I found this funny at times, but if they are trying to compete against the "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC ads" they should realize, those are actually related to the products they are selling and usually, if not cursorily, show an actual benefit of a mac. These are just funny.
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I saw an abbreviated version of this ad on TV yesterday and thought it was pretty effective for Microsoft. They have an image problem and this ad makes Microsoft seem much more likable with its self deprecating humor.
I don't see the ad as a response to Apple's ads so much as an attempt to undo the onging image damage the anti-trust suits, Vista launch problems, inablity to respond to Google competition, ... have created.
I see it as being like Budweiser Ads at the superbowl. They're funny and enjoyable and each year I look forward to them. It makes me remember Budweiser is a brand. But it doesn't make me buy more (or rather, any) Budweiser.
I guess it's odd that while I saw Bill Gates in it, I didn't associate the video with Microsoft. Maybe because there was just such a big deal that he no longer works there on a daily basis (yes he's still chairman).
Or maybe because none of the humor was about MS. The Budweiser Super Bowl Ads often mentioned Bud (the frogs), used their logos (the Clydesdales), expanded the brand (the Bud Bowl), etc.
I don't see this doing that. I think of it as a Seinfeld ad, not an MS one. Probably because the humor is so directly his and he really stars in it.
I guess we'll see if it helps their image at all.
I'm not alone. Michael Arrington doesn't get them either.
The NY Times has a good article (Echoing the Campaign of a Rival, Microsoft Aims to Redefine ‘I’m a PC’) on the MS ad strategy.
Thanks for the link. I'm interested in seeing the second phase and wonder what the point of the first phase is. I guess it succeeded in getting people talking. How different would it have been if they just started with the second phase?
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