stores. We look through the list of thousands of packages, click two buttons and the program installs, for free. Much of the same software available through these systems is freely available for Windows users too, but MS doesn't really want you to know that so they've kept the "Add/Remove Programs" applet in a crippled state for years. |
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Add/remove software shouldn't even be compared to Synaptic. Synaptic is amazing. |
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Too true. If I don't just apt-get from the command line, I use Synaptic. |
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Never tryed Adept. |
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Not sure if ads like this are helping there image.
Kinda RIAAish and everyone knows how there image has been the last few year. I snapped this off of hardocps homepage. |
When I can run games at full settings at full speed. My windows partition will be gone. |
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