New Zune TV Ad: Now 80% Less Vague

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/05/08/new-zune-tv-spot-tonight.aspx' target='_blank'>http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/05/08/new-zune-tv-spot-tonight.aspx</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;The New Zune TV spot dropped Monday night - I'll have spot posted tomorrow today (don't want to scoop anybody). You'll be able to catch the spot on channels like MTV, VHI, BET, and of course Adult Swim. And you can see the spot throughout the NBA playoffs and finals, and the season finales like Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Lost, and Family Guy in top markets.&quot; </em><br /><br />There's a new Zune ad running in a few markets across the US - I haven't seen it live, and probably never will, but thankfully Zune Insider's Cesar Menendez (who recently got engaged - congrats buddy!) has uploaded a copy. Give it a watch and share your thoughts - is this better than the previous ads? Does it hit the mark, or are you not quite convinced?<br /><br />&nbsp;<embed width="432" height="364" flashvars="c=v&amp;v=6870e983-5d9b-48e1-8457-13c56d62034d" pluginspage="http://macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" name="msn_soapbox" wmode="transparent" quality="high" src="http://images.soapbox.msn.com/flash/soapbox1_1.swf"></embed><br /><a title="Zune TV Spot" target="_new" href="http://soapbox.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=6870e983-5d9b-48e1-8457-13c56d62034d">Video: Zune TV Spot</a>

[Darius Wey]

Much better ad, although I do think the visual transition from local to mass sharing of music was a little rushed. Also, I'm not sure if the brown background at the end was the best choice; it may have been better without. But all in all, an improvement. :)

[ale_ers]

Much better than the last attempt. As you said, the last one was very vague...althought dancing shadows don't really tell you much about the ipod and they seem to have worked.

This new add is very upbeat and got it's point across without beating you over the head. Although it looks a little like a graveyard where Zunes go to die....

[MarxMarvelous]

Waaaay better... shows off the sharing, FM tuner and widescreen video which are all key differentiators with the iPod. Well done IMO.

[David Tucker]

Ok, they seriously got their money's worth this time. Good ad...that should have been done 6 months ago but looks like they're getting in gear as promised.:)

[andre]

i agree much better add. it gets to the point right away

although i am still not sure why they are focusing on the wireless sending of song when you can only play it 3x. my sister bought a pink zune and even i didn't want to send her some songs simply because i knew that the 3 play limit would only tease her.

bump it up to 10x or more and then MS has got something.

nice ad once again.

[Adam Krebs]

i am still not sure why they are focusing on the wireless sending of song

This ad (and indeed their entire marketing campaign) is centered around why the Zune is better than the iPod. People already know the iPod is good. It is a brand they trust. People are getting bored with the lack of updates to the iPod, and this campaign seeks to address the things people like in their music players.

It opens with the shot of sending, then goes to the radio, video (shown on its side), and pictures (including custom backgrounds), showing off the things it has going for it that the iPod doesn't have.

Although it looks a little like a graveyard where Zunes go to die....

I was thinking the same thing. It's a shame that they finally come close to being right with the ad, and have to overshaddow it with a gloomy/industrial soundtrack. MIMS' "Why I [raawk]" sounds edited, and the whole thing seems like something they should be doing after they've established themselves with the bright, cheerful ads, as Apple did with U2's and Eminem's commercials (very industrial, etc.)

Should be interesting to see how it plays out, but they really need to have a variety of similar ads running, not just the one. Maybe Apple will let them borrow TBWA/Chiat/Day for a bit ;)

[Rocco Augusto]

I feel this ad is a step in the right direction compared to the current advertisements they have floating around the ol' magic box. i would love to see more advertisements like this in the near future :)

[Alber1690]

So....much better! Innovative too... What size for the video did you guys use, because on the actual Soapbox page, the video itself looks kinda miss-sized and degraded, but on your guys' post, it looks clearer. Did you guys change the dimensions?

[rc28]

I really love this new ad and I hope there are many more to come just like it!
It is simply a vast improvement on the old ones as they just didn't let the viewer know what a zune was. I have the youtube version of this ad but of course a few iFanboys have already spotted it so please rate and comment on it:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MvrMB66Xy1I

[David Tucker]

finally caught this on TV...nice to see an intelligent Zune ad show up ;)