Microsoft's Stay-At-Home Server campaign deserves a time-out

Q: How many feminists does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: That's not funny.

OK, getting that out of the way, let me tell you about the greatest marketing campaign since "The Wow Starts Now."

You see, Microsoft, known for its riotous sense of humor, thought it would try its hand of parody, creating a Colbert-like investigative report about whether servers belong in the office or in the home to promote the Windows Home Server. There's a whole series of larger than life posters here at the Consumer Electronics Show.

(Credit: Amy Tiemann)

(Credit: Amy Tiemann)

The problem is, the attempted parody ultimately reinforces all the stereotypes about moms, domesticity, and the so-called "Mommy Wars" that writers and activists are working really hard to erase.

In Microsoft's series of faux talk show videos, the blowhard host says to the dad, "You thought people might ridicule you, or they might say why doesn't your server go out and get a job, or if you were a real man, why don't you buy a real server?"

Of course the daddy buys and hooks up the server. Then the TV anchor says to the cookie baking "lady of the house" "Do you think your family would still need a home server if you were say...a better mother?" Then the teenage daughter says, "At first I was really nervous about it. I thought 'What if this is some loser server that isn't good enough to be in an office? Is that why it's staying home? I mean come on, what would my friends think?"

Being a mother or a woman in tech already comes with plenty of gender baggage without Microsoft's "help." I am not sure who this campaign is aimed at, but this mom wants to put it on permanent "time-out."

[jamalloy11]

I am shocked. I don't even know what to say Amy. After watching the videos (and reading the "kids" book), I am really disgusted with Microsoft. As a mom woking to juggle work part time and being home, I am really offended that they would portray stay-at-home mom's with such disregard. We need a husband to buy us a server? We need him to set it up? Work is boring? Nice lessons in the book to teach a kid. If this is targeted at stay-at-home moms, this is a BIG miss. If it is targeted at their husbands, then I am glad I am not married to one that would fall for this message and would also be offended. I have worked in a large technology company for over 14 years and can't imagine that someone thought this was a good marketing idea for servers. Very scary.

[ethele]

I think both the article and the comment above missed the main joke in the campaign. The whole thing is a play off of the "real man" who stays home - so a play off of SAHDs and NOT a joke about SAHMs. This is more about the "Daddy Wars" as defined by blogger RebelDad (who also didn't like the campaign, incidentally) - his definition is "The growing conflict between parents -- primarily fathers -- and their employers over flexible and varied work options that allow for more precise work-life balance." I guess people thought that SAH Servers was playing off of the Mommy Wars because the mom was such a stereotyped SAHM and because the SAH's we usually hear about are Moms. It's actually playing off the controversy over whether or not Dads should stay home. Hence why they say things like "A real server belongs in the office" - making fun of the stereotype that a Dad who stays home isn't a real man.

The stereotypical traditional family was used for contrast, I'm guessing. Maybe they thought humor promoting SAHDs was too liberal and wanted to off-set it with the "opposite" side of things? Maybe they wanted to make the stereotyped family look ugly to make people more receptive to the positive message about SAH Dads and non-stereotypical families? However, it just confused the joke.

If you get that it's really about dads and not about moms, it's funnier. And it is *not* targeted at traditional families - it's targeted at a more liberal mindset that will enjoy making fun of traditional families a la 50's stereotypes. My DH is a SAHD, and we both love this campaign and its (overly) subtle endorsement of men staying home.

But it would be *much* better if they let Mom break out of her stereotype. And Dad, too. Maybe a sequel where the server inspires them to try something new and break out of their own roles, reality-TV style? Dad imitating the server by convincing his boss to let him work from home could make the apparently too-subtle SAHD joke more comfortably blatant.

In the interest of full disclosure, I work at MS, but not in Home Server or anything really related. Also not in advertising, I'm in tech. I'm here because I'm interested in SAHD related issues, and not because of the MS connection. I found this while doing research for a get-together with other moms in SAHD families next week.