While acknowledging Microsoft is in a tough spot in trying to recast Windows after years of attacks from Apple, one ad executive said she is highly skeptical of Microsoft's new approach.
Ad agency CEO Kathy Sharpe said that casting the PC guy as a victim doesn't work for her.
Microsoft's latest ad, which starts running tonight, features a Microsoft employee who looks very much like the PC guy from the Apple ads, saying "I'm a PC and I've been made into a stereotype."
"Casting Microsoft as a victim still doesn't work for me," said Kathy Sharpe, CEO of New York-based interactive ad firm Sharpe Partners. "They aren't victims. Apple just is smarter about this sort of thing."
The PC guy in Microsoft's ads, by the way, is Sean Siller, who has been with Microsoft since 2005 and works as a senior program manager for networking in the Windows Core Operating System Division.
Sharpe said she does like the notion of showing the PC as diverse and used in many different ways, suggesting potential if that's where the campaign goes from here.
Sharpe was also skeptical that Microsoft really intended to end the Seinfeld bit so abruptly. She said that if, as Microsoft said, it didn't film more Seinfeld ads, it's probably because the first ads tested poorly. Microsoft insists that the shift was always part of the plan and the initial ads were simply an "ice-breaker."
Whatever the case, Sharpe said the Seinfeld bits clearly missed their mark.
"The first two ads and their variants were a very expensive way to build buzz--and not necessarily positive buzz," she said. "I don't know who they thought they were targeting in those ads."
Sharpe suggested that what Microsoft needs to be doing is appealing to the under-30 set, which she said is a tall order given how many of them carry iPods or iPhones and perceive Apple as cool.
And Apple's "Mac vs. PC" ads have been very effective, she said.
"Somehow the Mac always wins but they do so charmingly," Sharpe said. "It's just a very well done campaign."
If you want more from CNET News' Ina Fried, check out her Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/inafried or follow her @inafried.
Microsoft's new ads begin with company employee Sean Siller saying "I'm a PC and I've been made into a stereotype."
(Credit: Microsoft)After two weeks of running a series of ads with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates that left many people scratching their heads, Microsoft's latest spots take direct aim at the Apple ads that have turned Windows into a punch line.
"I'm a PC and I've been made into a stereotype," says Microsoft employee Sean Siller, who looks a whole lot like John Hodgman, the actor who plays the PC in Apple's ads.
The spot then goes on to have other people say that, they too are PCs, including an Obama blogger, a McCain broadcaster, actress Eva Longoria, a school teacher, and a fish salesman, among others. (My favorite is a guy standing near cows saying "I turn No. 2 into energy.")
Bill Gates does make a cameo, saying "I'm a PC and I wear glasses." The ads will debut later Thursday on NBC's The Office.
The purpose, Microsoft says, is to show that Windows is part of a common language uniting people around the globe.
The software maker is counting on the massive ad push to help improve Windows' image. The campaign is expected to last beyond this year and spending has been estimated at around $300 million.
Microsoft will also run print ads focusing on the notion of "Windows without Walls" and "Windows: Life without walls"--notions that Microsoft expects to use for years to come. A series of print and outdoor ads shows a single image split across multiple desktop, laptop and Windows Mobile phones, aiming to show Windows as an experience that spans many devices.
Another facet of the campaign tries to play up the notion that Windows works across multiple devices, from desktop PC, to laptop, to phone.
(Credit: Microsoft)In an interview, Microsoft VP Brad Brooks said Thursday that the new ads are aimed at making sure the story of real Microsoft employees and customers get told.
"So far the story that has been told about Windows over the past couple years has been very negative," Brooks said. "It's just not true."
Despite some reports to the contrary, Brooks insists the plan was always to shift away from the Seinfeld-centered ads. He said that the company did not film any other spots with Seinfeld.
That is consistent with what Brooks told me in an initial conversation a couple weeks ago, though I must say the shift in conversation seems quite abrupt with little connection between the first ads and the new pitch.
"Hey that's fair feedback," Brooks said. "We'll work from that."
As for whether it got the value of the reported $10 million it spent to hire Seinfeld, Brooks had several things to say.
"We spent nowhere near $10 million for Jerry," Brooks said. "We've got options with Jerry and we consider Jerry to be a very good friend of Windows and Microsoft. Right now, we are entering a new phase, but it's not to say we might not bring back (Seinfeld). We've got our options open with Jerry."
Brooks said to expect the "I'm a PC" notion to run for some time, being joined by a Web push that will go live at Windows.com tonight and invite users to tell their own "I'm a PC" story, some of which will be made into online advertisement.
"We're definitely not afraid of the truth," he said. "The problem is it just hasn't been told."
Brooks cited surveys that show 89 percent satisfaction among Vista users. However, I must say, he also quoted a statistic that 78 percent of people liked the Jerry Seinfeld-Bill Gates spots.
The print portion of Microsoft's new ad campaign characterizes the Mac vs. PC debate as an epic struggle between "Windows vs. Walls".
(Credit: Microsoft)The next ad in Microsoft's massive Windows campaign won't feature Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, but the move is part of a planned shift, Microsoft insisted on Wednesday.
An image from the first Seinfeld-Gates commercial.
(Credit: Microsoft)"That was always the plan," a Microsoft spokesperson said late Wednesday. That followed a report on Valleywag that Seinfeld and Gates were getting the boot.
Microsoft had indicated even before the second ad debuted last week that a shift was coming.
In any case, Wednesday's coverage is more bad news for Microsoft, which is banking on this $300 million ad push to help restore Microsoft's image after years of bad press for Windows Vista and relentless attacks from rival Apple.
Reaction to the ads has been largely negative since the first one debuted two weeks ago.
Update: Later on Wednesday, a Microsoft spokesman added this official statement: "We will be executing the second phase of our advertising campaign tomorrow, as planned from the start."
Those left scratching their heads after Microsoft's first new ad may find themselves just as itchy after the follow-up spot.
A screenshot from the new Microsoft spot launching Thursday night.
(Credit: Microsoft; CNET News)The second in Microsoft's series of new ads airs Thursday night, featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld moving in with a family of "real people" in order to connect with them. The humor seems slightly better to me, but the references to Microsoft's products remain tangential.
In this spot, whose plot appears taken from every sit-com ever made, the two displace a adolescent girl from her room. In an effort to get her room back, she and her siblings set Seinfeld and Gates up as having stolen a family heirloom. That ultimately prompts Gates and Seinfeld to hit the road, with Gates taunting the girl on the way out: "You're not so real."
The latest spot is a two-part ad, with the first part showing on CBS' Big Brother. (an extended version with both parts of the ad should post tonight to Windows.com.) At the end of the new spot, Seinfeld again asks Gates to give him a sign if he's on the right track in guessing what's next. Thankfully, there was no repeat of the butt-wiggle. This time, Gates does his version of the 1980s robot dance.
The ads are the beginnings of an expensive and ambitious effort by Microsoft to try to reclaim the Windows image after letting rival Apple mock it for years.
As for the less than direct start, Microsoft spokesman Eric Hollreiser likens it to starting off a business presentation with a joke.
"It allows you to have a different kind of conversation after you've disarmed (the audience) a bit," he said.
While Microsoft isn't saying just when it will get more direct in its sales pitch, the ads are expected to start talking turkey soon.
"I know there has been some question about 'Is this it?'" he said. "No."
CNET News is published by CBS Interactive, a unit of CBS.
A screenshot from the new Windows ad, with Jerry Seinfeld sizing up Bill Gates' shoe size.
(Credit: Microsoft)Windows business unit head Bill Veghte send a memo to troops late Thursday promising that the debut Seinfeld/Bill Gates ad was just an "icebreaker."
The ad, which makes little direct reference to Apple, aired during Thursday's NFL game to a fair bit of head-scratching from the blogosphere. In his note, Veghte positioned it as the start of a conversation.
"Later this month, as the campaign moves into its next phase, we'll go much deeper in telling the Windows story and celebrating what it can do for consumers at work, at play and on-the-go," Veghte wrote.
Here's the full memo:
From: Bill Veghte
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 5:37 p.m.
To: Microsoft--All Employees (QBDG)
Subject: Telling the story of WindowsSince it first launched nearly 25 years ago, Windows has been one of the most successful products in the history of the high tech industry. As we set our sights on the next 25 years, it is essential that we deliver incredible offerings on a great platform. We must also tell the story of how Windows enables a billion people around the globe to do mo re with their lives today. We must inspire consumers with the promise of what Windows uniquely makes possible across the PC, phone and Web.
Telling our story means making significant investments to improve the way consumers experience Windows. To that end, we are focused on making improvements at practically every consumer touch point, from the moment they hear about the Windows brand in our advertising to how they learn more about Windows products online; from how they view Windows and try it at retail to how they use the entire range of Windows offerings--Windows Vista, Windows Mobile and Windows Live--across their whole life.
Today, we are kicking off a highly visible advertising campaign. The first phase of this campaign is designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows--a conversation that will evolve as the campaign progresses, but will always be marked by humor and humanity. The first in this series of television ads airs initially in the U.S., and it aims to reignite consumer excitement about the broader value of Windows. The first television spot aired on NBC during the opening game of the NFL season and will be seen throughout the evening on various prime time programs. Worldwide, you can view this first TV spot at (internal site)
This first set of ads features Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Think of these ads as an icebreaker to reintroduce Microsoft to viewers in a consumer context. Later this month, as the campaign moves into its next phase, we'll go much deeper in telling the Windows story and celebrating what it can do for consumers at work, at play and on-the-go. At that time, I'll be back to share more information about our plans to further strengthen the bond between consumers and Windows--one of the most amazing products, businesses and brands of all time, and, with the right tenacity, passion and agility from all of us, a story that has many great chapters to come.
The ad is various places on YouTube. Here's the official Microsoft-sanctioned copy, though I think it requires Silverlight.
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