3rd microsoft tv ad, "i'm a pc" - tells us what we already know, restoring pride in windows

what we do know is that jerry seinfeld is in the first 2 microsoft tv ads. the first two suffered from ADS Sindrome, so we were looking forward to the third one. we told ourselves forget the past, move on and wait for the third one. after failing twice, we were expecting microsoft will come out with a great ad with seinfeld, finally!

what we didn't know, something that we just found out now, is that seinfeld will no longer be in the microsoft ad. well, at least in this third one. with a $300M ad budget, there cane be a gazillion more tv ads coming our way.

with seinfeld not in the ad, we know this ad is not about humor. what it did was tell us something we already know - that a gazillion people already use microsoft windows. and as the ad showed, we knew these gazillion people are of different shapes and sizes, including shoe sizes. oh, wait a minute that is the 1st ad. when i meant was eye glasses.

the other part we know, actually what this 3rd ad confirms is that microsoft's new ad campaign IS A direct answer to the apple ads. this 3rd ad opens with a look-alike of the pc character in the apple tv spot.

ads that tell us something we already know are not really bad or weak ads. it's not the ideal, they are not just as potent and hardly an agent of attitude change. we were assuming that microsoft embarked on a $300M ad campaign primarily to change attitudes of consumers towards windows. windows has suffered massive declines in brand image with the endless problems with vista plus the relentless picking on done by apple's tv ads that poured salt into microsoft vista's open wounds.

having to say what we already know about windows may not be the most ideal weapon to change consumer attitudes towards a declining brand image, but what this ad does is it tries to restore pride in the windows name. seeing all those people, someone just like us and seeing many others better or worse than us does that.

i think the main point of this ad is that - to restore pride in the windows brand name. and that can be a good thing.

given the things microsoft's marketing heads have been saying about their ad campaign, they seem to do things in a very slow manner, involving multi-level, multi-stage, chapter by chapter approach to brand image reshaping.

that's how they explained the first ad. they said the ad was meant to be like an intro or a teaser where all they wanted to do was to get people to start talking about microsoft again. they were saying - yah, we know the first two ads are boring, but hey, we got you thinking and talking about it. wait for the third one! at least that is what they want us to believe.

this 3rd ad could be employing the same multi-stage strategy. it's saying what we already know, it's just restoring pride and that sets the stage for the real thing for the 4th ad --- an agent of change that will improve the sagging brand image of windows.

can't wait for the 4th ad! (there you go, i'm once again waiting for the next great microsoft ad!)



read more posts on this microsoft and apple ads here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/i%20am%20mac%20i%20am%20pc


source of picture : http://i.usatoday.net/money/_photos/2008/09/19/microx.jpg

microsoft's new "i'm a pc" tv ad - finally an ad in english that we can all understand! what happened to seinfeld?

TAGLINE : WINDOWS. LIFE WITHOUT WALLS.

finally, microsoft launched a tv ad that is in english, something we all understand what it means. this is one is focused on showing people from all walks of life, ages, passions and achievements saying "i am a pc". it's a direct answer to the apple tv spots and shows how pervasive and wide microsoft is, showing the brand's dominant market share.

what happened to jerry seinfeld? he is nowhere in this ad. seinfeld together with bill gates were in the first two tv spots of microsoft. the first two ads to me were completely out of this world and i mean that in a bad way.

the first two ads were saying a lot of things, it had copy and storylines but the words didn't seem to mean anything. it didn't make a sale of any sort and it's humor completely unremarkable that only the writer seem to understand it's funny. well, actually nobody is certain if it's supposed to be funny. we just assume they are because seinfeld is in the ads.

it is very strange that seinfeld is no longer in the latest microsoft ad. they did make a big deal about signing seinfeld. being a great fan of the seinfeld, the tv show, we were expecting gang-buster ads. that didn't happen so it seems. the only thing that has happened so far is that seinfeld got busted in this 3rd ad.

microsoft's seinfeld pool out tv spot launched, i think...

tagline : perpetually connecting

i thought this was a joke, but it's for real, microsoft has launched the pool-out of their seinfeld tv spot. the one where they intend to spend $300M on. and the one that is supposed to address microsoft's weakening brand image.

we're posting it here for everyone to view it while we sit and watch this over and over again to try to understand the ad.

this ad was developed by an award winning ad agency, with a track record of success. it must be real good. will be back soon!





read more posts on this microsoft and apple ads here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/i%20am%20mac%20i%20am%20pc

read other posts on the jerry seinfeld microsoft tv spot : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/jerry%20seinfeld

microsoft seinfeld ad's hidden meanings discovered!

ads are supposed to be self-explanatory, not to mention they are supposed to be interesting. advertising talks about ad clutter and the fight for the attention of the audience. ads don't just fight against invisible enemies like boredom and disinterest, they also fight against a very concrete and real enemy -the tv remote control unit and the dreaded "change channel" button.

you know an ad is in trouble, that you have done a lousy ad and it's a WAWAM! when you lose on all fronts, above. the first sign and this is an absolute disaster, is when you find yourself having to defend and explain the meaning of an ad you just launched.

and that is what micrsosoft has been doing on their seinfeld tv ad since they launched their tv spot last thursday.

WAWAM! is again posting a link to this ad so that readers of this blog can watch it again.




after being in the advertising industry for a long time, i normally have to see an ad only once and i can tell if it's a good ad or not. it comes with years of training and thousands of ads that i have viewed and analyzed. i only view an ad more than once, usually 3 at the most when i need to make a formal analysis of it, something written and there is something wrong with it and need to find exactly what went wrong. this microsoft tv spot, i had to view 6 times.

after becoming a veteran watcher of this tv spot, i think i have found the secret meaning of the ad. as i have said, the power and the meaning of this ad is not obvious. it's not at all self-explanatory and that is why i embarked on a self-exploration of the tv spot.

since the meaning of this ad is not self-explanatory, i am forcing myself to draw the meanings from it :

• the ad is about the problems of vista -- if at first install, there's a problem with it, over time, with hard work and lots of fixing, it becomes ok. that's what happened to the shoes bill gates bought. they didn't fit at first but with some stretching and a change in size, it turned out ok.


• talks about value - with bill gates himself buying cheap shoes, it tells you that windows is good value on the long term. who would imagine bill gates buying cheap shoes? there is supposed to be humor in that. please, laugh.


• the everyday-ness of the ad talks about how we use windows on a daily basis. and that it holds promise for the future. that's the last part of the ad. really, it is.


• why bill gates wiggled his behind to fix his shorts is another story all together. don't ask me about that, i don't know everything. i guess there is also humor in that? laugh, please.

conclusion - yes, it's a boring ad. it suffers from a bad case of ADS! Sindrome. i had to firce myself to pick out those meanings from the ad.

the microsoft chief marketing officer said the ad was meant to start a conversation. first time i have heard of an ad like that and i honestly do not know what he means exactly by that.

aren't ads supposed to build brand equity? build brand image? persuade people? what happened to those? does that mean this ad is really not an ad? it's like a teaser for future ads?

it seems to me its all an excuse for coming up with a boring ad. if it's just talk or discussion that is their objective, they have achieved it. people are talking about it but unfortunately for the wrong reasons. most of the talk that has occurred centered on why they don''t like the ad and asking each other what the ad means. why spend money on ad that is not really an ad?

if this is just a teaser ad for future ads, i am totally scared to see the next ones! this ad is like a sample of what is to come, a track record established and it does not make me feel excited about the next ads. if the teaser ad is this boring, how can be next one do better?

no matter how you look at it, it's a WAWAM!

read more posts on this microsoft and apple ads here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/i%20am%20mac%20i%20am%20pc

-----------

Microsoft tries to explain Seinfeld ad
Deborah Gage
Saturday, September 6, 2008


Did you "get" the new Microsoft commercial? Apparently, some people didn't, so Microsoft officials were calling reporters Friday to explain it.

---

Nevertheless, the Microsoft officials who phoned reporters Friday said it is indeed a campaign to brand Windows, "the start of a conversation ... easily the largest marketing campaign we've ever had."

article parsed, read in full here : http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/05/BU7Q12P30T.DTL

WAWAM! pays tribute to Mr. Bill Gates

today, friday US time, bill gates will retire from microsoft. we all know who he is and we all know the kind of genius that he is. i think we are lucky to have lived at a time when bill gates did his magic and genius. his work has touched our lives and made it richer and exciting and has taken it through leaps and bounds things for the better. aside from being an intellectual genius, he is also a marketing genius. WAWAM! pays tribute to Mr. Bill Gates.

interesting picture on the right, with this caption :- "In 1978, the original 11 members of Microsoft: standing in back row, from left, Steve Wood, Bob Wallace, Jim Lane; second row, Bob O’Rear, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, Gordon Letwin; front row, Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood and Paul Allen."

----------

Microsoft Seeks Path Beyond the Gates Legacy
By STEVE LOHR
New York Times
Published: June 27, 2008

Bill Gates is retiring, sort of. He is still only 52, and he is going off to spend more time guiding the world’s richest philanthropy, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He will still be Microsoft’s chairman and largest shareholder, but Friday is his last day as a full-time worker at the software giant, marking the unofficial end of his career as a business leader.

And what a career it has been. Mr. Gates has been an animating force behind the personal computer revolution, helping to build a huge global industry and engineer blockbuster products like Windows and Office, used every day in offices and homes around the world.

read the complete story here : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/technology/27soft.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1214712000&en=4026f0e3cf93a6ef&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin