I'm a PC

Microsoft launching new ad campaign tonight

Microsoft is launching its latest Windows ad campaign tonight, the company has confirmed to CNET.

Starting at prime time, Microsoft's new ads, which were developed by the Crispin Porter + Bogusky agency, will expand upon the firm's "I'm a PC" campaign. Tonight's ad highlights "Julie," who says that she doesn't want a new computer because she doesn't believe "there's something out there better than what I've got now." After learning about the different PC options available to her, she chooses a PC running Windows 7.

The ad … Read more

Microsoft tugs at heartstrings with Windows ad

Microsoft's new Windows ad made its expected debut over the weekend, with a 4-year-old cutie named Kylie showing how easy it is to use Windows Live Photo Gallery to edit and share photos.

As I noted last week, Microsoft is pushing ahead with new spots in its Windows ad campaign after taking some time off following the Gates/Seinfeld and "I'm a PC" spots.

In the new spot, which debuted during the Grammy Awards Sunday (and is embedded below), Kylie shows how she uses the program to touch up her photo and then share it with … Read more

Zune ad campaign focuses on free software. Why?

Microsoft is trying to push Zune sales along with a price cut, as CNET's Ina Fried already reported Tuesday, and Donald Bell has the scoop on the firmware update that will deliver bug fixes, three new games, and head-to-head Texas Hold 'Em via the Zune's Wi-Fi transceiver.

But the most interesting part of the announcement was the advertising campaign. Not the advertisements themselves, although I'll be interested to see what the oddballs at Crispin Porter + Bogusky (who did the Gates-Seinfeld and "I'm a PC" ads) come up with. The fascinating part is that the … Read more

Microsoft's new "I'm a dork" store

Why must Microsoft strenuously seek to earn the "dork" label that Apple has been pinning on it? In case you missed it, Microsoft is now offering "I'm a PC" gear - like ties and skateboards and probably pearl-encrusted thongs - online for purchase.

This is stupid. It's not stupid because it's Microsoft. It's stupid because no one wants to wear an "I'm a PC" trucker hat. Or, if they do, they have problems that Windows can't solve for them.

Microsoft needs to be defining its image, not letting … Read more

Gates-Seinfeld shtick more viral than 'I'm a PC'

So has everyone been wandering around your office, puffing out their hairless chests and declaring "I'm a PC" with pride?

Thought not.

Visible Measures, a company that measures viral-video activity, announced this weekthat the Gates-Seinfeld ads enjoyed 4.3 million more viral views than the politely conventional "I'm a PC" campaign.

A somewhat improbable explanation was given for this enormous discrepancy. "So much viral video is basically word of mouth. And when you build a question into the creative, it gives people something to talk about," Matt Cutler, vice president of … Read more