According to a report from in the New York Times, the next phase of Microsoft's latest ad campaign is set to begin -- sans Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. Apparently, the new ads do away with the unusual (and somewhat ill-received)
banter and "
real life" experiences of the two celebrities, and trade them for an earnest embrace of...
Apple's "PC" character. Apparently, one of the new ads even begins with a
John Hodgman lookalike stating, "Hello, I'm a PC, and I've been made into a stereotype." Beyond the flip on a rival's depiction of its brand, the campaign will feature cameos from Eva Longoria, Deepak Chopra, Pharrell Williams, and even Gates -- though Seinfeld doesn't make the cut. While we're curious to see what the company cooks up in the new ads, it does strike us as somewhat odd that the supposed narrative Microsoft was establishing with Gates and Seinfeld has abruptly been abandoned in favor of these new spots. Is this a decision which was made long ago, or did the largely negative /
confused reaction to the last set of ads force the company's hand? We only have its official statement to go on: "We will be executing the second phase of our advertising campaign tomorrow, as planned from the start."
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted Sep 17th 2008 9:05PM
Now if they could just replace Vista.
I like vista.
Vista is good on decent modern hardware. With 2 GB of RAM and a decent graphics card, you won't have any probs.
Microsoft made the mistake of initially selling it with low system requirements ..it didn't run properly on there so that really screwed the Windows brand.
The only shortcoming in Vista is they don't have a proper answer to Mac OS X Expose feature .. Flip3D sucks.
Replace it? That would take another seven years! Just release it under another name- it worked before, remember Bill? At least Apple doesn't have to lie to it's customers to get them to use their OS like Microsoft.
What does the Mojave experiment say about their opinion of the consumer's intelligence? Now before you counter my argument, could you Windows users say 'moo'? It would make my day. ;-)
Actually they do like "who?"
Just take a look at any apple commercial ever aired
lie*
You mean those iPods aren't really out?
Or maybe MacBooks don't exist?
Was iLife a fake?
I can't imagine what 'lie' you could be referring to. The skits are obviously bias, but not false advertising. Commercials are supposed to be bias for your side, that's why companies bother to air them! Duh!
First ad I found on Google- no lies:
http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac/apple_getamac_offtheair_20080818_480x272.mov
@ patriotsn1:
If only you had added "and Apple sucks!" when you said "I like Vista," you would have scored an Epic Highest Rank here on the Engadget Comments Section: Redmond Division.
Better luck next time, tenderfoot.
johan, I disagree. I've had Vista problems on 3 separate brand new high end boxes, problems that I never had with XP. But we've been down this road before, and there is no point listing all the issues.
Suffice it to say that many people have had, and continue to have issues with Vista that they didn't have with XP. This isn't just unfounded negative backlash, there are real issues, and I for one would prefer to see Microsoft spend that $300M in engineering, not marketing.
If Microsoft succeeds in getting Vista into more hands with this campaign, but doesn't address the issues with the application, this will ultimately be a win for Apple and Linux...
@CraigJ
i dont know though, it seems like most of the problems that vista users see are because of the influence of the negative image. if you didn't have a negative view of it, those problems probably wouldn't really be problems at all. its probably because you're practically searching them out.
I don't think so, at least not in the majority of cases. Personally I have a number of issues that are not due to negative group think, but rather 18 months of trying to get stuff working as quickly and as easily as it did in XP. The fact that they moved and renamed a bunch of stuff isn't a problem for me, but it is for folks like my father who couldn't find add and remove programs, for example.
My primary issues are speed and resources. I have a 2.6 GHz dual core system, 4 GB RAM, dual 7200 RPM SATA 3.0 drives for my Vista 64 system and my 2.1 GHz dual core with 1 GB of RAM and 5400 RPM SATA Drive running XP is faster for most tasks, especially moving large files. And yes, I've tuned the Vista box, turned off all the security crap, turned off indexing ,etc. Vista really is slower.
XP, for all its faults is very stable with SP2. no BSOD on this system, ever (over a year), and it is very fast. OSX has it's issues as well, nothing is perfect, regardless of the marketing message.
I'll be more than happy to try Windows 7 when it ships.
@Johan Look up Switcher...
better yet... http://insentient.net/
"At least Apple doesn't have to lie to it's customers to get them to use their OS like Microsoft."
wait, which apple are we talking about here, because last time i checked, they do
@Johan,
That's the problem. Other operating systems can run on much lower specifications. I only have 1GB RAM and I can run OS X with few problems.
Running Linux generally has significantly lower requirements. I know someone who has a very old Linux box and someone with a new Vista notebook. The difference in speed was incredible. A python program run on Vista was sped up to make it useable. It was the far too fast to be used on the Linux machine.
The Vista notebook could run Photoshop, though, even if it was slow. It just crashed when you opened Paint.
So full of win, I HATE the mac commercials. They're inaccurate and annoying. And PC DOES NOT mean Windows. Linux guys.. come on now.
If and IF Microsoft pulls these off, it'd be great.
"Hey Mac, why don't you let your software on other machines".. Mac: "Uhh..."
"Hey Mac, why do you group PCs with Windows. PCs are an open-platform. You can run several operating systems on them.."
There has to be a better way to sell windows.
"There has to be a better way to sell windows."
Because with 90%+ market share, they obviously need to change up their strategy!
Oh please... Linux? I used Gentoo for 3 years and can safely say that a Linux character would involve 2 gallons of Coke, ramen noodles, sweatpants, and hair so greasy, it would be a fire hazard...
Linux is so far away from being a robust and viable alternative to Windows, it's not even worthy parodying... We all know that 99% of the PC machines sold are running Vista (or rather XP by the customer's request).
Inaccurate? When 80% of your users refuse to adopt your latest OS after more than a year... something is horribly wrong. You can close your eyes and put on the blinders, but Microsoft has blundered Vista and left consumers stuck with an OS that is nearly a decade old... After over a half a decade of development, Vista is pathetic. And it doesn't take Apple to point that out...
@Pip:
I agree that Microsoft would actually do their name well if they could pull this off. People have a lot of negative feelings about Windows and Microsoft because of the Mac vs. PC ads from Apple, and turning those around or negating those may certainly help them out.
I don't think you picked the best examples, though - as Apple could always say, "We don't want our software on other machines, because it just works seamlessly and flawlessly on our hardware package.", or "We group PCs with Windows because it Windows holds 90% of the market share (also add something about Boot Camp ability to run Windows, and linux support, yada, yada.)"
I think that if they were to spoof the ads, they should illustrate their market share and Mojave results. (although the results themselves aren't entirely reliable - Who couldn't recognize Vista?!) "Hey Mac, why do you have an 8% market share? Why do we have 90%? (Insert creative joke that will make the statement sound less obnoxious)."
All in all, IF Microsoft spoofs the ads somehow - stick to why Windows is great, not why Mac OS X is bad. That way they could always call foul play with Apple's somewhat offensive ads.
@WS
What the heck were you doing running Gentoo? You just don't do that unless you fit that stereotype you tried to pass off on all of Linux.
Stick with one of the top three mainstream distros. Do NOT touch anything other than Ubuntu, Fedora, or Suse unless you have a particular reason.
@Alex. Mojave is a joke. I'm not saying this because it's Microsoft, I'm saying it as someone who has been involved with running a number of focus groups in the software industry. Given the format for "the Mojave experiment" and a few hundred thousand dollars the same result could have been obtained with XP, OSX or Ubuntu (sans the production of the commercials, of course)
Mohave was cooked up by Microsoft's marketing department, and (some) participants are on record as being up-happy with how they were portrayed in the commercials. But, whatever... The fact that this is coming from a marketing department should be your first indication that it is mostly bullshit, just as the Apple ads are mostly bullshit, just as, well, most ads are mostly bullshit. The only exception are political ads which are complete bullshit.
I use both Windows and Mac, and I pay zero attention to the marketing. Only a complete idiot would purchase something, or vote for someone, based on marketing. Oh, wait...
@CraigJ
I wholeheartedly agree that the Mojave "experiment" was/is a joke. It was nothing that could be used as hard evidence that Vista is good or bad, and I tried to point that out in my original post. I said that, "although the results themselves aren't entirely reliable - Who couldn't recognize Vista?!" with regards the the Mojave Experiment. I should have explained more in that, but I didn't want to ramble on for too long in one post :P
I just think that since Microsoft is pushing commercials for their Mojave experiment, it just seems wise to use that as an argument in any spoof ads. Regardless of the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the experiment, Microsoft needs to come up with some reasons why Apple has been wrong about them. Without some serious ways of saying that Vista has qualities x and y that will make your life better or easier, their commercial campaign will remain largely ineffective.
Microsoft: The Freedom to Innovate (TM)
even though Mojave wasn't really a legitimate experiment, i think it's point still has some merit. i bet people as a whole would be warmer toward vista if it didn't still have the stigma from when it was released.
Not with Apple and Apple fanbois guerrilla tactics, and outright bullshit. Remember marketing and fanboism is about 70% bullshit, 20% truth, and 10% "tweaked" statistics.
One thing is becoming more clear: This isn't about improving the image of Vista any more. It's going to be boosting the Windows brand, and more specifically, Windows 7, which is shaping up to be Vista Second Edition.
Vista's problems are myriad, and can't be blamed (or remediated) by image marketing alone. Aside from initial flaky driver support (the only issue MS has acknowledged), it is also resource-heavy--designed for ever more powerful desktop hardware, not for mobile devices where power consumption is the most important factor. It's not because of poor drivers that the current netbooks are using XP, or that you have to turn off Aero to save on laptop battery life. Simply put, Vista is not scalable downward.
I think MS recognizes this, and Win7 will be a slimmed down and more modular Vista. All the noises MS has been making about a moved-up Win7 launch (in 2009 now, instead of 2010) means that the Vista name is damaged goods, and will be shelved for a "new and improved" Windows. It's easier to shape perception on a new product than to change negative perception on an existing product, especially one that is commonly known. This marketing campaign is said to be a multi-year effort, and while some general boosting will be done for Vista, I think the heavy hitting will be for the upcoming version.
I just hope this doesn't haven't a negative impact of the cake computer project.
D00B is right on this one. M$ should have spent the $300 million on MAKING GREAT SOFTWARE instead of BS marketing!
I'm just glad they got the High and Highest Ranking system back here on Engadget! :-)
and Macs DO NOT MEAN Mac OS X! They can run Linux and Windows too. And they're Personal Computers too.
...but nitpicking about this is pointless. Everybody knows what's the intent behind "PC" and "Mac" lablels.
So, I hate to say it, but it has to be said (as if it won't/hasn't yet) -
Leave it to Windows to rip off a Mac commercial to advertise their own product. Seriously. They borrow everything from other operating systems, don't they?
All an ad like this would say to me, as a consumer, is "Hey! We're Windows! We don't have any ideas of our own."
Think MS made a huge marketing mistake. I like the Gates/Seinfeld ads, they're entertaining. I hate the other ads ... they're just stupid (like most ads). And to try to improve the image of the dumpy fat PC guy, why don't they just come up with an OS that works and keep the future vision hopeful by using Seinfeld and Gates. VISTA is the reason I won't buy a new PC. If anything, MS has pushed me to seriously consider a Mac.
@hazard
The word on the the 'tubes is that MS has elected go with a pizza box instead of cake. But it was a bit unclear. The pizza box might be a netbook.
If “ Mac” is all that great then why do they need to run windows?
2nd phase = Plan B. (When Plan A tanks)
From the article:
"..Beginning on Thursday night, visitors to windows.com will be able to upload video clips and photographs demonstrating how they, too, are PCs. Some photos will be chosen to appear on electronic signs in Times Square from Friday through Oct. 13 and others will be chosen for use in Microsoft banner ads.."
I have been waiting for such moment for the whole past year. God help you Apple; I'm going to chew you with some "real" facts that will rip your heart off.
Get ready people.
"Saad Rabia": Sad. I sure hope you get paid by MS, because that's rather... Lonely. Depressing.
"has abruptly been abandoned in favor of these new spots"
advertising doesn't quite work that fast. There are usually at least a minimum of a few weeks of conception/presentation before the suits sign off on something as big as this. The ads only hit the mainstream just a few days ago (edited and more confusing than the full versions). This is definitely part of a wide ranging campaign to restore the image of MS.
@Andir3.0
I keep hoping the exact same thing.
Saad, you are a hopeless Microsoft flunkie. Keep drinking that kool aid. This new direction in Microsoft ads shows two things:
1. Microsoft has now proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is not an original thought in the entire company. Now they're copying Apple's advertising, in addition to copying their OS and everything else? Wow.
2. Microsoft apparently feels threatened by a company with 7% market share. Responding to Apple directly was a bad move, because it concedes defeat in terms of how the company is perceived. Everybody knows you don't attack the guys below you if you're on top, which is why Apple's iPod ads don't attack the Zune, for example. By responding to Apple's advertising campaign directly, Microsoft is admitting that they think Apple is going to beat them. They feel a need to defend themselves, which is out of character for a company with 90% market share.
It's very telling, and it was a bad move on Microsoft's part. They should have spent the ad money on making ads that show how good Vista is, not on showing how wrong Apple is. That's just handing Apple the advantage.
It was always our plan to trail at the half, thus deepening Earth's eventual humiliation
You'll recall that the Globetrotters won that game...
:-)
I really liked the Gates and Seinfeld commercials. Especially the second one. A lot of people were excepting a mac add parody (what Microsoft is doing now) so were disappointed but I enjoyed them doing something else.
word up
Yeah, Engadget is way off base here. Just because 80% of the readers here are aggressive teenage Mac kids doesn't mean that their responses to the ads represents the majority of popular opinion. I was playing cards with 9 or 10 people the other night, and everyone had seen the Gates/Seinfeld ad. Only one person thought they sucked, and he's an idiot anyway.
So, "ill-received" my ass.
that stuff was great, I was looking forward to episode 3
I don't care if it doesn't make sense, neither do the apple ads
Couldn't have said it better. Well, maybe ad instead of add. ;)
expecting
....maybe you have dyslexia? sorry. :-(
yeah, seriously, what is this "ill-received" bullpoo? i really enjoyed the microsoft ads. an ad that is not full of bashing of rivals....in fact, an ad that doesn't even have any goddamn products is a bloody good ad in my opinion. i loved these ads.
I've talked to a lot of people who have seen the ads, but didn't like them. It wasn't that they thought the ads were poorly made, just that it wasn't direct enough. To make the commercial "about nothing" with the Seinfeld presence is fine, but it does/did little to help them, IMHO. I think that making a more direct ad (like a spoof) will stay in people's memories longer, and will be better received. Most people recognize the Apple Mac vs. PC ads. Spoofing it will bring instant attention to their name, which translates to good viewer remembrance.
I don't think the ads were that well-received by many, (mainly because Seinfeld has lost a lot of its charisma as a decade has passed) but I don't think that they were ill-received, either. They were GOOD, but could definitely be better.
I'm a Mac guy and I loved those ads(at least the second one.) They were cleverly written and enjoyable. I'm sad that we'll never see what's next for them. :(
If you don't like the commercials.... you're missing the point.
BILL MF GATES is on TV. The richest man in the USA today, and former head of the largest software company... who does that? How many CEOs get on TV to say anything?
Everyone has heard of Bill Gates, everyone respects Bill Gates. C'mon, the guy was once the richest man in the world, from a fortune he built in only 20 years.
If you didn't think the commercials were funny, or hate Seinfeld, whatever... I like seeing Bill Gates. He's the man.
@Michael Scrip
Warren Buffet is the richest man in the USA - Net worth estimated at $62 Billion, compared to $58 Billion for good ol' Bill.
This does not negate your point, I just wanted to point that out. I would however say that Bill is in fact a better actor than I would have thought - but he could still use some lessons.
The commercials stink. Not funny and not really selling anything.
I liked the seinfeld/gates commercials, they were actually entertaining. But they werent good at advertising or making a point since the message was subliminal. You had to watch it a few times to understand what they were trying to get at.
But this new campaign using real people as PC's is going to rip the Apple commercials apart and hopefully stop those stupid "Im a PC/Mac" commercials dead in their tracks. Its something they should have done a long time ago, it would be impossible for Apple to counter them without blatantly insulting "real people." Goodbye Hodgman and guy from dumb teen movies.
i agree, i loved the Seinfeld/Gates ads, they were smarter and quirky- which i think was hilarious, I'm disappointed they've decided to spoof an already terrible ad.
BTW i have vista on my dell xps M2010 and it is marvelous
@Serial 8-Ball Mouse, what you have to realize it that the target audience for MSFT is
Comment system glitch...
@Serial 8-Ball Mouse, what you have to realize it that the target audience for MSFT is
@Alex
He specifically said, "used to be the richest man" and Bill Gates was the richest man in America for years and years until very recently. So...you're wrong.
@ Alex
Nope. The new Forbes 400 list came out today. Billy G is #1 with 57B... Warren B is #2 with 50B.
"Just because 80% of the readers here are aggressive teenage Mac kids" - Serial 8 Ball Mouse
Reading the comments (and seeing what gets high ranked and low ranked) demolishes your theory. "I like Vista" gets highest ranked?
"Mac kids?" Please.
Another lame stereotype down the drain...
And only 1 of 10 of your buddies think the new ads are lame, and he's an "idiot?" Spare us. If the ads were great, Microsoft would have kept running with them.
This comments board has been overrun by MS PR folks.
Astroturf Different.
"We will be executing the second phase of our advertising campaign tomorrow, as planned from the start."
We at war with Eurasia. We have always been at war with Eurasia.
That is the truth. WE ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH.
1984, i like.
Awesome. You correctly identified one of the most famous books in literature. You've let the world know that you know the same reference everyone else does. Nice work.
ah DG I wish I could click the check button infinite times for you.
About time they strike back in a real way. I hate Apple now in the worst way! They are totally controlling and arrogant.
you're my hero XD
The question is..
What are you doing about it?
@ethana2: Do what everyone else does. Wait for a presidential candidate to promise to fix it for you.
Interesting :)
Would be a big middle finger at the Apple campaign :D
This should be excellent.... Let's see what they come out with.
Microsoft: If you're gonna do it, do it RIGHT.
This would be the new ad campaign service pack we've all been waiting for.
Not that I'm an Apple fanboy (I like my iMac, but I still rely on Windows for various functions) but seems like Microsoft is quick to abandon projects and move on to new ones after negative or impartial feedback from critics...they're doing the same thing with Vista with rumors of WIndows 7 right around the corner.
Though I would hope they had planned this, because I actually thought the last Seinfeld commercial was funny, and it would have been to much of a knee-jerk reaction.
i think the the commercial should just be the windows guy and he say "games" and then it cuts to the windows logo.
You want him to just say "gays"?
Oh, games... never mind.
@ronald.raygun, that wins the award for BESTEST ENGADGET COMMENT OF 9/17/2008! Seriously, that was awesome! Mad me lol!
Now THAT would be a good one. I've always thought that MS should answer the Mac ads. It can be tongue in cheek poking fun back at Apple and at the same time make a statement. Good work ronald!
I've been thinking, and it seems it's not totally Apple's fault for there being no games for their OS. Shouldn't it be the game developer's fault for not developing for the Mac in the first place?
but, aren't they trying to appeal to people over the age of 12... you know.. who buy computers?
@ThreeDee912
It's their fault for not embracing the developers. You have no idea how much money and resources Microsoft puts into the game developing community. Look at the whole "Games for Windows" Campaign. Apple has nothing of the sort because they don't care about the gaming community.
I second You. Funniest comment I've read so far.ever. LOL.
Anything to good to be true usually is thought...... :(
32 GB ipod nano, 64 Touch, ONE funny commericial, Bill Gates giving away all his money....
@ThreeDee
Apple has made no efforts to support the gaming industry on their platform whatsoever. They haven't provided adequate hardware to do so. My MacBook has only a 64mb graphics card. My dad's HP laptop (which he bought for far less) has 128. What gives?
@mike
You don't know anyone over twelve who plays games? Over 20? 30?
Holy crap! I used to work with that guy!
I like the Gates Seinfeld Ads and think they are hilarious. However, they cut out alot of the original ads on TV. They arent quite as funny when you cut out of more than half the ad and I think that adds to the confusion some people have. Im not sure they considered the feasibility of having 4 minute commercials. If they shortened them a little bit so that they still made sense (to me, at least). I think they had something going with them. If they stop airing them now,..I think people will just be more confused.
I don't know why they even bothered running them on TV anyway. Most of the ads that have the greatest effect these days are found right here online...
@Ray,
I swear I've seen you someplace before.
"Hello, I'm a PC, and I've been made into a stereotype."
LOL, yeah, no joke! It's about time Microsoft slaps Apple upside the head a bit. Mac ads are funny, but they're so ridiculously biased and untrue.
Although I have to say, Microsoft did NOT run the first ads with Gates and Seinfeld long enough. I would bet the bank that if you asked anyone about those ads, they wouldn't know what you were talking about. The Mac ads have run for so long on TV that everyone knows about those, but the Gates/Seinfeld ads have only been seen by a few... I only saw one on TV, one time, because I just happened to be there, not because I was glued to the TV all day everyday. (In fact, the main reason I know about these ads is because of Engadget, not TV). But Microsoft is now moving on? Bad move.
They say the average person needs to see the same thing seven times before it begins to stick in their minds. MS should run their new Gates/Seinfeld ads more heavily (often) for another three months before they move on to "stage 2". Not everyone watches the same shows on the same channels on the same days at the same time with the same frequency and for the same length. That's a lot of variables, and so it takes a while to get peoples' attention. Don't be so quick to abandon and move on, Microsoft.
Another interprettation may be that this is indeed their second set of advertisements, which they're running simultaneously alongside the remaining Gates-Seinfeld advertisements. It seems reasonable to assume that they've finished filming all of the Gates-Seinfeld ads, and they're simply staggerring the release of the ads, interspersing them with releases of the new ad campaign.
Sorry, but love the MAC commercials, even though I am a die-hard windows user.
They are (the mac) amusing commercials for the most part. The Seinfeld/Gates commercials are painfully terrible/uninteresting/boring. What the heck is it with the damn shoe bending thing. What does that have to do with anything!
Just my 2 cents!
Ken
Ever heard the term, 'can't see the forest for the trees'?
That pretty much sums up your situation right now.
Can someone tell me how to get my avatar pic to work ive uploaded twice and it doesnt sho
Did anyone else besides me think that the first commercial runs were a waste of money? Very confusing, a Giraffe in a bag? Seinfeld telling bill gates to do the robot? I seriously laughed because i knew in no way it would keep up with the mac ads. I thought in the beginning they were going to do a mac ad parody when they mentioned it on Engadget. I like the new approach if they are going to do a parody. Maybe something like the HP ad's when Jay-Z had his hands moving? I'm a strong supporter of PC, but that was a bad marketing move in my opinion.
That lookalike LOOKS LIKE he has serious down syndrome.
Just sayin'.
"Hello. I'm a PC, and I have Down Syndrome... :-( "
I agree with your medical opinion!
pathetic.